Beijing will present an extraordinary Winter Olympics that carries forward the Olympic spirit, boosts mutual understanding and friendship among people across the world and demonstrates the determination of global efforts in fighting COVID-19, said Zhang Ming, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He made the remarks in a written message celebrating the SCO Countries Art Exhibition of Children and Young Artists, an online event which kicked off on Friday.

Titled "2022 - Together for a Shared Winter Olympics Dream", the exhibition was co-organized by the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO, China's Ministry of Education, the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing and other institutions. More than 1,200 paintings from global youths will be published online in batches.

Zhang said the artworks on show depict young people's desire for a better future defined by health, peace and friendship.

Cui Li, vice-president of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO, hailed the exhibition as one of the most popular events organized by the SCO related to the Winter Olympics.

Cui said young people from SCO member countries express in their paintings their love of ice and snow sports, extending their expectations and good wishes for the Beijing Winter Olympics, which starts on Feb 4.

"The youth are the future and hope of the SCO," Cui said. "Let's hold our hands tight as the big picture of the Winter Olympics is unfolding, build a bridge for people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning and work together for a closer SCO community with a shared future."

Also on Friday, the Chinese-Russian Children's Art Exhibition, jointly held by the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing and the SCO commission, began online.