Beijing on Sunday unveiled a 246-meter Olympic tower topped with the Olympic rings that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said he hopes will illuminate the "brighter future" of the Olympic movement in China.

"Beijing's Olympic tower with Olympic rings sends a strong message about China's commitment to Olympic ­values," Bach said at the ceremony.

"I'm sure in 2022 our Chinese friends will be able to meet, even exceed, the high benchmarks that they have set in 2008."

The IOC officially approved the ­tower's renaming as Beijing Olympic Tower in January following Bach's visit to the tower in August 2015, when Beijing hosted the World Championships in Athletics.

Permission from the IOC is required to use the symbolic Olympic rings on buildings not built expressly for use in the Olympic Games.

The landmark tower located in the north of the Chinese capital's Olympic Park is not only for sightseeing, but will also serve as a meteorological observation center, according to organizers.

Beijing founded its 2022 Winter Olympics organizing committee on ­December 15 after being awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics on July 31, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The city has vowed to host a low-­budget Winter Olympic Games, planning to use existing athletics venues, with the exception of a newly built ­National Speed Skating Oval for speed skating competitions.

Skating competitions at the 2022 Olympics are expected to be held at venues in downtown Beijing, while skiing events are planned in the capital's outlying Yanqing district and neighboring Hebei Province's Zhangjiakou.

Compared to Chinese athletes' huge success in Summer Games sports, China has yet to become a winter sports powerhouse. But citing the current preparations of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, Bach said he believes the 2022 Winter Olympics will be a "­resounding" success for the worldwide Olympic movement.