Blasting the boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics announced by the Biden administration earlier on Monday as “political manipulation,” Beijing has shot back soon after saying American leaders hadn’t been invited to the event, to begin with.
Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the US, pointed that although Washington’s decision is a grave distortion of the spirit of the Olympic Charter, it would have no negative effect on Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February since no one would care about “if these people come or not”.
Liu said that the diplomatic boycott simply comes out of nowhere since no invitation has been extended to US politicians and even went a step further in the rebuke, sharing on Twitter a graphic post denouncing the “State of Democracy in the United States” and its system.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also denounced the boycott as ideological prejudice doomed to fail, pointing that the US is trying to disrupt the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but warned it’ll only lead to the loss of the moral authority and credibility of the United States.
The ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stressed that the boycott would harm bilateral dialogue and cooperation between the two nations, adding that the US will pay a price for its mistakes
Beijing’s embassy in the Czech Republic also joined the rebuke, telling Washington to “stop self-flattering”.
The boycott that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki justified citing human rights abuses and crimes against humanity against China’s ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang province, comes despite the recent calls to Biden from Beijing to pursue more positive ties.
It’s unclear if other Western countries and US allies will follow Biden’s steps since despite reports suggesting that Australia and the UK were considering a diplomatic boycott, a UK official said that Downing Street fears they’ll be seen as the US “poodle” if they join the boycott.
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