Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to boost mutual trust, restore confidence amid global pandemic

2021-Dec-30       Source: newsgd.com

Nasser Bouchiba, President of (Morocco) Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development, shares his stories about Olympics and his insight into China-Morocco Cooperation.

Editor’s note: The Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are drawing near, putting the city into the spotlight once more. What do people worldwide expect of the Games? What are their stories about Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022? GDToday and Nanfang Daily are co-presenting a series of reports to bring you “Global Takes on Beijing 2022”.

“The success of Beijing Winter Olympics will certainly send a positive message to people all over the world against the backdrop of the globally rampant COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nasser Bouchiba, President of (Morocco) Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development.



Nasser Bouchiba addresses the 8th Meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Nasser is a Moroccan Expert on Chinese affairs. Encouraged by a passion for Chinese traditional culture and sports, he came to China in 1995. Since then, he has lived in and traveled to many parts of China. In recent years, he has been dedicated to promoting China-Africa cooperation as well as to introducing Chinese technology and experience to African countries.

Beijing 2022 to resume confidence worldwide

On July 13, 2001, Juan Antonio Samaranch, then President of the International Olympic Committee, announced that Beijing won the bid for hosting 2008 Summer Olympics. When the news came to Beijing, people went on streets celebrating and the city was immediately brimming with joy. Nasser was one of them.

At that time, Nasser was a student at Beijing Sport University. In the following years, he witnessed how Chinese people united and how the city made sweeping changes to prepare for the Games.

He believes it is the Olympic spirit that has inspired Beijing to evolve into an international metropolis and sport has played an indispensable role in this process.

“Many people think that for developing countries like China and Morocco, economic growth is far more important than sport development, but China has changed that perception,” said Nasser.

He furthered, “China is not only active in hosting and taking part in the Olympics, but also integrates sport with people’s daily life. Sport, in China, has become a way of life beyond competition and economic benefits, which improves people’s health physically and mentally and benefits the country’s development.”

Nasser expects Beijing 2022 will also be a springboard for the development of winter sports in Morocco, which can instill more vitality in the country’s economy. According to him, Morocco has been developing winter sports since the 1930s and is renowned for its ski resorts on the Atlas Mountains. In the upcoming Beijing 2022, Moroccan athletes are scheduled to compete in men’s Alpine skiing.

“Winter sports are of great importance to my country’s efforts to revitalize impoverished mountainous areas. We also hope to learn from China’s remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation,” said Nasser.

Same as Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 is also facing the challenges posed by COVID-19. Nasser believes the Olympic spirit will boost the world’s confidence in this time of change and turbulence.

“As more people have been vaccinated worldwide, I felt we have the ability to dispel the pandemic. And Beijing’s ability to hold such a grand international sports games can build mutual trust among countries and restore people’s confidence worldwide,” Nasser stressed.

“Guangdong is a ‘treasure trove’ of entrepreneurial experience”

10 years ago, the 26th Summer Universiade was held in Shenzhen, Guangdong. At the opening ceremony, Nasser, as the torch bearer representing Africa, lit the final cauldron together with Olympic champion Liu Xiang and 3 representatives of college students, which has been his “most wonderful and memorable experience” in China as he recalled.

Nasser lived in Shenzhen and Guangzhou for many years, running factories and engaging in training business before studying and teaching at Sun Yat-sen University. He considers Guangdong “the most dynamic and advanced region in China”.

When returning to Morocco, Nasser teased out the “China experience” he obtained and wrote articles to share his observations with local entrepreneurs. He noted that Guangdong, a hub of start-up businesses, is becoming a “treasure trove” of entrepreneurial experience for African and Arab entrepreneurs along the Belt and Road.

Recently, Nasser published the book History of the Relations between Morocco and China (1958-2018), reviewing the cooperation between the two countries. Having witnessed China’s rapid development, he hopes to introduce China’s development pattern for African countries and make Morocco an example of China-Africa cooperation.


Author | Lydia Liu, Ling Xi, Xu Huai

Editor | Steven, Jasmine, Jerry

Planner | Huang Can

Coordinator | Liu Jiangtao, Hu Nianfei

Editor: Lydia

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