Chinese citizens pass a Beijing Winter Olympics plaque in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China.
Zinta Lintao | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The United States and its allies are considering a joint boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the State Department said on Tuesday.
“This [a joint boycott] it is something that we certainly want to discuss, “State spokesman Ned Price told reporters when asked about the plans of the Biden government before the international games.
“A coordinated approach will not only be in our interest, but also of our allies and partners,” he added.
Price said the United States has yet to make a decision, but is concerned about blatant human rights abuses in China. The Olympic Games will take place between 4 and 20 February.
The potential diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games comes at a time when the Biden government is working to bring together allies to build international resistance to China.
Last month, the United States sanctioned two Chinese officials, citing their roles in serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The Biden government sanctions also complement actions by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Beijing had previously rejected US accusations that it committed genocide against the Uighurs, a Muslim population native to the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwest China. The Foreign Ministry called these allegations “malicious lies” designed to “tarnish China” and “thwart China’s development”.
The sanctions came in the wake of a controversial meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and Alaska State adviser Wang Yi.
Before the talks with Alaska, Blinken criticized the widespread use of “coercion and aggression” by China on the international stage and warned that the United States would back down if necessary.
“China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undermine democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet and enforce maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law,” said Blinken at a press conference in Japan.
Biden, who spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, said earlier that his approach to China would be different from that of his predecessor, as he would work more closely with the allies to prepare a reaction against Beijing.
“We are going to face China’s economic abuses,” said Biden in a speech at the State Department, describing Beijing as the “most serious competitor” in the United States.
“But we are also ready to work with Beijing when it is in America’s interest to do so. We will compete in a position of strength by building better at home and working with our allies and partners.”
Tensions between Beijing and Washington soared under the Trump administration, which escalated a trade war and worked to ban Chinese tech companies from doing business in the United States.
In the past four years, the Trump administration has blamed China for a wide range of complaints, including intellectual property theft, unfair commercial practices and, recently, the coronavirus pandemic.