IOC "fully respects" the US government's decision of boycotting 2022 Beijing Winter Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) extended its support towards the US government's decision of the diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. The IOC stated that it "fully respects" the US government's decision.

"The presence of government officials and diplomats is a purely political decision for each government, which the IOC in its political neutrality fully respects. At the same time, this announcement also makes clear that the Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes are beyond politics, and we welcome this," the IOC said in the statement on Monday regarding USA's decision.

Amidst China's ongoing genocide, crimes and atrocities in Xinjiang, the United States of America has decided to opt out of the upcoming Beijing Winter Games.

"The Biden administration has decided not to send an official US delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

The Joe Biden-led US administration has come to the conclusion that the athletes will be allowed to take part in the Olympics as well as the Paralympic Games. According to CNN reports, the US government is unlikely to send government officials to Beijing.

"U.S. President Joe Biden will not send government officials to the upcoming Winter Olympics due to China's human rights atrocities," said the White House officials.

China opposes USA's boycott:

The Chinese government has criticized and opposed the US government's decision to boycott the Beijing Winter Games. China has stated that the United States will have to "pay a price" for its diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics.

China opposes the boycott and would take "resolute countermeasures". The United States will pay a price for its mistaken acts. "Let's all wait and see," said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in a regular media briefing in Beijing.

China has also urged the Biden administration to tackle sports and politics separately. Other Chinese dignitaries have also come out to speak on the current situation. Renmin University professor Wang Wen stated that the US government's decision could be transposed during the 2028 Olympics.

"It is foolish and silly of the United States to do this. Other major powers could do the same to the United States in 2028," Wang Wen, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing told Reuters.

Olympian Angela Ruggiero, who served as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), stated it was important that athletes were not penalized for politics. Ruggiero bagged a gold medal in an ice hockey event for the United States in 1998. She was ecstatic to hear of the US government's decision to permit the athletes to participate in the Winter Games.

"My initial reaction was a bit of relief that it wasn't anything more dramatic," said Ruggiero to Reuters.