Beijing, the host city of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, has continued to reach its preparation goals despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to Zhang Jiandong, Beijing's vice mayor and executive vice president of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee. 

Zhang gave updates on the preparation progress at the fifth meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission which was held online on Tuesday. 

He briefed the plenary meeting about the progress made since the last meeting in July 2019, with a focus on the impact of the pandemic, sustainability, the legacy of the Games, and its global publicity campaign.  

Zhang noted that venue construction projects were among the first to resume after the outbreak was under control in China.  

Last month, Beijing 2022 marked several milestones, launching global appeal for medal, torch and apparel designs and a Sustainability Plan for the Games. In addition, the color system and core graphics were officially released. Noticeably, the core graphics are also the first dynamic graphics design in Olympic history.

IOC Coordination Commission Chair Juan Antonio Samaranch gave high praise for the progress Beijing 2022 has made in preparation.  

Samaranch said that despite the unique circumstances, Beijing 2022 has continued to meet key milestones, people have seen important progress with the venues, and efforts to engage millions of people in winter sports is heartening.  

He added that this aligns very much with the spirit of Olympics and the thoughts of IOC President Thomas Bach in relation to "sport and physical activity make a great contribution to health" in society.