The Biden administration announced on Monday that U.S. officials will not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after China has pledged to take unspecified “countermeasures” against any such diplomatic boycott.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said earlier that the call for boycotts is “grand sensation” and should be stopped “so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas.” “If the U.S. insists on sticking to its own opinions, China will take resolute countermeasures,” he said at a press conference.

US President Joe Biden said last month that he is considering such a diplomatic boycott to protest China’s human rights record, including what Washington calls the genocide against a minority of Muslims.

The US boycott will not prevent its athletes from participating in the competition. The United States will next host the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, which raises questions about how China might respond during this period. Beijing has expressed opposition to the politicization of sports, but in the past it has punished American sports leagues, including the American Basketball Association, for violating its political red line. By publishing an editorial, it is said that casting a blank ballot is one of the “last ways” for residents to express their dissent. The American media issued the warning letter on Monday when the ruling Communist Party of China was transforming this commercial center into a place more similar to the authoritarian mainland.

News source : Hindustan times