The United States won’t send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of what it calls human rights abuses in China, the Biden administration announced Monday.
The boycott is diplomatic in nature and will not impact the participation of American athletes.
“The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
The Chinese government warned of “resolute countermeasures” in response to the decision from President Joe Biden.
The U.S. government has said China has forced some residents into mass detention camps and required sterilization of Muslim Uyghurs and some other ethnic Muslim minorities in the western part of their country to limit their population.
First lady Jill Biden led the U.S. delegation to the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics over the summer.
The Beijing Games are scheduled to run Feb. 4-20.
–Field Level Media