Xi Jinping welcomes the President of the International Olympic Committee 10 days before the opening of the Winter Games

Chinese President Xi Jinping received International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday (25), 10 days before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported.

Bach arrived in Beijing on Saturday and completed a three-day period of isolation. Travelers from abroad are usually required to comply with the quarantine period of several weeks.

The Beijing Games will be held under a strict health bubble. During the event, the Chinese president will receive many world leaders. The meeting with Bach was Xi Jinping’s first known meeting with a foreign guest since the beginning of the epidemic.

The meeting was held at the diplomatic residence of Beijing’s Diaoyutai Park, according to public broadcaster CCTV.

The network showed pictures of two men wearing masks, standing side by side in front of the flags of China and the Olympic movement.

Then Xi and Bach spoke from a distance.

The Chinese have said the country will stage a “simple, safe and wonderful Olympic Games” despite an increase in virus cases in China, CCTV reports.

Bach also plans to meet Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

The player posted a lengthy message online in November, claiming she felt “compelled” to have a sexual relationship with a former deputy prime minister of her country.

The message has been deleted and Peng Shuai has been missing for weeks. In a video conference at the end of November, Bach spoke with the tennis player and the two agreed to meet in Beijing for the Olympics.

The Peng Shuai case sparked international mobilization with the hashtag #Where isPengShuai?

China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, nearly closed its borders in March 2020.

Xi Jinping has not left China since January 2020 and has not received foreign leaders since March of the same year, but has participated in many international meetings via video conferencing.

Among the political leaders expected to be in Beijing for the Olympics is Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Several Western countries (notably the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom) announced their diplomatic boycott of the Games to denounce human rights violations in China.

In a video conference on Tuesday, Putin said he was convinced that Russian athletes would “succeed” at the Winter Games.

“In our country, we will support you all, be proud of your successes and believe that you can outdo yourselves and perform at the highest level,” said the Russian head of state.

On the political issue, he said, “We are against any attempt to politicize sports and against any boycott.”

Moscow also presents itself as a victim of a sports policy against Western Russia in terms of sport.

Russia has been accused since 2015 of masterminding an institutionalized doping regime, and its participation in major international competitions has been suspended until the end of this year. Russian athletes considered “clean” of doping can participate in the Beijing Olympics, but under a neutral flag.

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