China's largest producer and supplier of crude oil and natural gas has become the latest sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) yesterday selected the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) as the eighth official partner.
The choice was made on the eve of the fourth plenary session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (COCOM) in Beijing.
CNPC will provide services to the Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese sports delegations to the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy and the 2008 Beijing Games.
"We are glad to see CNPC participating in the Beijing Olympic Games as an official partner representing crude oil and natural gas," Wang Wei, BOCOG's Executive Vice-President and Secretary General said at the signing ceremony.
"We believe CNPC's participation will not only further consolidate the material foundation for a successful Beijing Olympic Games, but will also actively promote the development of China's petroleum industry, boost the use of clean energy and ensure the sustainable, long-term development of the city."
Jiang Jiemin, vice president of CNPC and president of PetroChina, pledged to integrate his corporation's mission of "harmonizing energy and the environment" with BOCOG's theme of a "Green Olympics" and work closely with BOCOG to make the 2008 Games successful.
"The Chinese people, including all staff at CNPC, are thrilled about this event, and are looking forward to making every contribution to the success of the Games," said Jiang.
Commission meeting opens
Vice Chairman of the Commission and Chairman of the IOC Press Commission Kevan Gosper announced the 4th Plenary Session of COCOM will open today.
More than 40 officials, including Chairman of the Co-ordination Commission Hein Verbruggen and Co-ordination Commission members and experts, will attend the meeting, which ends on Thursday, to discuss a series of issues relating to the Beijing Games.
"We will go through the progress report with BOCOG on such things-work force, transport... venue management, accreditation, Olympic protocol, media and communications," said Gosper.
Some commission members and experts will inspect building sites and venue layout today.
"Tomorrow morning we will kick off with tour of the venues. This is a very good opportunity for the full commission to see the progress on construction sites and training sites," said Gosper yesterday.
"We are also anxious to ensure all the venues are ready for the test events which normally precede the games a year or so beforehand, so that the International Federations, technical officials and BOCOG staff can get accustomed to the facilities."
From now until 2008, IOC inspectors will double their visits to Beijing, visiting twice a year.
(China Daily May 31, 2005)
