Juan Antonio Samaranch, Vice President of the IOC and Founder of Samaranch Foundation, delivers a speech during the launching ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Expo 2020 in Beijing, capital of China, on Nov 6, 2019. (JU HUANZONG / XINHUA)

MADRID - Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. is delighted with the way that preparations are proceeding ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and highlights the effect it will have on opening China to the world of winter sports.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Samaranch, who is the son of the man who helped to take the 2008 summer Olympics to Beijing and the Chairman of the Coordination Committee for Beijing 2022, said it was "a pleasure to lead and chair the coordination commission because everything is being done professionally and efficiently."

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"We have a counterpart who is very experienced," he said, adding that the experience from 2008 was a major benefit to the project.

"The organizing committee know where they have to go and they know the challenges they will be facing each step of the way," he said.

The Chinese people are already very in touch with Olympic values and the Olympic spirit, so they are already getting excited very soon

Juan Antonio Samaranch, VP, the IOC

But Beijing having organized the 2008 summer Games has another benefit, according to Mr Samaranch.

"The Chinese people are already very in touch with Olympic values and the Olympic spirit, so they are already getting excited very soon. Even though there are still two years before the Games we can feel that excitement growing," he commented adding that the interest in sports would make President Xi Jinping's aim of getting 300 million Chinese people involved in winter sports was "going to be achievable during the Games, thanks to that Olympic DNA."

Mr Samaranch also looked ahead to beyond 2022 at the legacy of the forthcoming Winter Olympics, both in sporting, economic and social terms.

"China became a major player in summer sports after 2008 and I would be very surprised if China doesn't take such a prominent position in winter sports after the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing," he predicted.

The Games "will bring over 300 million Chinese people into the world of winter sports and the discovery of winter sports will make China an even more sporting country, which will have the added benefit of being good for the nation's health," explained Samaranch.

Meanwhile in social and economic terms, he highlighted the infrastructure, such as improved road and rail links that are being worked on for the Games.

"China is the second most powerful country in the world and is rapidly closing the difference in GDP with the USA. 2008 was the time to open China to the world, now I think 2022 will see the consolidation of multilateralism and China being a leader in world affairs."

Finally Mr Samaranch said he was confident that the current health crisis over the Covid-19 coronavirus would not be an issue in 2020 and he praised Chinese authorities for their handling of the crisis.

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"The coronavirus is very serious health situation, but it is not a Chinese situation. It happened in China this time, but viruses don't understand borders - they appear where they appear. What we can take away from this crisis is that many places around the world have praised the transparent, efficient and strong reaction by the Chinese authorities."

"The population and the administrators of the Chinese government are giving the world an example of how to cope with a very serious thing," he concluded.