MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed to Russian President Vladimir Putin in their telephone conversation that China’s athletes would participate in all sports events organized by Russia this year, including the 2024 Games of the Future, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said on Thursday.

"The Chinese side has confirmed the participation of its athletes in the Games of the Future in Kazan as well as in other sports tournaments organized by Russia this year," Ushakov said.

According to him, the leaders also discussed other aspects of Russian-Chinese cooperation.

"They [the presidents] focused on the full-scale resumption of educational, cultural and sporting links at all levels in the wake of the involuntary decline caused by the [COVID-19] pandemic," the Russian official said.

Ushakov also said that both leaders positively assessed the results of the last bilateral Years of Cooperation event in the sphere of physical culture and sports.

"Both sides expressed confidence that another large-scale project, the Cross-Cultural Years [between Russia and China] will be a success. This project is slated for 2024-2025," Ushakov added.

2024 Games of the Future

The inaugural cybersport Games of the Future will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between February 21 and March 3, 2024. They will consist of new disciplines combining advanced technology, the digital environment and physical activity.

The competitions are designed to use cutting-edge developments in cybersports, robotics, both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tournament offers $25 million in prize money.

As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games. The first Phygital Games were held in September 2022 and they were followed by numerous editions until today with the most recent one held in Kazan between October 5 and 22.

2024 BRICS Games

The 2024 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Games will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between June 12 and 23 and will feature events in 25 different sports.

In mid-May, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to submit proposals for organizing and holding the 2024 BRICS Games in Russia.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin emphasized earlier that the BRICS Games are not meant to rival any other competitions and will not interfere with the international sports calendar.

2024 World Friendship Games

The 2024 World Friendship Games are scheduled to be hosted by the Russian capital of Moscow and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg next year between September 15 and 29.

In December 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cautioned National Olympic Committees (NOCs) against participating in the World Friendship Games in Russia next year, as this would violate the global Olympic body’s recommendations.

IOC President Thomas Bach stated on June 22, 2023 that "the Russian government was going to hold politicized competitions."

Russian President Putin decreed earlier in the year that in 2024, the first Summer World Friendship Games be held in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin later announced that the BRICS Games and the World Friendship Games have nothing to do with politics and are in no way a condemnation of the IOC.

In mid-November 2023, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) warned that certain sanctions could be in place against international athletes willing to participate in the 2024 World Friendship Games. WADA President Witold Banks said: "The possible participation in those competitions of those who are parties to the WADA Code, may have certain consequences."