BEIJING -- Friday night's Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing presents a vivid modern interpretation of the 2,500-year-old Confucian proverb -- "it is such a delight to have friends coming from afar."

Taking place at a time when the whole nation is basking in the celebrations of the Chinese New Year, the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games has brought double joy to the Chinese people.

The proverb, excerpted from the Confucian classic "The Analects of Confucius," was more than once quoted by President Xi Jinping and, in his own words, "expressed the joyful feeling of the Chinese people on the arrival of friends."

The same sentence is also on the lips of ordinary Chinese people as Beijing, the world's only "dual Olympic city," has opened its arms to welcome thousands of athletes from across the globe, as well as world leaders from dozens of countries and heads of international organizations.

Among them are Russian President Vladimir Putin and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Apart from attending the opening ceremony of the 2022 Games, Xi and the foreign guests will have relevant bilateral activities, which are expected to help forge a stronger bond between China and the rest of the world in the face of a pandemic and various pressing challenges.