Top Chinese officials likely to be absent from Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony

Foreign ministry spokesman says ‘China supports Japan’ in hosting a successful Games
About 15 global leaders to attend what is expected to be a subdued event on Friday night

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Rachel Zhangin Shanghai

Published: 6:30pm, 23 Jul 2021

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Beijing has apparently not sent any senior Chinese officials to attend what is expected to be a subdued opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday night.

Asked directly on Thursday if China was sending any leaders to Tokyo, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian would not be drawn, saying only that “I can tell you that China supports Japan in hosting a successful Tokyo Olympic Games”.

He confirmed that the Chinese delegation had arrived in Japan, led by Gou Zhongwen, head of the General Administration of Sport. The delegation of 777 is the country’s biggest sent to an Olympics held outside China and includes more than 400 athletes.

The Games – postponed last year because of the pandemic – begin as Covid-19 cases in Tokyo have reached a six-month high, and with the city in a state of emergency until August 22. Spectators have been barred from attending most events at the Olympics, which will run until August 8.

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Japanese media has reported that less that 950 people are expected to attend the opening ceremony on Friday, according to Reuters, including about 15 global leaders.

Among those attending are French President Emmanuel Macron, US first lady Jill Biden, who is leading the American delegation, and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene.

US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have said they will not attend the opening event.

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China has previously sent high-ranking officials to Olympics opening ceremonies. Most recently, Han Zheng, a Politburo Standing Committee member and now the senior vice-premier, attended the opening of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018 as President Xi Jinping’s special envoy. Liu Yandong, then vice-premier, was Xi’s special envoy at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Liu Yandong, then vice-premier, waves to Chinese athletes during the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Photo: AFP

Guo Hai, an associate researcher at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, said concerns over the pandemic were the most likely reason for China – and other countries – not to send officials to the Games.

“Covid-19 is the main reason,” Guo said. “The number of world leaders attending the opening ceremony will be much smaller than it usually is.”

But he also noted the recent tensions between China and Japan, saying this could have contributed to the decision.

“The absence of Chinese officials also reflects the fact that the two countries’ relations are not so smooth, especially lately with Japan raising concerns over Taiwan in its latest defence paper,” Guo said. “That’s had an impact on China-Japan ties.”

China has been angered in recent weeks after several senior Japanese officials broke with Tokyo’s traditionally neutral position to show support for self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing sees as its own territory. Japan also for the first time raised concerns over the Taiwan Strait in its annual defence white paper released last week, prompting a rebuke from China.

In Tokyo, the head of China’s Olympic delegation, Liu Guoyong, said they wanted to curb the decline in gold medals at recent Games and try to maintain “zero” Covid-19 infections.

China’s ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou told reporters that the embassy had been monitoring the pandemic situation and communicating with organisers to ensure the safety of athletes and staff at the event.