Dream come true as Paris 2024 becomes first gender-equal Olympics: IOC vice president

The Paris 2024 Olympics is a turning point for gender equality in sports, said Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, the new vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For the first time in its 128-year history, the Olympics is poised to achieve an exact 50-50 gender split among its participants, marking a notable milestone. Projections indicate that 10,500 athletes are set to compete in Paris, with an equal representation of 5,250 men and 5,250 women.

According to El Moutawakel, who took gold in the inaugural women's 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the achievement was made possible thanks to Olympic leadership.

"For the first time we witness 50-50 in terms of gender equality. And this is because of the strategic plan that was put in place by the IOC President Thomas Bach, who believed in the power of women and the presence of women in managing the sport. And to see, 50 percent on the field and more to come in terms of management of the sports and governance of the sports, it's something sensational, something unique, something that we have dreamed of for so many years. It is going to happen here and now in Paris," she in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network after the Alibaba Evening on Wednesday in Paris.

The newly elected IOC vice president also credited the determination of women athletes and sports professionals from around the world.

"Thanks to all those like Catherine, like Nadia Comaneci, all those who for many years were advocating, speaking up for women's rights, for women's presence in the sports, in the field," said Moutawakel

During the Alibaba Evening event, China's Alibaba Group and the IOC jointly launched a short film titled "To the Greatness of HER", an eight-minute video tribute to the evolution of gender equality in sports since the 19th century. The film shines a light on the significant challenges that female athletes have encountered.

Moved by the film, El Moutawakel said she was awestruck to witness such progress in recent decades, including seeing an equal number of events for men and women in this year's Olympics.

"To see women competing in (32) sports, women coming from every single national Olympic committee, more than 200 national committees around the globe, all these women living under one roof in the Olympic Village, being treated equally, isn't this magic? This is the magic of the sports, the magic of everyone involved in the sports," she said.

On Wednesday, El Moutawakel and Argentina's Gerardo Werthein were elected as IOC vice presidents, whose terms of office will start on August 10 after the conclusion of the 142nd IOC Session, when the terms of John Coates and Ser Miang Ng come to an end.

Eight new IOC members - four women and four men - were also elected. The terms of office for six of them will begin immediately, while one will start at the end of the Paris Olympics and one on January 1, 2025.

Women now account for 42.3 percent of IOC members, with 47 women out of a total of 111 members.

Dream come true as Paris 2024 becomes first gender-equal Olympics: IOC vice president

Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.

In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.

"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.

"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.

Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.

"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).

"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.

During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.

Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants