Beijing Winter Olympics: US announced diplomatic boycott

Washington, Dec 07: US officials will not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in China after Beijing pledged unspecified countermeasures against any such diplomatic boycott. Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that those calling for a boycott are grandstanding and should stop so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the US in important areas.

If the US insists on willingly clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures, he said. Beijing also said that it opposes the politicisation of sports. US President Joe Biden had last month said that the boycott would not prevent its athletes from competing in the games. The US is hosting the Olympics in 2028.