China warns US will pay for diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics

China has responded to the US government’s announcement of a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics by saying they would take “resolute countermeasures” to the move, although these measures were not specified.

The country has also warned that the boycott could harm bilateral dialogue and cooperation.

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China: Boycott violates Olympic spirit

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the United States should not bring politics into sports, and added that the boycott went against the spirit of the Olympics.

Zhao said the US “plot” of trying to throw the Olympics into disarray would fail and lead to a loss of “its moral authority and credibility”.

The spokesperson said the US made an error that has undermined the foundation of China-US sports exchanges. “The US should understand the grave consequences of its move,” according to Zhao.

Act against China's human rights record

The White House had earlier announced that the US will carry out the boycott as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang”. This means there will be no official United States delegation to the Games, although US athletes would be allowed to go Beijing to compete.

The announcement comes after last month’s virtual summit between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which was believed to have improved the relations between the two countries.

Some members of US Congress as well as human rights advocacy groups have long called for a boycott to protest China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet. Other countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, are also said to be considering a similar diplomatic move.

Despite China's strongly-worded pronouncements, Chinese media and other officials have downplayed the US boycott, taking to Twitter to dismiss the White House announcement.