The games will take place amid tight security and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced 20 days of “special action” starting last week to regulate online information about the event.

The internet watchdog said it wanted to target “one-sided and distorted” information, “malicious speculation on negative topics involving university students”, content that was discriminatory or might incite “group antagonism” and the “fictional filming of local ‘poverty’”.

Chen Wenqing, the Communist Party’s security chief, visited Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, last month and urged the city to improve internal security and work with neighbouring provinces.

Many of the foreign leaders visiting will not have met Xi face to face since the start of the pandemic.

There are 89 countries and regions sending teams to the event, but there are some high-profile absentees.

New Zealand and Canada pulled out last year due to pandemic concerns after the first postponement while Britain and Mexico quit the event this year citing financial concerns.

China’s Covid lockdowns spark World University Games fears, 5 teams pull-out

The United States will not send a swimming team, with a spokesman saying it would only send a delegation “if we feel the locations provide the best opportunities for our athletes”.

The International University Sports Federation, the event’s governing body, has also banned Russia and Belarus from taking part as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.