Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well during a video call with the International Olympic Committee chief Sunday, the organisation said, amid international concern about her well-being after her explosive claims of sexual assault.

At the beginning of a 30-minute call with IOC President Thomas Bach, "Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being," the organisation said in a statement.

"She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time," it said.

"That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now. Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much."

Earlier Sunday, Peng was seen attending a Beijing tennis tournament, in official photos of the event, marking her first public appearance since she made her accusations against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli, and they were scrubbed from the Chinese internet.

The 35-year-old two-time Grand Slam doubles champion alleged earlier this month that Gaoli, now in his 70s, forced her into sex during an on-off relationship spanning several years.

Following a global outcry, including from tennis superstars and the United Nations, Chinese state media reporters have released a flurry of footage purporting to show all is well with Peng.

A video from the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals event, tweeted by Global Times newspaper editor Hu Xijin, shows Peng standing in a stadium among a group of guests whose names are announced to a smattering of applause.

A Global Times reporter tweeted another video showing Peng signing autographs for children at what appears to be the same stadium before posing for photos with them.

Hu also posted two other videos on Saturday, the first showing Peng walking into a restaurant wearing a coat, knit cap and face mask, and the second of a maskless Peng sitting at a table chatting with people over a meal.

AFP could not verify the authenticity of the videos.

Hu tweeted in English that the second video shows "Peng Shuai was having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant. The video content clearly shows they are shot on Saturday Beijing time".

The chat appears to be staged. Peng appears relaxed in the footage, which appears to have been taken with a mobile phone, but those with her are at pains to emphasise the date in somewhat stilted comments.

- 'Insufficient' -

Peng's claims against Zhang were the first time China's #MeToo movement has touched the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party.

They were quickly scrubbed from the Twitter-like Weibo platform, and concerns for her safety have mounted ever since.

The Women's Tennis Association has threatened to end lucrative contracts with China unless it gets word of Peng's safety.

On the restaurant videos, WTA boss Steve Simon said he was glad to see the images but "it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference".

"This video alone is insufficient," Simon said in a statement.

"I have been clear about what needs to happen and our relationship with China is at a crossroads."

A WTA spokeswoman later told AFP that Sunday's images from the Beijing tournament still did not address their concerns.

IOC Athletes' Commission chair Emma Terho nevertheless said she was relieved after Sunday's video call, in which she took part.

"I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern," Terho said in the IOC statement.

"She appeared to be relaxed. I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated."

- 'Independent, verifiable proof' -

A growing chorus of voices in the sports world and beyond has been demanding answers about Peng's situation.

US President Joe Biden's press secretary said his administration wanted China to "provide independent, verifiable proof" of her whereabouts.

Britain's foreign office also said it was "extremely concerned" and urged China to release verifiable evidence, while France's foreign minister said she should be allowed to speak freely to clarify her situation.

The United Nations has insisted on a fully transparent investigation into the claims made by Peng.

Some of the biggest names in tennis have spoken out about the case, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka.

Peng represented China at the Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro Olympics and won gold for China at the 2010 Asian Games.

She is a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion.

Zhang Gaoli: former China vice premier accused by Peng
Beijing (AFP) Nov 23, 2021 - With his clean record and the austere air of a Chinese Communist Party cadre, nothing seemed to indicate Zhang Gaoli would, at the age of 75, find himself embroiled in a sex scandal with global repercussions.

The former vice premier (2013-18) has been accused by tennis champion Peng Shuai -- in a message promptly censored on Chinese social networks -- of forcing her to have sex during a long-term on-off relationship.

The tennis world has expressed concern about the fate of the player, who was not seen in public for three weeks after making the allegations in early November.

Zhang has not appeared in public view and has not responded to the claims.

Born in 1946 in Jinjiang, in the southeastern province of Fujian, Zhang rose through the party ranks to finally serve for five years on the Politburo Standing Committee, which counts President Xi Jinping among its seven members at the apex of Chinese power.

The lowest-ranking member of the ruling circle, considered number seven in the country, Zhang oversaw major infrastructure projects but kept a low profile.

"He remained quite colourless" during these five years, said political analyst Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"He hasn't distinguished himself in any particular aspect and he isn't associated with any particular achievement."

Before he stepped down in 2018, Zhang was head of a working group on preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics, which open next February.

In this capacity he received International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in June 2016.

It was Bach who spoke with Peng on Sunday, in a video call in which she said she was fine.

Zhang was considered close to premier Li Keqiang and in particular former president Jiang Zemin (1993-2003) -- who despite being 95 years old retains some influence in the corridors of power at the head of the so-called Shanghai faction.

"(Zhang) was able to climb up the hierarchy because of the patronage of powerful leaders," Lam told AFP.

Zhang has been discreet about his successes, and has not been implicated in corruption scandals -- unlike many Chinese officials with links to large companies.

"His record is relatively clean," Lam said.

- Political ascent -

An economics graduate, Zhang spent much of his career in a state firm in the oil sector in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong.

It was there that his political ascent began, first as deputy governor of the province (1988), then as party chief in the boom town of Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong (1997).

He went on to become governor of the eastern province of Shandong and then served as party secretary for the northern municipality of Tianjin.

It was there that he first had an intimate relationship with Peng, 40 years his junior, around 2011, according to a message attributed to the tennis star.

Then three years ago, after she had played in a tennis match, Peng alleges Zhang forced her into sex at his home and that his wife knew about it and "stood guard outside".

In her message, Peng acknowledged her feelings for Zhang, saying their "personalities match up" and reproached him for drawing her into a toxic, secret relationship.

"You were always afraid that I would hide a tape recorder," she wrote. "You will certainly deny it or else you will go so far as to attack me."

They remained lovers until an argument a few days before Peng posted her allegations on the Twitter-like Weibo, according to her message.

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Censors, legal hurdles stifle China's #MeToo movement
Beijing (AFP) Nov 20, 2021
China's #MeToo movement has stumbled in the face of swift internet censors, a patriarchal society and a legal system that places a heavy burden on the claimant. Explosive claims this month by tennis star Peng Shuai that a former top Communist Party politician had sexually assaulted her marked the first time allegations have hit the top layer of government. But her accusations were swiftly scrubbed from the Chinese internet, and she has not been seen publicly since. Others have faced the same ... read more