'They will pay': China lashes out over Winter Olympics boycotts
China has lashed out at Australia, Britain and the United States for their "mistaken acts" after deciding not to send government delegations to February's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The United States was the first to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Games on Monday, saying its government officials would not attend the February 4-20 event because of China's human rights "atrocities".
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Australia, Britain and Canada followed suit in a flurry of diplomatic moves on Wednesday.
The boycott stops short of not sending athletes to the Games, but has nonetheless infuriated Beijing, which hinted at retaliation on Thursday.
"The United States, Britain and Australia have used the Olympics platform for political manipulation," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry.
"They will have to pay the price for their mistaken acts."
Relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated sharply under former US President Donald Trump and the Biden administration has maintained pressure on China.
Disagreements have centred on various issues including trade, the origins of the coronavirus and China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said its decision not to send officials to the Games was made because of its struggles to reopen diplomatic channels with China to discuss human rights in the far western region of Xinjiang and China's moves to block Australian imports.
"People have been very aware that we have been raising a number of issues that have not been received well in China," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"But the human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other issues that Australia has consistently raised ... the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues."
China has denied any wrongdoing in Xinjiang, home to the Uighur Muslim minority, and said allegations of right abuses were fabricated.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed legislation to ban imports from Xinjiang over concern about forced labour, one of three measures backed overwhelmingly as Washington pushes back against Beijing's treatment of the Uighur community.
"China firmly opposes this," said Gao Feng, a spokesman at the Chinese commerce ministry, referring to the US action.
"The United States should immediately stop its wrongdoing.
"We will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard China's legitimate rights and interests."
France decides not to join diplomatic boycotts
Beijing did receive some welcome news from Paris on Thursday, as Education and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France will not join the boycott.
"We need to be careful about the link between sports and politics," Blanquer said during an interview with RMC radio and BFM television, adding France would carry on condemning human rights violations in China.
But an official in his entourage, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Paris' position on its diplomatic presence at the Games was still being discussed and has not been finalised.
Human Rights Watch's China director Sophie Richardson says the boycott efforts are a "crucial step toward challenging the Chinese government's crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities".
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday that he was staying politically neutral on the matter, while insisting the important point was "the participation of the athletes in the Olympic Games".
China has been angered at Australia's willingness to legislate against overseas influence operations, its barring of Huawei from 5G contracts, and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia's recent move to equip its navy with nuclear-powered submarines under a new defence pact with Britain and the United States - widely seen as an attempt to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific region - further enraged Beijing.
with agencies
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