US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Washington: The Biden administration announced on Monday that US officials will not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after China pledged unspecified “countermeasures” against any such diplomatic boycott.

Those calling for a boycott are “grandstanding” and should stop “so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas,” Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, earlier said. “If the US insists in wilfully clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures,” he said at a news conference.