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World won't accept US-led boycott of Beijing Winter Games: China
The latest US provocation against China amid growing criticism of its alleged human rights abuses would inflame the already strained tensions between the world's two major powers.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian packs up his notes after speaking at the daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8, 2020. (Agence France Presse/Greg Baker)
C
hina on Wednesday lambasted the administration of US President Joe Biden for politicizing sports, claiming that the international community will not accept a US-led boycott of the 2020 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The latest US provocation against China amid growing criticism of its alleged human rights abuses would inflame the already strained tensions between the world's two major powers.
The Communist-led Chinese government has been apparently keen to use the Olympics for enhancement of national prestige, foreign affairs experts say.
A US State Department spokesman said Tuesday, in response to a reporter's question, that a potential joint boycott of the event is among the issues the United States hopes to discuss with its allies and partners.
"The international community won't accept it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
"I would also like to emphasize that politicizing sports is against the spirit of the Olympic Charter and harms the interests of athletes from all countries and the Olympics," he added.
The leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accused of mass detention of the country's Muslim Uyghur minority who oppose growing state surveillance under a "re-education" campaign in the Xinjiang region.
China has consistently said its detention camps are vocational training centers established to preemptively combat terrorism and religious extremism.
Last month, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed coordinated sanctions against China over its alleged human rights abuses in the Asian nation's far western region.
