This decision will not affect athletes’ participation.

The Biden administration will not send U.S. officials to the coming 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing. This diplomatic boycott drew immediate condemnation from China.

A Monday administration official stated that an announcement about the U.S.-imposed boycott was planned for this week.

Although the decision to withhold U.S. official representation at the Olympics was made some weeks ago, administration officials waited for the announcement to let time pass following a telephone call between President Biden, Xi Jinping and President Obama to stabilise tensions, advisors to the administration stated.

Although such a boycott would prevent U.S. officials attending the games it wouldn’t impact athletes’ participation.

However, the U.S. decision is likely to influence other countries, especially allied governments, to follow suit. Beijing condemned reports that the U.S. announcement was about to be made and accused Washington of grandstanding.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated Monday that “this severely tarnishes spirit of the Olympic Charter.” It’s a provocative act of politics, and more serious offense to the 1.4 billion Chinese citizens.

Last month, Mr. Biden stated that the U.S. government was considering an diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics.