【News Source: Xinhua】

Mutual understanding, lasting friendship and unity are important elements of the Olympic spirit, notes Simon Shao.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A figure skating exhibition was held on Monday in Los Angeles County, California, to mark the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics and Chinese New Year.

Around 100 guests gathered at the Pasadena Ice Skating Center to participate in the event themed "Welcoming the Chinese New Year and Celebrating the Winter Olympics."

The event was co-organized by the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Chinese American Federation, a California registered non-profit and non-political social organization, comprising more than 120 Chinese American associations and business coalitions.

California juvenile skaters with their coach and Pasadena Ice Skating Center General Manager Randy Winship (1st R) participate in a figure skating exhibition themed "Welcoming the Chinese New Year and Celebrating the Winter Olympics" in Los Angeles, California, the United States, Jan. 10, 2022. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

"China is now gearing up to host the 2022 Winter Olympics Game," Chinese consul general in Los Angeles Zhang Ping said in his remarks at the event, adding he welcomes athletes from the United States and around the world to participate in the Games.

Noting that mutual understanding, lasting friendship and unity are important elements of the Olympic spirit, Simon Shao, president of the Chinese American Federation, said in his speech that unity can defeat the raging COVID-19 pandemic. He added that lasting friendship is an expectation shared by both the Chinese and American people.