It has now been more than five years since the Organising Committee was set up for Beijing 2022. 

Preparations are well underway, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, with Liu claiming sustainability remains a key focus of organisers. 

"Our vision is to achieve sustainability for the future," he said, as reported by state-run newspaper China Daily. 

"As part of our green initiative, Beijing 2022 has placed top priority on ecological preservation, conserving resources and environmental friendliness."

Beijing 2022's official sustainability plan was launched in May and reflects the mission to be "green, open, inclusive and clean".

It also follows Olympic Agenda 2020 – the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement - and is aligned with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Positive environmental impact, new development for the region, and ensuring a better life for local people were identified as the three key themes of the plan. 

These three themes are supported by 12 actions, 37 key tasks and 119 specific measures, including the environment of the competition zones, regional development, and improvement of well-being for the host communities in Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

According to the plan, the regular power supply of the venues will be provided by 100 per cent renewable energy, while carbon dioxide is set to be used as the refrigerant for making ice at the National Speed Skating Oval. 

Liu also discussed the environmental protective measures in place during venue construction. 

Trees have been transplanted from venue construction areas in Yanqing, for example. 

"Some 30,000 trees have been transplanted in the mountains, and the survival rate of the transplanted trees is over 90 per cent," said Liu.

Beijing 2022 is also part of a campaign to engage 300 million people with winter sports across China to encourage people to live a healthy life and boost the development of the nation's winter sports industry.

Liang Lifang, an official at the Chongli local tourism bureau, suggested this had resulted in predictions of a "new high" of visitors during the snow season, despite the pandemic. 

"All ski resorts are packed with people on weekends," he said, as reported by China Daily.

"Some hotels have been fully booked until after this upcoming Spring Festival.

"The number of visitors is expected to hit a new high during this snow season."

Organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympics are also aiming to cut costs and have identified the merging of the Main Press Centre and International Broadcasting Centre into the Main Media Centre (MMC) as one solution. 

"In the past, it [MMC] was more like two separate areas in one building," said Beijing 2022 media operations head Xu Jicheng.

"However, this time, Beijing 2022 will fully integrate the two to redefine the concept. 

"The IOC hopes to take this chance to promote this practice to future Olympic Winter Games or even Olympic Games."

The next edition of the Winter Olympic Games is scheduled for February 4 to 20 and will be followed by the Winter Paralympics from March 4 to 13.