International Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday accused U.S. politicians of grandstanding over the difficulty of not sending dignitaries to attend the occasions.
China on Monday threatened to take “agency countermeasures” if the U.S. proceeds with a diplomatic boycott of February’s Beijing Winter Olympic Video games.
International Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused U.S. politicians of grandstanding over the difficulty of not sending dignitaries to attend the occasions that China hopes will showcase its financial improvement and technological prowess.
Talking to reporters at a day by day briefing, Zhao mentioned such a transfer can be an “outright political provocation,” however gave no particulars on how China would retaliate.
U.S. President Joe Biden has mentioned he’s contemplating a boycott, below which American athletes would nonetheless compete, and an announcement is predicted this week. Supporters of such a step cite China’s poor document on human rights as justification, saying China is utilizing the video games to whitewash its sick therapy of civil rights activists, political dissidents and ethnic minorities.
“With out being invited, American politicians preserve hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic, which is solely wishful pondering and grandstanding,” Zhao advised reporters at a day by day briefing.
“If the U.S. facet is bent on going its personal approach, China will take agency countermeasures,” Zhao mentioned.
The dispatching of high-level delegations to every Olympics has lengthy been a practice among the many U.S. and different main nations — then-president George W. Bush attended the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer season Video games. First girl Jill Biden led the American contingent to the Summer season Olympics in Tokyo this 12 months and second gentleman Doug Emhoff led a delegation to the Paralympic Video games.
The opportunity of a diplomatic boycott comes because the U.S. makes an attempt to stabilize turbulent relations with Beijing, even because it maintains a troublesome strategy towards commerce frictions and conflicts over China’s actions on Taiwan, human rights, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
Beijing has mounted a stiff response to all U.S. criticisms, denouncing them as interference in its inside affairs and slapping visa bans on American politicians it regards as anti-China.
It wasn’t clear who the U.S. might need despatched to Beijing for the video games and Zhao’s feedback appeared to point that China has not prolonged any invites.
Australia, whose ties with China have nosedived over a variety of disputes, has additionally raised the potential for a diplomatic boycott.
