Washington is to announce this week a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which means that no US government officials will attend the next year’s games, in an effort by the US to send a message on the world stage to China.
A full boycott is not expected which means that this move will send the message without preventing US athletes from competing.
Although the National Security Council, which was discussing the boycott privately, declined to comment officially, several sources have allegedly confirmed the pending diplomatic boycott President Biden pointed last month as something they’re considering.
Though she did not describe what a diplomatic boycott would specifically look like, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that there are a range of factors where they look at what their presence will be, keeping in mind Biden previously saying he has “serious concerns” about issues in China, including human rights abuses.
GOP Sen. Mitt Romney has also called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing games previously in March, stressing that authoritarian states like China abuse the Olympics treating them as a propaganda tool instead a lever of reform.
He pointed he finds it unacceptable for China to have the honor of hosting the Olympics while the Chinese Communist Party commits genocide against the Uyghurs.
His demand was followed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in May supporting the boycott by saying the US cannot proceed as if nothing is wrong.
The last time US athletes boycotted the games was during the 1980 Olympics in Moscow while former President Jimmy Carter was in office.
Following the announcement of the US boycott, Beijing warned Washington of possibly taking resolute countermeasures against the Biden administration, demanding the US to
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian pointed that the US should reconsider the diplomatic boycott he called a sensationalist and politically manipulative move and a stain on the spirit of the Olympic charter, so it won’t affect China-US dialogue and cooperation in important areas.
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