Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not present at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday, despite being on the official Chinese entry list.
Instead, the Saudi delegation consisted of Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, the Saudi ambassador to the US.
On January 28, the Chinese embassy in Saudi Arabia tweeted a warm welcome note to the crown prince for the opening ceremony, adding that it hoped the visit would further Sino-Saudi strategic relations.
Prince bin Salman was one of the most high-profile world leaders to attend the event, which was overshadowed by diplomatic boycotts by many Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Prince bin Salman did not attend the opening ceremony due to “his schedule”.
“Prince Mohammed himself wished the Beijing Winter Olympics every success,” the statement said.
Prince bin Salman also failed to attend a banquet for foreign leaders hosted on Saturday by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, as reported by state media CGTN.
The Twitter account of the Saudi Arabian embassy in the US posted a video of the Saudi princess waving to the Saudi team during the opening ceremony. Alpine skier Faiq Abdi is the first athlete from Saudi Arabia to ever compete in a Winter Olympics.
This post has been updated with comments from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.