Red carpet before the festivities: Xi Jinping welcomes, on Friday February 4, in Beijing, his Russian "friend" Vladimir Putin for a rare diplomatic tête-à-tête in a period of epidemic, a few hours before the start of the Winter Olympics.

The Chinese president has not left his country since January 2020, when China counted its first deaths from Covid-19 with horror and confined the city of Wuhan (center), where the virus had been discovered a few weeks earlier.

Xi Jinping's last known meeting with a foreign leader was nearly two years ago when the President of Pakistan visited China.

"Common Vision"

On the occasion of the Games, which begin at 8:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT), the Chinese president is preparing to receive several leaders, including Vladimir Putin, at the center of world attention because of fears of a Russian invasion in Ukraine.

The Kremlin is accused by the West of wanting to launch an invasion of Ukraine, pointing to the approximately 100,000 Russian soldiers deployed for weeks on the border of its pro-Western neighbor.

Russia denies it and says it only wants to guarantee its security, while Washington plans to send 3,000 military reinforcements to Eastern Europe.

During their meeting in Beijing, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will underline their "common vision" in terms of international security, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, claiming Chinese support in the Ukrainian crisis.

For its security, Moscow demands in particular that NATO undertake to refuse Ukraine's membership, a request rejected by the West.

At the end of January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended Russia's "reasonable concerns" for its security during a telephone exchange with his American counterpart Antony Blinken about Ukraine.

Boycott and health bubble

Vladimir Putin regularly praises his country's relationship with China and maintains close ties with President Xi Jinping, his "dear friend".

But the two allies have not seen each other face-to-face since the start of the pandemic.

Several Western countries, led by the United States, have decided to snub the Beijing Olympics to denounce human rights violations in China, particularly in its Xinjiang region (northwest) where the Uyghur Muslim minority lives.

Under a "diplomatic boycott", the Americans and some of their allies will not send any officials to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony.

Their athletes, on the other hand, will compete well.

In a column published Thursday by the new China agency, Mr. Putin in person denounced without naming them the United States and their “attempt to mix sport and politics for the benefit of their selfish interests”.

Without claiming a boycott, many countries have invoked the pandemic not to send a head of state to Beijing.

In the absence of Western headliners, Chinese power is making up for it with a list of friendly leaders, some of whom are in trouble with Washington or human rights.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are among the 20 or so leaders present.

The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is also expected, in the wake of bloody riots repressed with the help of Moscow and the approval of China.

Guests will be treated to a welcome banquet before the opening ceremony, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The health protocol surrounding the visit of foreign leaders is not known, while the Olympics take place in a health bubble from which athletes, managers and journalists cannot leave.

With AFP

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