Gabriel Crossley and Renju José

SYDNEY/BEIJING – Australia will join the United States for a diplomatic boycott at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. The announcement was made by Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, on Wednesday.

Monday’s announcement by the United States that it will not allow its government officials to attend the Beijing Olympics nL1N2SR0F6 was made after weeks of talks between both superpowers.

China warned that the U.S. would “pay the cost” of its decision, and threatened “resolute countermeasures”.

Morrison explained that Australia was unable to reopen diplomatic channels and discuss alleged Chinese human rights violations in Xinjiang. Also, Beijing had attempted to slow down or block Australian imports.

Others allies are slow to join the diplomatic boycott.

The Telegraph reports that Britain may approve a limited attendance by the government at the February 4-20 Beijing Olympics. This would prevent a complete diplomatic boycott.

The report stated that a complete ban on the presence of ministerial or diplomatic representatives at the Winter Games is possible.

Japan may not send cabinet members to Beijing Winter Olympics, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported Wednesday. The report cited unnamed sources from government agencies.

American President Joe Biden’s government cited the genocide of minority Muslims in China’s west region, Xinjiang. China has denied all rights violations.

On Tuesday, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said that China opposes U.S. diplomat boycotts and promised to “resolute countermeasures.”

He said that the United States would pay “a price” for their mistakes, but did not give details. Let’s wait and watch.

The Winter Games are scheduled to start six months after the Tokyo Summer Games have ended. These games were delayed by a year due the COVID-19 epidemic.

Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC’s coordinator commission chief for Beijing Olympics) stated that “We always request for as much respect and as little interference as possible from the political world.” “We must reciprocate. We are open to the decisions of political bodies.”

The United States has been invited to Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics and will also host the 30th Winter Olympics.

Zhao responded that the U.S. ban on Olympic Games has “damaged both the foundations and the atmosphere” for sports cooperation.

The American diplomatic boycott has been supported for months by U.S. Congress members and rights groups. It comes despite an attempt to stabilize ties between two of the largest economies in the world, including a video conference last month between Biden (US) and Xi Jinping (China).

The only option

Bonnie Glaser from the German Marshall Fund of America, an expert on China, stated Tuesday at a U.S. Congress hearing that the boycott would not be effective unless the other countries joined the boycott. This was to undermine China’s message that human rights violations are unacceptable.

Glaser stated, “Now, I believe the best option is to attempt to get as many nations as possible to support us in this alliance.”

Morrison announced Australia’s plans and stated that Beijing has not yet responded to several concerns raised by Canberra, including allegations of human rights violations.

Morrison, a reporter in Sydney, stated that “So it’s not surprising therefore” that Australian government officials won’t travel to China for these Games.

Australia and China are now at an impasse after Canberra removed Huawei Technologies’ 5G broadband network from Canberra in 2018. It called for an independent investigation into COVID-19’s origins.

Beijing responded to the threat by placing tariffs on several Australian commodities including wine, beef and barley.