ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s participation in Beijing 2022 is aimed at showing “solidarity” with China, as next month’s event has been boycotted by several Western countries.

The 2022 Winter Olympics is set to take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 in the Chinese capital and venues near neighboring towns of Yanqing and Chongli. It will be the second Olympics to take place under strict COVID-19 rules, as the pandemic enters its third year.

Some 2,900 athletes from over 90 countries are expected to attend the Winter Games in China. Alpine skier Mohammad Karim will be Pakistan’s only athlete to compete following the withdrawal of fellow alpine skier Mia Nuriah Freudweiler due to injury.

Amid geopolitical tensions, the US, UK, Canada and Australia announced a diplomatic boycott of the event over China’s human rights record. Their athletes will still participate in the games, but no government official will be present.

“History has shown that Pakistan and China have stood by each other in every difficult time and the main purpose of the visit to China is to express solidarity but at the same time there will be meetings and negotiations on the sidelines,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement.

The Pakistani prime minister will be in China on Feb. 3-5 and is scheduled to meet China’s president, Xi Jinping, and premier, Li Keqiang.

“Our relationship with China is ideal, no one can deny its importance,” Qureshi said, adding that during Khan’s visit, talks are expected with Chinese leadership on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project.

“We have formed a special task force with China to advance joint ventures, including CPEC, increase investment volume and economic stability,” he added. 

CPEC is a central part of the Belt and Road Initiative, under which Beijing has pledged over $60 billion for infrastructure projects in Pakistan, much of it in the form of loans. The plan is part of China’s aim to forge “Silk Road” land and sea ties to markets in the Middle East and Europe.