Joe Biden’s government plans to announce this week a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics

The US government plans to announce this week None of the top US officials will attend the Winter Olympics Organized in February by the Chinese system in Beijing, a diplomatic boycott that would in principle not involve changes in the sports field, but it was not a precedent since 1980.

Therefore, with Jimmy Carter in the White House, the United States politically distanced itself from the Olympic Games in Moscow and also did not allow the participation of athletes, a measure endorsed by many Western countries that marked this sporting event and the next, Los Angeles 84: the USSR took The Soviet Union made a reciprocal measure and the number of athletes was again very small.

currently, Washington wants to show its rejection of Chinese policies, But it will focus only on the political side, according to sources quoted by the chain CNN.

US President Joe Biden himself admitted in November that a diplomatic boycott was on the table, after prominent voices from major parties, including Democrat Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, asked for it.

The measure seeks to denounce the repression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China, which the US government has described as a “genocide”.

Beijing 2022 will be held from February 4-20.

Several elected officials from various sides, including Pelosi and Republican Senator Mitt Romney, have called for this diplomatic boycott. “I hope the government will send a strong message to the Chinese Communist Party without punishing the American athletes.The former Republican presidential candidate said on Tuesday.

China protest strongly When Nancy Pelosi defended the measure in May.

In recent months, resolutions and bills have multiplied in the US Congress, some aimed at penalizing companies that agree to sponsor the Winter Olympics, others Calling the International Olympic Committee to transfer the competition to another country. on your side, The US Olympic Committee opposes a radical solution such as a sports boycott He explains that games are important after months of the epidemic.

Tensions between the United States and China have been steady in recent years, and in fact, Biden has not invited the Asian giant to the democracy summit he is organizing this week. One major US blame relates to the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, although it has also criticized the crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

But the threats do not come only from Washington. This has become clear in recent weeks United kingdom And Australia They are also considering joining the diplomatic boycott.

The boycott threats have been echoed by the official Chinese press in recent weeks and at the end of November Global Times He made it clear that Beijing would not even invite leaders to provoke diplomatic retaliation linked to the Olympics.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Monday that those calling for a boycott are “bombers” and should stop “so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas.”

“If the United States insists on voluntarily sticking to this path, China will take strong countermeasuresHe said at a press conference.

(With information from Europa Press and AFP)

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