Beijing, June 19 (Xinhua) – Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, wrote back to students of BSU’s 2016 Champion Class, sending his encouragement and expectations to them and his sincere greetings to all teachers and students of Beijing Sport University as well as athletes and coaches who are preparing for the Olympics and other events.

“I am glad to know that you cherish your opportunity to pursue further study while also training hard and promoting sports,” Xi said in his reply.

“I’ve watched a number of your competitions. Whenever I see our athletes playing hard in the major international competitions, creating good results and winning glory for the country, I applaud everyone from my heart. As China enters a new era, we should strive to fulfill our mission by promoting sports. I hope you maintain your efforts, continue to build China into a country strong on sports and bring more positive energy to Chinese society.” Xi added.

Launched in 2003, the Champion Class is available only to those who have won Olympic gold medals or world championship & world cup titles and their coaches. The 2016 class has 24 students now, including 8 Olympic champions, 14 world champions and 2 champion coaches. They jointly wrote a letter to General Secretary Xi Jinping recently reporting their study, training and work and delivering their passion and determination to contribute to building a country strong on sports.