China sternly warns four nations diplomatically boycotting Olympics, says ‘pay the price’

By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 9, 2021, 2:57 PM IST

Notably, Canada is the latest country to join the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics along with Australia and the United Kingdom after the United States.

China on Thursday warned the United States and the three other Western nations that have joined in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics saying they will “pay the price”. China said that using the Olympic platform for “political manipulation” is “unpopular and self-isolating”, warning the nations that they would “inevitably” regret launching the joint diplomatic boycott of the multi-sports event next winter.

“The US, Australia, Britain and Canada's use of the Olympic platform for political manipulation is unpopular and self-isolating, and they will inevitably pay the price for their wrongdoing,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

The US boycott, encouraged for months by some members of Congress and rights advocacy groups, comes despite an effort to stabilise ties, with a video meeting last month between US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping.

The White House said on Monday US government officials would boycott the Winter Olympics because of China’s human rights “atrocities”, although US athletes were free to travel there to compete.

Also read: Australia announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

China foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular media briefing in Beijing, host city of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on Tuesday that China opposes the boycott and would take “resolute countermeasures”. “The United States will pay a price for its mistaken acts,” he said, without giving details. “Let’s all wait and see.”

Notably, Canada is the latest country to join the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics along with Australia and the United Kingdom.

Canada will join its allies in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in February to send China a message over its human rights record, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

Australia and Britain will join the diplomatic boycott, their prime ministers said on Wednesday, as other allies weighed similar moves to protest at China’s human rights record. China denies all rights abuses.

For more reliable and latest news