While the world is busy watching (or not watching!) the Olympics bound by vaccine requirements, masking mandates, and other COVID-related protocols, the Ethiopian government is holding its annual (cancelled last year due to COVID) African Union Summit.
A full house is in motion with African leaders filling the Addis Ababa downtown that is renewed, and re-invigorated, through Abiy's Ethiopian Renaissance plan.
As far as I know, there is no Ethiopian governmental representative in the Beijing Olympics, although on athlete, an Eritrean (close enough), is competing in Alpine Skiing.
How did it happen that the Olympics and the AU Summit took place at the same time? Isn't the China-Ethiopia "relationship" strong? Or is it on the rocks? Abiy could have postponed, for another two weeks, his already postponed summit. But he didn't.
What does PM Abiy and his government think about how Russia is treating Ukraine, and how China has come to the aid of Russia's position?
What could happen to Ethiopia if it refuses to follow Chinese directions? Would Russia also jump in the fray?
So, I think the agenda to continue with the AU Summit despite conflicting with the Beijing Olympics is a significant one.
Abiy is turning inward, inward into Ethiopia, and into a larger African unity.
That is much more important than postponing the AU Summit, or even sending a delegation to the Chinese Olympics.
Of course, none of this is overtly presented, but much is implied in PM Abiy's covert, clever and astute behavior.