A journey from Beijing’s campuses to Jilin’s snowy slopes

The FISU President Leonz Eder, Secretary General Matthias Remund, accompanied by Chief Sports Officer Shen Zhen and Summer Games Director Jing Zhao, did a whirlwind visit to Beijing and Jilin mid June, weaving together the realms of university sports and winter sports into a unified vision of cooperation.

On 16 June in Beijing, they met with Vice‑Minister of Education Wang Jiayi. During the meeting, Vice-Minister Wang emphasised the longstanding and fruitful partnership between China and the International University Sports Federationn, highlighting the significant achievements in organising world-class university sports events and fostering cultural exchanges among youth.

He expressed China’s commitment to further strengthening this collaboration, aiming to provide more dynamic platforms for student-athletes worldwide to compete and connect. Vice-Minister Wang also announced that preparations are well underway for the 2025 FISU University World Cup Football, scheduled to take place in Dalian from 17 to 28 September 2025.

The delegation then toured the Beijing Sport University, witnessing state-of-the-art sports science labs and training facilities, and engaging with faculty and students to explore joint research and international exchange programmes.

Their journey continued on 18 June in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, where Party Secretary Huang Qiang (here with FISU President Leonz Eder) welcomed them amid the region’s famous powder snow and clear skies—a natural backdrop for Jilin’s ambitious winter-sports strategy.

Huang highlighted the province’s 68 ski resorts, including three of China’s top ten such as the continent’s largest Beidahu Ski Resort, alongside 67 universities offering winter-sport programmes. He invited FISU to deepen cooperation in ice-and-snow sports, exchange activities, and talent development.

On the next day, the FISU delegation visited the Changchun Wuhuan Gymnasium, a historic venue of the 2007 Asian Winter Games, as well as Northeast Normal University, where the Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Ice and Snow Sports Science is located, to examine cutting-edge athletic performance research.

FISU delegates also went to the Changchun’s Jingyuetan National Forest Park, host location of the Vasaloppet China Ski Festival, where they visited the Vasaloppet Museum, detailing the event’s Swedish origins and Chinese adaptation. Further on, at Beidahu Ski Resort, they observed top-tier slope operations, affirming the region’s elite infrastructure.

University sports are powerful tools for cultural exchange, leadership development, and global friendship. With groundwork already laid between China and FISU for the Chengdu 2021 FISU Games, the Dalian Football Cup and new winter-sport initiatives in Jilin, the visit marked a bold stride into a comprehensive era of future cooperation.