Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Saturday that the Beijing Olympic Games achieved great success and the Games would bring China bigger progress.

Samaranch had a face-to-face communication with 130 Chinese students who are on their Olympic tour. Some of them came from earthquake-hit provinces such as Sichuan, Gansu and Shannxi, some from impoverished families but with excellent academic marks, and others from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Asked about the difference between his current tour to China and previous ones, the 88-year-old Samaranch said he had been to China many times with the first in 1978. China developed rapidly over the years and the living standards of Chinese people improved a lot.

As an old friend of the Chinese people, Samaranch said he felt honored to be able to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Beijing Olympic Games had been well organized and the Chinese athletes had excellent performance, he said, noting that China was listed atop the gold medals tally.

He sincerely congratulated the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympic Games and Chinese athletes on such achievements.

He also spoke highly of the volunteers' contribution to the Games, saying that their hard work was an important component of successful Olympic Games.

Samaranch expressed his sincere hopes to the young Chinese, encouraging them to study hard and serve the country in the future.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2008)