Xi set for trip to Sochi Games

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President Xi Jinping is to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, from Feb 6 to 8, the first overseas trip by a Chinese president for a major sports event.

Xi also visited Russia last year after becoming president.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Monday, "Mutual support is an important feature of China-Russia relations."

In 2008, then-Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who is now the country's president, attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Xi's trip to Sochi, at Putin's invitation, "fully shows China's support of Russia and reflects friendship between the two heads of state," Hong said.

He wished the Sochi Winter Olympics, being held from Feb 7 to 23, "full success."

In mid-December, the Sochi 2017 steering committee said that about 40 world leaders would visit the Games, although some, including US President Barack Obama, have said they will not attend.

Reuters said on Monday that Xi's decision to attend is a positive development for Putin, who has attached great importance to the Games.

Yang Cheng, deputy director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said, "For Russia, Beijing's support for the Winter Olympics is incredibly important, as some Western leaders are not attending."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned Beijing's efforts to consolidate ties with Moscow on Dec16 at a seminar reviewing China's foreign policies over the past year.

Wang described relations with Moscow as "the most high-level and most enriched strategic partnership in China's foreign relations".

Li Jianmin, an expert in Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that although Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will also attend the opening ceremony in Sochi, there is no possibility of a meeting with Xi.

The Chinese government has said that Abe's December visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead including high-ranking war criminals, has closed the door on dialogue.

Questions:

1. Why is President Xi’s going to Sochi, Russia?

2. When are the Winter Olympics?

3. What did Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei say about the president’s trip?

Answers:

1. To attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

2. Feb. 7-23.

3. The trip "fully shows China's support of Russia and reflects friendship between the two heads of state," he said.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.