Chinese President Xi Jinping met in person with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in Beijing, possibly his first face time with a foreign dignitary since the early days of the pandemic.
The last known meeting that 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, Xi’s lack of foreign travel — he hasn’t left the country in just over two years — raises concern his absence from major events hinders global progress on everything from climate change to disputes with the U.S.
The last time Xi returned from a trip abroad was on Jan. 18, 2020, after visiting neighboring 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 virus that causes COVID-19.
