The Biden administration said Monday it would not send an official United States delegation to the Beijing Winter Games as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang." US athletes will still be allowed to compete in the Games.
Prior to the official announcement, Beijing warned it would take "resolute countermeasures" against Washington if the diplomatic boycott went ahead. "US politicians keep hyping a 'diplomatic boycott' without even being invited to the Games. This wishful thinking and pure grandstanding is aimed at political manipulation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a news conference Monday local time.
Zhao called the boycott "a grave travesty of the spirit of the Olympic charter" and "a serious insult to 1.4 billion Chinese people."
