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A foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that he had no information to offer at the moment when asked to comment on a media report that will visit next week.

The Guardian reported on Thursday that plans are underway in Saudi Arabia for a gala reception for Xi, without saying where it got the information from.

Xi has not made any official visit to a foreign country since January 2020, a month whichÌýsaw an increase inÌýcoronavirus cases, before countries across the globeÌýstarted goingÌýinto lockdown.

China hasÌýÌýin the Xinjiang region for several years, orchestrating a policy of mass surveillance, detention and torture which human rights groups have called "genocide".

Rights groups say countries like Saudi Arabia, anÌýeconomic ally of Beijing, haveÌý.

Jinping said last April that China must stick to its strict "dynamic CovidÌýclearance" policy while the global pandemic remains very serious.

Under China's tough rules, even people with asymptomatic or very mild cases must go into quarantine at centralised facilities, where many people have complained about poor conditions.

(Reuters)