China threatens the US with retaliation over diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics - CNN

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.

Responding to the White House announcement, China's Foreign Ministry said it had launched "solemn representation" with the US and vowed to take "resolute countermeasures."

"Out of ideological bias and based on lies and rumors, the US is trying to disrupt the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Compared to the angry response of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, some Chinese diplomats and state media employees have offered a more nonchalant take on Twitter -- which is blocked in China -- stressing US politicians had not yet been invited to the Games.

"Politicians calling for boycott #2022BeijingOlympics are doing so for their own political interests and posturing.

The US should now redouble efforts with like-minded governments to investigate and map out pathways to accountability for those responsible for these crimes and justice for the survivors," Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

The potential snowball effect is clearly on the mind of some Chinese diplomats.

It will only make them more isolated and stand in opposition to the trend of the times and to the vast majority of countries and people around the world," the mission's spokesperson Zhu Zhiqiang said in a statement.

Washington's response to the Beijing Winter Games stands in stark contrast to its approach to the Beijing Summer Olympics 13 years ago, when the Chinese government faced fierce criticism and protests against its crackdown on Tibet.

In 2008, then-President George W.