10 November 2025 - Welcomed by the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, IOC President Kirsty Coventry witnessed the spectacular Opening Ceremony of the National Games in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, last weekend.
“It was an immense pleasure to witness the ceremony alongside President Xi. It was an amazing blend of culture, art, technology and sport. The National Games, with their 25,000 athletes across so many age groups, are unique and create a great sense of unity and identity. China is a real power house in international sport,” the IOC President said. Over 14,000 athletes are competing in the National Games, which are being held in Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong. In addition, 11,000 athletes are taking part in recreational sports.
President Xi had welcomed the IOC President for a meeting ahead of the ceremony. During that meeting, the IOC President said she was looking forward to continuing the strong and long-lasting partnership between China and the IOC, building on the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
China is extremely important to the Olympic Movement. I want to thank you for all the support China has given to the IOC over all these years. I am committed to continuing this very successful cooperation.
Kirsty Coventry - IOC President
She also hailed the strong cooperation with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the IOC Members in China. Regarding the National Games, she added: “It is extremely valuable to us to see China’s strong efforts to bring sport to the youth. This will set China up for an even brighter future.”
The IOC President, who was accompanied by IOC Honorary President Thomas Bach and the IOC Members in China, Zaiqing Yu, Lingwei Li and Hong Zhang, also emphasised the cooperation the IOC has with its three Worldwide Olympic Partners from China, Alibaba, Mengniu and TCL. “They help us to grow sport on a global stage, and I am looking forward to working with China to extend the partnership on the technology sector even further.”
President Xi spoke highly about the Olympic spirit and the strong relationship between China and the IOC: “China has always been firmly practising, safeguarding and promoting the Olympic spirit,” he said, adding that China is ready to deepen its cooperation with the IOC even further. Both leaders underlined that there should not be any political interference in sport.
After the Opening Ceremony, the IOC President went to see the wushu competition at the National Games, where she met a number of athletes and got her first glimpse of the sport, which will feature for the first time on the Youth Olympic Games programme during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Upon arrival in Guangzhou, the IOC President was welcomed by the COC President, Gao Zhidan, who stressed that the cooperation between the COC and the IOC was a highlight in China’s cooperation with the rest of the world.
While in Guangzhou, the IOC President and her delegation also met China Media Group (CMG) President Shen Haixiong. They signed the finalised media rights agreement for the Olympic Games from 2026 to 2032. The extension of CMG’s Olympic Games rights was originally announced in 2021, however due to COVID-19 restrictions, this was celebrated at the time only virtually between President Shen and IOC Honorary President Thomas Bach, who was also at the event in Guangzhou.
The ceremony also builds on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023 strengthening the cooperation and long-term partnership between the two organisations.
“We appreciate the strong partnership between CMG and the IOC. It has strengthened over the years and I hope it will continue to do so. We stand firmly at your side,” the IOC President said, also welcoming CMG’s broadcasting plans for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, where CMG will have a 500-person team on site, broadcasting the Games in 8K.
She also met Xi Yanchun, the Vice-President of Xinhua News Agency, which has maintained a long-standing and close relationship with the Olympic Movement. It served as Host News Agency for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Host Photo Agency for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. In 2019, the IOC formally recognised Xinhua as one of its international news agencies, accrediting it to provide comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Games and IOC activities.
Xinhua operates more than 220 domestic and international bureaus, including 184 overseas offices, and employs 13,000 staff. Every day, it distributes around 13,000 news items to the world in 15 languages, 24 hours a day. Sport is one of the main topics.
The IOC President is continuing her visit to China with meetings with Worldwide Olympic Partners TCL, Mengniu and Alibaba.
