Xi Jinping's meeting with IOC chief Bach marks rare in-person foreign interaction

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese President Xi Jinping met International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach in person in Beijing on Tuesday (Jan 25), possibly his first face time with a foreign dignitary since the early days of the pandemic.

The last known meeting that Mr Xi had with a foreign leader was in March 2020, when he and Pakistani President Arif Alvi discussed measures to fight the coronavirus in the Chinese capital, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Besides avoiding face-to-face meetings, Mr Xi's lack of foreign travel - he has not left the country in slightly over two years - raises concern his absence from major events hinders global progress on everything from climate change to disputes with the United States.

The last time Mr Xi returned from a trip abroad was on Jan 18, 2020, after visiting neighbouring Myanmar. That came five days before his government locked down the city of Wuhan, a move that alerted the world to the severity of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

In Tuesday's meeting, which came just a week before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Mr Xi and Mr Bach talked about the Olympic Truce resolution adopted by United Nations member states, as well as Covid-19 measures and the closed-loop management system being employed for the Winter Games, according to a statement from the IOC.

Mr Xi told Mr Bach China would fulfil its promise to present a simple, safe and splendid Winter Olympics, and that China is fully confident it will protect the health and safety of its people and the participants in the games, Chinese state TV reported.

In November, Mr Bach invited Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai to dinner while he is in Beijing.

The invitation came during a call in which Ms Peng assured Mr Bach she was safe because she had disappeared from public view after writing about a tumultuous affair with a top official. The IOC has not responded to a request for details on any dinner.

This week, organisers of the Australian Open reversed a ban on political slogans on T-shirts following criticism of the removal of some attendees for displaying messages supporting Ms Peng.