US confirms diplomatic boycott of winter Olympics

Controversies surrounding the Beijing Winter Olympics 2:38

(CNN) -

President Joe Biden's government will not send any diplomatic representatives to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in protest against China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the House's press secretary announced Monday. Blanca, Jen Psaki.

Total boycott of the Olympics?

A full boycott is not expected, which means that American athletes will still be able to compete.

The last time the United States fully boycotted the Olympics was in Moscow 1980, when former President Jimmy Carter was in office.

Last month's virtual summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, considered one of the most critical diplomatic talks of the Biden presidency, yielded no significant progress.

However, it served as an auspicious reboot for relations following the sharp deterioration over the last year of the Trump administration and continued hostility toward the Biden administration, even as US and Chinese diplomats exchanged attacks during a summit in Alaska in March. .

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Throughout the November summit, Biden and Xi engaged in a "healthy debate," according to a senior Biden administration official present at the discussions.

Biden expressed concern about human rights, China's aggressive stance toward Taiwan, and trade issues.

Biden and his relationship with China

Almost every major issue Biden focuses on, including dealing with supply chain issues, climate change, North Korea and Iran, has a nexus with China.

And the two countries, the world's two largest economies, remain in disputes over trade, military aggression, global infrastructure, public health and human rights.

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Biden argues that democracies can function more effectively than autocracies like China and has used the bipartisan infrastructure law to show nationally how political parties in democracies can work together.

Xi, meanwhile, strengthened his consolidation in power after the Communist Party of China adopted a landmark resolution that raised him to the stature of his two most powerful predecessors: Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

He is trying to seek an unprecedented third term at the party's 20th Congress next fall.

Olympic Games