By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Yew Lun Tian

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Mixed doubles curling began competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The shadow of war and impending arrival by Russian President Vladimir Putin loomed over an already transformative event.

The British and Swedish curling teams clashed in Beijing’s “closed Loop”, where athletes from around the globe will be competing until February 20th before sparse crowds.

Yao Ming is a Chinese basketball star and Yao Ming was wounded during a border conflict with India. This torch relay will last only three days, and can be viewed only by select members of the public until the Olympic cauldron lights.

The main Olympic event was still the Russian President’s political confrontation with Putin over Ukraine. He will be there in a gesture of unity and cooperation with Xi Jinping.

Putin is extremely busy right now. Shi Yinhong said that Putin is present because he must be,” a Renmin University international relations professor in Beijing. “Putin is aware that China is essential for Russia as Russia is for China.”

While many Western countries including Australia, Britain and the United States are boycotting the Winter Olympics due to China’s human rights record over the Olympics, Putin will attend the Games with several Beijing-friendly leaders.

Several leaders from the Middle East and Asia were expected to attend, including Imran Khan of Pakistan and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Only Poland, Serbia and Estonia have indicated that they would send their heads to Europe.

The opening ceremony will be attended by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who told reporters last month that it wasn’t a “political trip”.

“The Olympic Ideal is something we must cherish and that’s why I’m going.”

PUTINXI SHOW

Putin on Tuesday charged the West with luring Russia to war. He hasn’t said whether or not he will be meeting other leaders of the world while in Beijing.

However, his meetings with Xi are being closely followed for indications of greater cooperation between China and Russia. These two countries have grown closer in recent years as their ties have deteriorated.

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Xi will spend a lot of time discussing Europe’s security and Russia’s demands of the West. Putin also stated that he would brief his Chinese counterpart on Russia’s negotiations with NATO.

According to a Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, Putin would fly to Beijing on Thursday. He and Xi will have lunch on Friday. They could also sign over 15 agreements. He said that Russia and China will discuss increased gas supplies and financial cooperation.

He stated that serious efforts had been made to establish a financial network which is resistant to the threat of sanctions.

Russia wasn’t allowed to attend the Games under doping sanctions. This was to sanction Moscow for having manipulated laboratory data which would have been helpful to international anti-doping agencies to identify drug cheats.

Putin will observe Russia’s competitors in the third consecutive Olympics.

Alexander Gabuev (chair of the Russia-Pacific Program at Carnegie Moscow Center) predicted that Putin could strike a deal with Xi to expand the Power of Siberia’s capacity to transport gas from Eastern Russia to China over 4,000km (2,485miles).

Vasily Kashin of Moscow’s HSE University said, “Even though we have to put aside the entire international political situation, it will still be an essential visit during which some decisions may be outlined.”

THE WEST’S STAND

Analysts believe that Xi will be able to navigate a delicate line regarding Ukraine, despite the fact that Russia’s increasing cooperation with China may cause concern for the West.

China may prefer for the Ukraine crisis to demand increased U.S. diplomatic attention and not require Beijing to side, according to Bonny Lin, senior fellow and director, China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Beijing said this: There is no conflict between Ukraine and Russia in their best interests,” she stated.

The best situation for China would be to maintain its current status, deescalate slightly, and get enough attention to divert the U.S. from Indo-Pacific. But it doesn’t force China into any difficult decisions or take any harsh consequences.

The United States must show its regional allies that it’s not so focused on Ukraine as to forget about China. This is according to Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Neil Price said Monday at a briefing that the Biden administration is more than ready to handle diplomatic efforts from multiple fronts.

“We’re a large country. We’re a large department. To avoid repeating an outdated metaphor, we are able to walk and chew gum simultaneously.