China Says The US Will ‘Pay A Price’ Over Winter Olympic Boycott In Stark Warning
China has issued a stark warning to the US, pledging that the country will ‘pay a price’ over its Winter Olympics diplomatic boycott.
The US was the first to announce the boycott of the games, which are scheduled to be held in Beijing in February. This boycott is in response to alleged human rights abuses in the far western region of Xinjiang, as well as moves made by Beijing against Australian imports.
Australia, UK, Canada have now also confirmed that government officials will not be in attendance, while Japan is also considering a diplomatic boycott.
Speaking at a media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, December 7, as per Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that his country is in opposition to the US diplomatic boycott, promising that China will respond with ‘resolute countermeasures’.
Without giving any further details, Lijian said:
The United States will pay a price for its mistaken acts. Let’s all wait and see.
Announcing Canada’s boycott on Wednesday, December 8, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Beijing will be aware of long-standing Western concerns regarding human rights in China, ‘[so] it shouldn’t be a surprise that we decided not to send diplomatic representation’.
As reported by Reuters, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada accused Trudeau of making false claims.
5 months agoIn a written statement, the spokesperson said:
Based on ideological biases as well as lies and rumours, Canada and a handful of western countries have been flagrantly engaged in political manoeuvring, with the attempt to disrupt the smooth progress of Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Their clumsy performance can hardly find any support and is doomed to fail.
China has continued to deny any wrongdoing in Xinjiang, claiming that all allegations of human rights abuses have been fabricated.
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