China: US will ‘pay the price’ for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the U.S. will “pay the price” following the Biden administration’s announcement of a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Zhao Lijian accused the United States of acting “out of ideological prejudice and based on lies and rumors,” according to The Associated Press.

“The U.S. will pay a price for its practices. You may stay tuned for follow-ups,” Zhao reportedly added during a daily briefing.

He also detailed China’s belief that the boycott “seriously violates the principle of political neutrality of sports established by the Olympic Charter and runs counter to the Olympic motto ‘more united,’ ” the AP noted.

The developments come amid heightened tensions between China and the U.S. over human rights concerns.

On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the boycott, stating that U.S. government officials would not be sent to the Chinese capital for the Games.

“The athletes on team USA have our full support, we will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games,” Psaki said.

“U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these Games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang and we simply can’t do that,” she added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Zhao said in response that China would have “resolute countermeasures,” though he did not provide further details at the time, the AP reported.