The Biden administration has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics amid the rising tensions between China and the US.
America accuses China of human rights abuses, for which it has decided to put diplomatic sanctions against the South Asian giant in the next largest sporting event of the world.
US diplomats will not attend Beijing Olympics
Citing human rights abuses in Xinjiang, White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted America decided against sending government officials to the 2022 Olympics and paralympic games.
Likewise, she added US officials would consider it just another event, as America could not endorse Chinese human rights brutalities. Biden already indicated last month the US was considering such a boycott from the Chinese Olympics in order to register its protest.
However, this boycott will not affect the participation of American athletes in the event.
The US won't send any diplomatic representatives to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing https://t.co/5pLlXmyPrx
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 6, 2021
Calling it a “grandstanding” event, Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said countries trying to boycott the Olympics must not do this. Otherwise, they will impact the peace process between the US and China.
Likewise, China threatened to take severe countermeasures if the USA does not change its decision. Many believe this boycott will prompt a similar sort of reaction from China when the United States hosts the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Although Beijing claimed it does not like politicizing sports, it already punished different US leagues in the past, including the National Basketball Association for political purposes.
The chief executive of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Sarah Hirsland, asserted despite the diplomatic boycott, US athletes would make the nation proud.
Human rights advocates urged the US to take tighter measures against China
While human rights watchdogs admired the US decision to boycott the event, most of them still want the US to take other resolute measures.
A director at the Human Rights Watch noted the United States should team up with like-minded governments to sanction China in various domains, in order to bring the authoritative country on track.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted to devise a collaborative strategy to counter China. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is the only major head of state who accepted the Chinese invitation to attend next year’s Olympics.
Jen Psaki also indicated while the US informed its allies about its decision, it is up to other countries whether they want to attend the Beijing Olympics or not.
The US government has announced a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing China's "ongoing genocide" in Xinjiang pic.twitter.com/RvUtm6bqTj
— DW News (@dwnews) December 6, 2021
Stefano Sannino, a top-level EU diplomat claimed the talks with the US regarding boycotting the Beijing Olympics were in progress. However, he said it is not a common EU policy decision and is the prerogative of individual states.
The United States is about to hold a Democracy Summit on December 9, in which more than 100 democracies are likely to team up against China and Russia.
