China warns of “resolute countermeasures” as US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 08, Dec 2021

China has warned that a US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics could harm the dialogue and co-operation between the two countries in important areas and called for politics to be kept out of sports. The US boycott comes just weeks after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met virtually in an effort to ease tensions in bilateral relations. On Monday, the White House said that US government officials would boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of China’s egregious human rights abuses and “atrocities” in Xinjiang, although US athletes are free to travel to Beijing to compete in the games.
 
Responding to the US move, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Tuesday, China opposes the boycott and would take “resolute countermeasures”. He urged the US to stop bringing politics into sports, adding that the boycott went against Olympic principles. He did not offer any details about Beijing’s countermeasures, but any such steps now threaten to derail bilateral relations once again even before the two countries could stabilize the turbulent relations. Previously, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia had all said they were considering a diplomatic boycott. Other major countries have yet to announce if they will follow the U.S. lead.

Activists have long called for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Games in protest of China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, and its political crackdown on Hong Kong. Over the past month, Beijing's silencing of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai's sexual assault allegations against a former top Chinese leader has further amplified such calls. The Chinese mission to the United Nations has called the US move a reflection of "its mentality of the Cold War." Beijing Winter Olympics is slated to kick off on 4th February next year.

Sources : News On Air