China’s foreign ministry had announced that 25 heads of state and other leaders would attend the opening ceremony. A total of 24 leaders ultimately showed up, and Xi has met with 18.
Xi had avoided face-to-face meetings with foreign leaders since February 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic spread.
He appears to have seen the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to resume in-person diplomacy, providing momentum heading into this fall’s National People’s Congress where he will seek a third term.
But those plans have not progressed as expected.
China’s foreign ministry told Nikkei that the absence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was due to a scheduling issue.
Considering Saudi Arabia is China’s top source of imported oil, the crown prince’s sudden cancellation scuttled an opportunity for Xi to strengthen ties.
India announced a diplomatic boycott on the day before the Feb 4 opening ceremony, withdrawing its top envoy.
The last-minute pullout was triggered by the Olympic torch relay’s inclusion of a Chinese commander involved in 2020 border clashes between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape attended the opening ceremony, but tested positive for Covid-19, according to the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.
Xi has met with the leaders of Russia, Central Asian nations, Eastern European countries, and Southeast Asian countries including Singapore and Cambodia.
Many of the leaders are from countries favourably inclined toward China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, as well as from authoritarian regimes.
The US, the UK and Australia were among those to announce diplomatic boycotts in December. In addition to Group of Seven nations, representation has been scarce from other democracies.
The pandemic also likely undercut the number of leaders going to the Beijing Games.
About 20 heads of states attended the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, while around 40 attended the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.