Interviewed by the China Media Group during his recent visit to the country, Bach also described last year's Winter Olympics in Beijing as "a landmark, a historic event for winter sport internationally."

Asked to recall his meetings with the Chinese President, Bach responded that they had first got to know each other during the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, where Xi was responsible for the Games delivery.

"Since then we have met many times," Bach said.

"We had the very successful Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014.

"We had many discussions then about the preparations of the three consecutive Olympic Games happening in Asia with all the issues that were related to each of them.

"And I always met a man who was living this love of sport and this acknowledgement of the values of sport and his commitment to the unifying mission of sport.

"And in this way driving greatly forward the development of sport not only in China but on a global scale."

Invited to recall the most impressive thing or moment during Beijing 2022, Bach, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic, responded: "I think it was the moment of the Opening because we were all longing for these Olympic Winter Games under the very difficult circumstances.

“And then when it finally starts this is a kind of - first, relief, when we saw the Opening Ceremony unfolding in such a spectacular and meaningful way.

"This was something I will never forget."

Beijing 2022 was held against a backdrop of allegations of China mistreating its Uyghur population, the suppression of democratic rights in Hong Kong and the case of tennis player Peng Shuai.

Last September, then United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet released a report that warned China’s detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups may be a crime against humanity.

Following publication of the report, Bach responded by claiming the IOC had worked with sports officials in China to "ensure all obligations within the Host City contract were met."

Bach's praise of Xi coincide with leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations warning that China represents the world's greatest challenge to security and prosperity.

"They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad," United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today in Hiroshima. 

Sunak claimed that G7 leaders, including Japan, the United States Canada and Germany, had shown "unity and resolve" in confronting the problems posed by Beijing.

The leaders of the club of wealthy democracies claimed they did not wish to decouple from China but recognised that economic resilience required "de-risking and diversifying"

"Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development," the G7 leaders said.

"A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest."

Bach had lavished similar praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

He had personally thanked Putin for his contribution to the "extraordinary success of these Winter Games".

Reminded of his comment that Beijing 2022 would change the landscape of winter sports globally, Bach maintained in his interview with China Media Group: "There is Olympic winter sport before these Beijing 2022 Games and there is a much bigger and more important one right after, with China having engaged more than 300 million in winter sports.

"This is for the international winter sports community – a milestone is not enough to say, it’s a landmark, a historic event for winter sport internationally.

"And therefore these Beijing 2022 Winter Games will always be in the memory, not only in the minds of the winter sports fans, but in the minds of the entire worldwide Olympic community.”

Speaking of the effect of the pandemic, Bach added: "Everybody said before that sport was good for health but nobody really followed up on it.

"With the pandemic it became tangible for everybody and we could then finally show that with the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 that even after these very difficult circumstances that you can organise a successful Olympic Games.

"And you can give a signal of hope and confidence to all humankind that life continues, that this pandemic is not the end of everything, that life is continuing and there is still joy in life.

"There is joy in the effort of organising these Games."