Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics: more than 30 heads of state to join China’s Xi Jinping for opening ceremony

Russia’s Vladimir Putin is among confirmed guests for the February 4 event, as are the UN and WHO chiefs

President Xi will also host banquets for visiting dignitaries, but the only bilateral meeting announced so far is with Putin

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A man walks past an installation showing the mascots of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games in Beijing on Friday. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:12pm, 28 Jan 2022Updated: 6:09am, 29 Jan 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping will officiate at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics next Friday, and host diplomatic activities for visiting foreign dignitaries over the weekend.

China’s foreign ministry said Xi would hold welcome banquets from February 4 to 6 for dignitaries attending the Games opener, which will include more than 30 heads of state, government, royal families and international organisations.

Xi would also attend a range of bilateral events during the period, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday.

This comes after the Games was hit by diplomatic boycotts weeks before it opened, with Western politicians and activists denouncing China’s allegedly poor human rights record.

The US in December became the first nation to declare such a boycott over rights “atrocities”, with Canada, Australia and Britain following within days.

China has called the boycotts “political posturing” and a smear campaign, warning that these countries would have a price to pay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a confirmed guest at the opening ceremony, while European representatives will include those from Poland, Serbia, Luxembourg and Monaco.

Also present will be dignitaries from Cambodia, Singapore, the five Central Asian nations, Mongolia, Pakistan, Argentina, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to an updated guest list released by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday.

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