Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday to bolster ties with China amid Ukraine Crisis and Western pressure.

The two leaders will attend the opening of the Winter Games on Friday, which also marks their first in-person meeting since 2019.

According to Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, Putin's visit to China puts the Russia-Chinese friendship to a new level, which he considers as a "key factor" that contributes to "sustainable global development" and acts as a defense for "destructive activities" by certain nations.

He stated that Moscow and Beijing intend to issue a joint statement on international relations highlighting their shared views on global security and other concerns. The leaders from the powerful countries will finalize more than a dozen trade, energy, and other agreements as per AP News.

Ushakov noted that Moscow and Beijing have similar or identical positions on most international issues. He also specifically stressed that China backs Russia in the ongoing tensions with Ukraine.

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Putin Criticizes US And Allies' Beijing Olympics Boycott

Putin wrote in an article for the Chinese news agency Xinhua that Moscow and Beijing play an "important stabilizing role" in global politics and contribute to making international relations "more equitable and inclusive."

Putin also blasted the move by some nations to "politicize sports to the benefit of their ambitions," which refers to a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics by the United States and its allies.

US and Western officials will skip the Beijing Olympics to protest the Chinese government's detention of more than a million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. According to Wall Street Journal, the officials alleged that Beijing's operation in the region is a sort of genocide.

Putin emphasized in an interview that he is not in favor of attempts to politicize sports events or "use it as a tool of coercion, unfair competition, and discrimination."

For Li Xin, director of the Institute of European and Asian Studies at the University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, the Putin-XI meeting exhibits "further promotion" of the relationship between Moscow and Beijing.

Team USA's Flag Bearers Revealed

Meanwhile, as per Sports Illustrated, Team USA has voted five-time Olympic curler John Shusternd four-time Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor to be the nation's flag bearers at the Beijing Olympics.

Shuster is the first American curler to be chosen as a flag carrier, being one of four five-time Olympians representing Team USA in Beijing. Meanwhile, Taylor is the only American woman to win three Olympic bobsled medals, two silvers, and one bronze.

Though Taylor announced that she wouldn't be able to perform her duty as flag bearer in the Olympics opening ceremony after testing positive for COVID-18, speedskater Brittany Bowe will take her place.

In a statement, Taylor expressed her gratitude for being selected to be the flag bearer of Team USA. "While I cannot carry the flag and walk in with the rest of Team USA, Brittany is very deserving of the opportunity to lead our delegation on my behalf," she said.

She described Bowe as an "incredible person with an exemplary character," and she's excited to watch the two flag bearers lead Team USA at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games.

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