President Putin Accepts Invitation Openly, China Is Not Worried About Domino Effects Of Boycott Of Winter Olympics

Illustration of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (Wikimedia Commons/N509FZ)

JAKARTA - China is not worried about the 'domino effect' of a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, after Australia, Britain and Canada joined the United States in deciding not to send officials to the Games.

The United States was the first to announce a boycott, saying on Monday government officials would not attend the February 4-20 Olympics next year, because of Chian's human rights "cruelty" in the western region of Xinjiang.

"I don't see any need to worry about a domino effect," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily news conference when asked about the possibility of more boycotts.

"On the contrary, most countries in the world have expressed their support for the Beijing Winter Olympics," he said.

The diplomatic boycott by the United States and its allies follows worsening relations between Beijing and Washington, which began under former US President Donald Trump.

meanwhile, the administration of US President Joe Biden has maintained pressure on China over a range of issues, including human rights and China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Wang pointed out that the United Nations on December 2 adopted a resolution, co-sponsored by more than 170 of the 193 member states, for an 'Olympic Truce', calling on countries to rise above politics and unite in sports during the Beijing Olympics.

"Quite a number of foreign leaders and members of the royal family have signed up to attend," Wang said.

So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only leader of a major nation to openly accept an invitation to attend the winter games.

Earlier, Wang insisted the United States and its allies would "pay the price for their wrongful actions" and that they had "used the Olympic platform for political manipulation".

China said on Tuesday it would "firmly take countermeasures" against the United States for its boycott, but has not specified what it will do.

Interestingly, Wang also said China had no plans to invite officials from Britain and Canada to the Olympics, with their absence having no impact on the success of the event.

Separately, New Zealand has not said it is diplomatically boycotting the Olympics. But, when asked if he would support the boycott, Commerce Secretary Damien O'Connor said it was "something we need to do as a nation" and the country has been "strong and independent" on human rights and should "continue to do that."

Responding to O'Connor's remarks, Wang said he hoped all countries could be more united in the Olympic spirit and keep politics away from sport.

France will not follow in the footsteps of other Western governments and boycott the Olympics but any human rights abuses in China must be condemned, its education minister said Thursday.

The French foreign minister also said Paris should take the same stance as other European Union countries in any diplomatic boycott.

Some experts say China does care about boycotts, given the time and effort that has been devoted to criticizing the move.

"China hopes to use this global sports mega-event to demonstrate its international standing, expand its influence. The boycott certainly undermines these hopes and results in the loss of 'face' for China," said Li Mingjiang, professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.