Already overwhelmed by the case of the disappearance of Peng Shuai, in which his silence is deafening, China was however quick to react to defend its Winter Olympics, under the threat of a "diplomatic boycott" by Joe Biden.
An option put on the table this Thursday by the American president, and to which the Middle Empire responded this Friday.
"Mixing politics and sport goes against the Olympic spirit," Chinese diplomacy spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters. The accusations made by the United States against China about human rights are devoid of truth and completely unfounded ”. Joe Biden had said he was considering the possibility of not sending government officials to represent Washington at the competitions, while allowing American athletes to participate, to protest against human rights violations in China.
This renewed tension comes just days after the virtual summit between President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, supposed to establish “safeguards” to prevent their numerous differences from escalating into conflict. For months, the US government has been looking for the best way to position itself with regard to this popular and global event organized by a country it accuses of perpetrating a "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, in the northwest. from China.
Several human rights organizations accuse Beijing of having interned at least one million Muslims in Xinjiang in “re-education camps”.
For their part, the Chinese authorities systematically denounce "the interference" of Westerners who condemn this situation, assuring that they are "vocational training centers" to support employment and combat religious extremism.
A total boycott wanted by some Republicans, but rejected by the American Olympic Committee
The possibility of a diplomatic boycott of the Games by the Biden administration, revealed Tuesday in an article in the Washington Post specifying that this option was formally recommended to him by his advisers, immediately aroused positive reactions from many elected officials from all sides who pleaded for such a solution, but also the protests of those who would like to go further. In recent months, resolutions and bills have multiplied in Congress, some aimed at punishing companies that agree to sponsor the Beijing Olympics, others calling on the International Olympic Committee to move the competition to another country. The diplomatic boycott was proposed in May by the Democratic President of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
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Some senators have said they believe in recent days that the White House will decide in this direction before Congress has to legislate.
However, several Republicans urge Joe Biden to announce a total boycott, by officials but also athletes.
"The threat to our athletes and the crimes against humanity committed by China leave us no other choice," said Senator Tom Cotton on Thursday.
The American Olympic Committee is opposed to a total boycott, explaining that the Games are important after months of a pandemic.
He has ruled in the past that the boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980, by the United States and some sixty other countries, and of those of Los Angeles in 1984, by the Soviet Union and its allies, had shown that 'using these events as a "political tool" was a "mistake".