China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, also criticized the diplomatic boycott saying that China will take « resolute countermeasures. »
The editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a Chinese state-run newspaper, responded to the U.S.’s diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics and said that Americans are who « Beijing residents least want to see » at the games. « Only super narcissistic people will regard their absence as a powerful boycott, » Hu Xijin said in a tweet on Monday. « Most of those US govt officials are close contacts of the COVID-19 patients according to China’s standard, moreover picky and pretentious. You are the people that Beijing residents least want to see. » On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that the U.S. will be diplomatically boycotting the 2022 Olympics, which are set to be held in Beijing in February. « The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses, » Psaki said during a press briefing.
