Russia and China sign 2023 sports events agreement
Russia and China will jointly hold more than 600 sports events in 2023, according to a pact that was recently signed between the two countries.
News of the development was announced by Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin on Thursday, who expressed his gratitude “for our teamwork and effective work” and for “the integrity of our Chinese colleagues in terms of cooperation.”
“This is a good example for other countries, for the whole world. Such relationships minimize the risks of society’s turbulence and set an example. I wish you all peace and sports victories,” Matytsin said via video link.
The years 2022 and 2023 have already been declared years of cooperation between Russia and China in physical culture and sports by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Matytsin said there was “no doubt that this year would go down in the history of sports relations,” pointing to the Russian-Chinese Winter Youth Games as a “real highlight.”
“On behalf of the Russian Federation, I want to express gratitude to the Chinese side for holding these competitions at the highest level,” Matytsin added.
The Russian-Chinese Winter Youth Games were held in Changchun, China, from December 16 to 19, and Matytsin revealed there were plans for a huge competition between SCO countries China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan next year.
“We value our relations, and sport is a good example of how to build relations between people. We are working on holding the Summer Games for the SCO countries,” Matytsin explained.
Furthermore, Matytsin also hinted at Russia and China exchanging coaches. “The cooperation program involves the exchange of experience, including coaching,” he said.
“We need to see what interest our Chinese colleagues and the Russian side have, [but] we see no obstacles in this direction,” he added, noting that there are currently some restrictions for the coaches of Russian national teams to work in China.
“Priority is given to working with our [Russian national] teams, but there are joint training camps,” Matytsin continued.
“We talked about handball, volleyball, and other areas. If such proposals or applications are received from the Chinese side, we will carefully consider them and provide assistance. It is important for this work to be centralized.”
