China reveals guest list of world leaders for Winter Olympics

More than 30 heads of states, governments, international organizations traveling to China despite US-led diplomatic boycott

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – More than 30 heads of states, governments, and international organizations will attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics next week, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

President Xi Jinping will hold a “welcome banquet for foreign heads of state, heads of government, members of the royal family and heads of international organizations attending the opening ceremony, and have relevant bilateral activities,” ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

The list of visiting dignitaries includes Russian President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Argentina, Ecuador and Mongolia will also be in Beijing, along with UN chief Antonio Guterres, UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Royals including Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Prince Albert II of Monaco are also among the attendees.

The presence of these dignitaries comes despite a boycott by multiple Western nations, including the US, UK and Canada, because of concerns about China’s human rights record.

Beijing denies any wrongdoing and has termed the allegations of rights violations a “political virus” used by the West to malign China.

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