(CNN) – White House spokesman Zhen Zhao said on Monday that President Joe Biden’s government would not send any diplomatic representatives to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Psaki said the administration was sending a “clear message” that human rights violations in China “could not be business as usual.”
Due to the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, the Biden administration will not send diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, “Psaki told a news conference on Monday.
Psaki added that the US team has the “full support” of the management, but the management “does not contribute to the cheers of the game”.
“When confronted with the gruesome human rights violations and atrocities of the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang, US diplomatic or official representation will trade these games as usual, and we can not do that,” Psaki said.
“Diplomatic neglect of sports does not mean” the end of our concerns about human rights abuses, “Zaki said.
Asked if the United States was trying to include other allies in the diplomatic boycott, Zaki said the White House had informed its allies of the US decision and would “openly allow them to make their own decisions.”
Zackie said the White House did not consider it “appropriate” or justified to penalize American athletes for boycotting the Olympics by the United States.
Zackie said the White House did not consider it “appropriate” or justified to penalize American athletes for boycotting the Olympics by the United States.
The press secretary said the US decision to conduct a diplomatic boycott was sent to Chinese officials “at a lower level”.
“Certainly lower than President Biden. They were informed of the decision,” Zaki said when asked if Biden had informed Xi Jinping of the decision.
Psaki also reiterated that the title of the Olympics did not come up during the virtual summit between Biden and Xi last month.
The Olympics cannot be completely ignored
Psaki confirmed that there will be no complete boycott, meaning American players can still compete. The United States completely boycotted the Olympics in 1980 when former President Jimmy Carter was in office in Moscow.
The virtual summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month is considered one of the most important diplomatic talks of the Biden presidency, with no significant progress. However, it served as a good restart for relations following the Trump administration’s sharp decline over the past year, and continued hostility towards the Biden administration, with US and Chinese ambassadors exchanging attacks during a summit in Alaska in March.
Throughout the November summit, Biden and Xi engaged in a “healthy debate,” said a senior Biden executive who attended the talks. Biden expressed concern about human rights, China’s aggressive stance on Taiwan and trade issues.
Biden and his relationship with China
Every major issue that Biden is focusing on has a connection with China, including dealing with supply chain issues, climate change, and North Korea and Iran. The two largest economies in the world are in dispute over trade, military occupation, global infrastructure, public health and human rights.
Biden argues that democracies can operate more effectively than dictatorships such as China, and used bipartisan infrastructure law to show nationally how political parties can work together in democracies.
Meanwhile, after the Communist Party of China adopted a major resolution, Xi consolidated his power, elevating him to the status of two powerful pioneers, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. He is seeking an unprecedented third term at the party’s 20th congress next fall.
