U.S. says diplomats go to Beijing to help athletes after China’s boycott

The Biden administration said on Monday that U.S. diplomats would travel to Beijing to support athletes in the Winter Olympics, but would not participate in the Winter Olympics. Earlier, a senior Chinese government propaganda official claimed that this move indicated that President Biden’s diplomatic boycott was a “farce”. .

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that it has received at least 18 US diplomatic visa applications.South China Morning Post Report Before the opening ceremony on February 4, another 40 people may come in.

The US State Department and the White House National Security Council said on Monday evening that Biden’s “diplomatic boycott” has not changed.

A statement from the two organizations said: “We intend to provide consular and diplomatic security services to ensure the safety of our athletes, coaches, coaches and staff, and to use the US citizen services we provide to all overseas US citizens. .”

“Any visa application is for those consular and diplomatic security personnel. These personnel are standard on the spot, and these personnel do not constitute official or diplomatic representatives of the Olympic Games.”

The joint statement continued: “The position we announced earlier this month remains our position and will not change: Given the position of the People’s Republic of China, we will not have any diplomatic or official representatives. [People’s Republic of China’s] Xinjiang continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as other violations of human rights. Otherwise, any suggestions are wrong. “

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Zhao Lijian Spread misinformation Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that started in the United States instead of Wuhan, he said that the diplomatic visa showed that Biden’s boycott was a “farce.”

“The US recently staged a farce for political manipulation, claiming that it will not send any diplomatic or official representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics, even though it has never actually been invited,” Zhao said.

He added: “We once again call on the United States to practice the Olympic spirit, stop politicizing sports, and stop making further comments or actions that interfere with or disrupt the Beijing Winter Olympics.”

The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced a diplomatic boycott earlier this month, specifically referring to the mass detention of Uyghurs, mostly Muslims, in western China.

“In view of China’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity and other human rights violations in Xinjiang, the Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representatives to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics,” Pasaki said.

Former President Donald Trump said in a statement Recent interview He agreed with Biden’s decision not to ban athletes from participating in the Olympics—just as President Jimmy Carter did after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Trump told the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, “I watched Jimmy Carter do this. It was terrible. [It] Injury athletes. We can do more powerful things-more powerful things. “

So far, Biden has retained many of Trump’s policies on China, including imposing tariffs on Chinese goods and imposing sanctions on CCP officials who abolished Hong Kong’s autonomy and abused Uyghurs.

But Biden seems to have adopted a moderate attitude toward other issues that the Chinese government is sensitive to. For example, during the 3 1/2-hour virtual summit last month, he did not pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to be transparent about the origin of COVID-19.

Biden later smiled and walked away after listening to the Washington Post’s question of why no more measures were taken to promote transparency in the origin of the pandemic in China after 800,000 deaths in the United States.

The US intelligence community stated in August that the virus may have been leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In addition to the natural transfer from animals to humans, the theory also called it one of two “reasonable” explanations.

Trump claimed to Battiromo that Biden did not pressure China on the origin of the coronavirus because “he was afraid” of Xi Jinping and because his son Hunter Biden had business interests in China.

“So what’s on them?” Battiromo asked.

“Yes. Of course they will,” Trump said, who is teasing the 2024 presidential election and Biden’s rematch.

An email recovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2017 described the 10% set aside for “big men” as part of a potential transaction involving a Chinese energy company. Former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Boblinsky said Joe Biden was a “big man.”

Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, said last month-less than a week after his father met with Xi Jinping-that the first son divested 10% of another Chinese company called BHR Partners, a company called BHR Partners. Investment funds controlled by Chinese state-owned entities.

BHR Partners registered 12 days after Hunter joined the then Vice President Biden on Air Force II’s visit to Beijing in 2013. This entity was influential in facilitating a 2016 transaction in which a Chinese company purchased Congolese cobalt ore from U.S. and Canadian companies. Cobalt is a key material for electric vehicle batteries.

The eldest son’s lawyer did not provide information about the divestment, including the identity of the person or entity acquiring his shares, the date of the transaction, and the dollar amount. Psaki recently stated that the White House would not provide details about the transaction and referred the Washington Post to Hunter’s lawyers, who did not respond to requests for information.