SPORT: China commends South Africa's timely dissemination of the discovery of the new virus variant, its characteristics and its related news with the world. China believes in using science to fight a pandemic, supports the World Health Organization's leadership role in their efforts to help each country deal with the virus and to mobilise global efforts to fight the pandemic. The coronavirus is a common enemy for humanity and China is willing to continue to work with the international society, including Southern Africa countries, work in tandem and put in joint-effort to defeat the pandemic.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian believes it will definitely pose some challenge to the efforts to prevent and control the virus, but as China has experience in preventing and controlling the coronavirus, the office of the foreign ministry declares they are confident that China will be able to host the Winter Olympics as scheduled, smoothly and successfully.

China expects to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics on schedule, despite challenges posed by the emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, announced by the foreign ministry office during a regular daily briefing on Tuesday.

Beijing is set to stage the Games from 4 to 20 of Febaruary, 2022, without foreign spectators and with all athletes and related personnel contained in a "closed-loop" and subject to daily testing for COVID-19.

Under its "zero-COVID" policy, China has had what are among the world's strictest COVID-19 prevention measures.