Residents wearing masks pass by propaganda boards promoting the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, on Nov. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

       BEIJING (Kyodo) -- China said Tuesday that it is arranging to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, while U.S. President Joe Biden has said he is considering a "diplomatic boycott" of the sports event.

       China has been recently trying to bolster its relations with Russia, as its tensions with the United States have been intensifying over several issues such as its alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and security challenges to self-ruled democratic Taiwan.

       President Xi Jinping and Putin believe that the Sino-Russian partnership is "close and good," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. In 2014, Xi attended the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics at Putin's invitation.

       China and Russia's predecessor state, the Soviet Union, were competitors during the Cold War, as they were at odds over interpretations and practical applications of Marxism-Leninism, the ideology of 20th-century communism.

       The two countries, however, have been deepening their ties of late, as their relations with the United States have deteriorated.

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