Beijing established 16 professional winter sports teams on Monday in a bid to win medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics that it will co-host, a newspaper reported.

Beijing Daily said the Beijing Winter Sports Management Center also was established on Monday to oversee and promote the development of winter sports.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Beijing Century Star Skating Club and the Beijing Hockey Association to establish the 16 teams, which will cultivate athletes for figure skating, curling, short-track speed skating, speed skating, ice hockey and snowboarding, the newspaper reported.