INTERNATIONAL: More than 30 heads of state to join China’s President Xi Jinping for the opening ceremony. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is among confirmed guests for the February 4 event, including the King of Cambodia, His Royal Highness King Norodom Sihamoni.

China’s President Xi Jinping will also host banquets for visiting dignitaries, but the only bilateral meeting announced so far is with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

China’s leader will officiate at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday, and host diplomatic activities for visiting foreign dignitaries over the weekend.

China’s foreign ministry has confirmed Xi would hold welcome banquets from February 4 to 6 for dignitaries attending the Games opener, which will include more than 30 heads of state, government, royal families and international organisations.

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 King of Cambodia , His Royal Highness King Norodom Sihamoni.

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.