Overseas Chinese rally to support Beijing 2022 Olympic bid

About 200 overseas Chinese gathered here on Wednesday to voice their support for Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

They chanted "Go China", sang the popular song "My Chinese Heart" and signed their names on a banner in a rally organized by the American Chinese Economic and Cultural Exchange Association (ACECEA).

A joint-bid by Beijing and the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou faces the only competition from Almaty, Kazakhstan after other candidates including Oslo dropped out. The International Olympic Committee will decide the 2022 host on July 31.

Li Kexin, Minister of the Chinese Embassy to the United States, thanked overseas Chinese for their role in helping Beijing deliver a successful Summer Olympics in 2008.

"Overseas Chinese contributed tremendously to the exceptional 2008 Games," Li said. "Their donations have been spent on the construction of the "Water Cube" National Aquatic Center, the main venue for the Beijing Olympics."

Wang Mengshen, ACECEA chairman, said the association will rally more overseas Chinese to join in support for the Beijing's bid.

"If we will win the right to host the 2022 Games, the Chinese dream will be intertwined with the dream of the world," he said.