American athlete Eileen Gu will compete for China at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the 15-year-old skiing prodigy announced last week.

In a post Thursday on microblogging platform Weibo, Gu said she plans to represent China in the next Olympics and hopes to “enhance interaction, understanding, and friendship” between the country and the United States. Born to an American father and a Chinese mother, Gu changed her national affiliation to China earlier this month, according to the International Ski Federation.

To follow through with her intention, however, Gu would be required to give up her American citizenship, as China does not recognize dual nationality. Speaking with media last week, the young skier did not comment on the matter of citizenship.

Over the past few days, many Weibo users have applauded Gu’s decision. “Welcome back to China,” one netizen commented under the skier’s post. “I hope you will help more Chinese get to know and fall in love with this winter sport.”

Gu isn’t the first athlete to “become Chinese,” either officially or unofficially, in recent months. In May, British-born soccer player Nico Yennaris became the first naturalized citizen ever appointed to China’s national team. And last September, 17-year-old American figure skater Beverly Zhu enrolled in China’s national figure skating program to vie for a roster spot at the 2022 Winter Olympics. (Image: @青蛙公主爱凌 on Weibo)