Chengdu 2023: Uniting Young Athletes from Around the World at the World University Games

The 31st edition of the World University Games began yesterday, July 28, initially scheduled for summer 2021 but postponed for two consecutive years due to the pandemic. This time, the city of Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province and nerve center of south-western China, is hosting the young sportsmen from all over the world, which takes over from Naples four years after the previous edition. On the occasion of the welcome banquet for the guests present at the opening ceremony of the Universiade, President Xi wanted to underline the importance of these events for their ability to bring together young people from all over the world and thus promote a spirit of peace and development for humanity. Only mutual learning, added the Chinese president, can foster the promotion of harmony in diversity and a spirit of inclusiveness, because, as repeated on many occasions, “there is no harmony in uniformity”.

Under the banner of the slogan Chengdu Makes Dreams Come True (transl.: Chengdu makes dreams come true), China is thus called upon to manage and organize a new major sporting event after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which – ironically – have already handed over the baton to Italy for the Milan-Cortina 2026 edition.

There will be 49 facilities, located in 15 districts of the metropolitan area, to host the competitions of the 18 different activities planned: diving, swimming, water polo, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, fencing, artistic gymnastics, gymnastics rhythmic, judo, rowing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball and wushu. Soccer is absent, to which a separate tournament has been dedicated since 2019, by decision of the International Federation of University Sport (FISU), namely the FISU University Football World Cup.

Founded in the last century on the initiative of the former Italian athlete and sports manager Primo Nebiolo, the first Universiade in history took place in Turin in 1959, underlining Italy’s strong activism to promote the dissemination of sport culture and – through the latter – of the dialogue between young people and the peoples of the whole world. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the Peninsula is currently the country that has hosted the largest number of editions, no less than five, of the Games: after the absolute premiere, Turin returned to star in 1970, followed by Rome in 1975, Catania in 1997 and, as already mentioned, Naples four years ago.

For mainland China, on the other hand, this is the third edition, after those of Beijing 2001 and Shenzhen 2011. Considering that this should have been held two years ago, the appointment in the Asian country now seems to have acquired a regular ten-year deadline, with as many as three Universiades in the of twenty years. The event, like all the other major sporting events of international importance, is fully part of the now long-standing Chinese strategy of image-building, i.e. showing the world the great achievements achieved in the most varied fields: social, economic, cultural, technological, academic , infrastructural, logistic, sports, people-to-people, etc.

The images proposed by foreign television thus highlight, broadcasting them worldwide, the most evident effects of the profound transformation undergone by the country over the last forty years: no more polluting mega-factories, complicated connections, rural poverty, fine dust or rivers dirty. The symbols of the new China are the rapid high-speed trains, the complex motorway junctions, the long suspension bridges, the very popular museums and cultural sites, the enormous libraries, the parks and cycle paths in urban areas, the bio-parks and nature reserves , the regenerated agricultural villages and the great international expos.

Today China is also a great melting pot of cultures and knowledge thanks to the growing ability to attract young people from all over the world, primarily from the rest of Asia, for reasons of study, work or simple tourism. The great metropolises of the country have by now become real global centres, full of activities and interactions, just like in the times of the Silk Road.

The Universiade therefore fits into a lively, dynamic and plastic context, in which the young participants will be able not only to prepare themselves in the best possible way in their respective disciplines in view of the competitions, but also to fully enjoy the sparkling socio-cultural climate that characterizes China today . It is an opportunity to get to know a reality of which very little is known in the West, especially due to information that is not always objective, conditioned by political and cultural prejudices settled over time. Sport can thus provide a valuable contribution to breaking down the wall of mistrust and hostility, especially in a phase full of geopolitical tensions and conflicts. Chengdu 2023 launches a strong message of solidarity and inclusiveness, as well as in the intent of the Chinese authorities and in the words spoken by President Xi at the welcome banquet.

The author Fabio Massimo Parenti is associate professor of international studies and Ph.D. in Geopolitics and Geoeconomics

2023-07-29 12:17:11
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