According to the IOC, COVID-19 measures set to be in place at Beijing 2022 and Xi's recent visit to venues due to be used at the Games were among the topics discussed by the Chinese President and Bach.

The statement from the IOC made no mention of whether the alleged human rights abuses being committed by China and calls for the organisation to strip Beijing of the Games were discussed.

China's clampdown in Hong Kong and the alleged mass internment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang has been the subject of growing criticism across the world.

Politicians and human rights groups are among those to have urged the IOC to move the event from Beijing amid the alleged mistreatment of its own citizens, while others have claimed the Games in the Chinese capital should be boycotted.

The IOC said Xi and Bach "discussed the close cooperation between the IOC and Chinese authorities with regard to health matters and the measures already being taken to ensure safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2022".

Xi "informed President Bach about the strengthened health measures the Chinese authorities are currently also taking with regard to the organisation of sports events", the IOC added.

"The Chinese President also offered cooperation with the IOC to ensure that both the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be safe and successful," the IOC said.

A surge in coronavirus cases across the world has increased speculation over whether the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will go ahead in the event's rescheduled July 23 to August 8 slot this year.

There are less than six months between the Closing Ceremony of Tokyo 2020 and the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 4.

The IOC has insisted both Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 will take place despite the global health crisis.