Xi Jinping meets IOC chief in Chinese leader’s first talks with foreign dignitary in nearly 2 years

Chinese president has not left country since the start of the pandemic and his last meeting with an international leader was in February 2020
Xi and Thomas Bach praise preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics

Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Mimi Lau

Published: 9:55pm, 25 Jan 2022

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Chinese President Xi Jinping met International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach on Tuesday, the first foreign dignitary Xi has received since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted two years ago.

The meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse comes 10 days before the official opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

In footage of the indoor meeting aired by state broadcaster CCTV, neither Xi nor Bach were seen wearing masks for the talks but put them on during the photo sessions. They also did not shake hands or touch elbows.

Xi’s last face-to-face meeting with a foreign dignitary was on February 27, 2020 when he met former Mongolia president Khaltmaa Battulga at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Chinese leader has not left the country since visiting Myanmar in January that year.

Bach arrived in Beijing on Saturday and went on a three-day isolation before his meeting with Xi. Other world leaders and dignitaries expected include Russian President Vladimir Putin, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

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Xi told Bach that China would “honour the promise to present to the world a simple, safe and spectacular Olympic gala”.

“This is the first international multiple sports event that will get to go ahead on schedule since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. [It is] a realisation of the faster, higher, stronger and more united Olympic motto,” Xi was quoted by CCTV as saying.

“The Beijing Olympic Games is not only supported by the Chinese people but also by the international community.

“We are fully confident of ensuring the safety of the Games and the health of the participants and Chinese people.”

The Games has been targeted by various countries and rights groups calling for a diplomatic boycott, citing concerns about China’s human rights record.

Covid-19 outbreaks across the country have added to the strain on event organisers.

Nearly 3,000 athletes from more than 90 countries are expected to take part.

In the meeting on Tuesday, Xi said that since Beijing won the bid to host the event, about 300 million Chinese people had taken up winter sports, bringing life to the winter sports industry.

Bach praised the preparation for the Games.

“We are impressed with China’s efficiency, determination and vitality,” he said.

“This is the first time for some nations to participate in the Winter Games. It fully shows how the Beijing Olympic Games has been widely supported by the world and the international community is also generally against politicalising sports events.”

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Bach was in the spotlight in November as calls for a boycott escalated when Chinese tennis star and Olympian Peng Shuai disappeared from public view.

She could not be contacted after a post appeared on her Weibo social media account accusing a retired senior government official of coercing her into sex.

Later that month, Peng had a video call with Bach, who offered assurances that the athlete was safe. Peng and Bach were expected to meet for dinner when he arrived in Beijing for the Games.

The Olympic chief and the IOC have long come under heavy criticism from rights groups for turning a blind eye to alleged crimes against humanity in China’s far western region of Xinjiang.