International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has hailed China's contribution to the Olympic movement and its role on the international stage.

The 71-year-old German, who was elected IOC president in 2013, will stand down from the role in June after 12 years at the helm.

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach attends a ceremony marking one year until the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France on July 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

In the past 12 years, China hosted a number of major sporting events, including the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, the Chengdu World University Games, the Hangzhou Asian Games and Harbin Asian Winter Games.

"Not only organizing these big Olympic events, China also takes the continental Games into consideration. It is going way beyond. We have an excellent cooperation with China in many fields," Bach told Xinhua during his recent visit in China.

The IOC president added that he was impressed with China's rapid development in both summer and winter sports. "There are so many achievements, so I think every Chinese can be very proud of Chinese sports and Chinese athletes," he said.

"Look at the huge and unprecedented success of the Chinese athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with 91 medals, including 40 gold medals, a record number for China at the Olympic Games abroad," Bach remarked.

He added, "The ambitious goal of making 300 million Chinese people familiar with winter sports has been exceeded. China topped the medal table at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin. It's just amazing."

With a bigger role in global sports, traditional Chinese cultural and sporting events have also gained greater recognition, with Wushu having been added to the competition program of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.

Bach added that Wushu - also known as kung fu - has the potential to appear at the Olympics, "What you need to do first is to deliver a successful and attractive event in Dakar 2026, and then to follow the procedure for admission in the program."

Last year, China's Li Lingwei was elected to the IOC executive board. Bach noted that Li's election showed respect and appreciation for Chinese sports leaders, as there were no other candidates once she had announced her intention to stand for election.

"We have seen in other international federations more Chinese representatives being elected. The advice that I can give is to present the candidature and be confident. The role of China and Chinese sports leaders is highly respected," Bach said.

In 2019, Bach visited Xinhua's headquarters and announced that the IOC would recognize Xinhua as an international news agency.

"Xinhua is always present and gives the world a real perspective of what is happening in the Olympic movement and at the Olympic Games. [Xinhua is] always able to put facts, happenings and decisions in the context of the time, give a very comprehensive overview over results and achievements of athletes in a very fair and clear way," he noted.

"We are impressed and very happy with the contribution of Xinhua. The only advice I can give is - keep going and keep going strong," Bach said.