Premier Li Qiang raised the issue when meeting Thomas Bach, the head of the global sports body, in Beijing.
China has expressed its concerns about the “politicisation of sports events” to the International Olympic Committee after a series of incidents that have alarmed Beijing, including a US-led diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games and recent anthem blunders involving Hong Kong teams. The issue was raised when Premier Li Qiang met Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC, in Beijing over the weekend and vowed to deepen cooperation with the sports body. “China’s efforts to promote the Olympic spirit will never cease, and [China is] ready to work with IOC to oppose the politicisation of sports, and make further contributions to the Olympic movement,” Li said, according to the official news agency Xinhua. It is not known whether Li mentioned any specific incidents, but it is rare for China to raise such concerns with the IOC in public and it was the first time it had made such comments since the Winter Olympics in Beijing early last year. The United States and several of its allies took part in a diplomatic boycott of the Games, citing alleged human rights abuse in China’s far west region of Xinjiang. Beijing has repeatedly denied the accusation and said it opposes any attempts to politicise sporting events. In February a song linked to the 2019 anti-government protests was played instead of China’s national anthem after Hong Kong beat Iran in February at the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship’s third division in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
