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China urges US to stop politicizing sports not to damage bilateral relations

On Monday, the White House press secretary announced that the US decided to stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympics in China

BEIJING, December 7./TASS/. The US should stop politicizing sports and creating obstacles to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, since this may damage relations with China, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a briefing on Tuesday.

"The American side should stop politicizing sports, stop action and statements creating obstacles for the Beijing Olympic Games, otherwise this will damage a whole number of trajectories for the cooperation of the two countries, as well as a dialogue on regional and global issues," the spokesperson cautioned.

The international community and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) give high marks to China’s preparations for the Olympic Games. Foreign athletes, including a large number of athletes from the US are looking forward to taking part in the Games. "We believe that due to the Olympic spirit and joint efforts of all parties, China will certainly be able to present the world with safe and impressive Olympic Games," the diplomat summed up.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the US decided to stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympics in China. At the same time, she clarified that this did not apply to the US athletes who can take part in the Games.

Calls for boycotting the Olympics in Beijing were earlier voiced by politicians from Canada, Norway and the United States as well as by representatives of about 200 human rights organizations around the globe. The reason behind the calls for the boycott is China’s alleged mass repressions of ethnic Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.