Chinese citizens pass a sign for the Beijing Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China.
Lintao Zhang | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The United States and its allies are considering a joint boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the State Department said on Tuesday.
“This one [a joint boycott] it’s something we definitely want to talk about, “state spokesman Ned Price told reporters when asked about the Biden administration’s plans ahead of the international games.
“A coordinated approach will be not only in our interest, but also in the interest of our allies and partners,” he added.
Price said the United States has not yet made a decision. The Olympic Games will take place between February 4 and February 20.
The potential diplomatic boycott of the games comes as the Biden administration works to rally allies to attract China’s international reputation.
Last month, the United States sanctioned two Chinese officials, citing their roles in serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Sanctions from the Biden administration complement the actions taken by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Beijing has previously denied US allegations of genocide against Uighurs, a Muslim population from the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Foreign Ministry called the allegations “malicious lies” meant to “defile China” and “frustrate China’s development.”
The sanctions came after a controversial meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s senior diplomat Yang Jiechi and Alaska State Councilor Wang Yi.
Ahead of the Alaska talks, Blinken criticized China’s widespread use of “coercion and aggression” on the international stage and warned that the US would push back if necessary.
“China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, diminish democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and claim claims in the South China Sea that violate international law.” Blinken told a news conference in Japan.
Biden, who spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, said earlier that his approach to China would be different from that of his predecessor, in the sense that he would work more closely with allies to support the push against Beijing.
“We will face China’s economic abuses,” Biden said in a State Department speech, describing Beijing as “America’s most serious competitor.”
“But we are also ready to work with Beijing when it is in America’s interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by rebuilding better at home and working with our allies and partners.”
Tensions between Beijing and Washington have grown under the Trump administration, which has escalated a trade war and worked to ban Chinese technology companies from doing business in the United States.
For the past four years, the Trump administration has blamed China for a wide range of grievances, including intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.