The US is leading a diplomatic boycott of the event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ending 2021 sounding more like an advance man for China and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics than a head of state. Putin is not happy these days with the leaders of countries, including American President Joe Biden, who plan on skipping the opening ceremonies of the Beijing sports event on February 4th in a protest against China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and other human rights issues. Putin views this as very bad. In recent remarks, Putin said. “This decision is unacceptable and erroneous. I spoke with a former US President, and he told me that the boycotts of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and 1980 Moscow Olympics were a big mistake made by the United States. But the United States continues to do the very same mistake. What caused that exactly? It is an attempt to curb China’s growth.”
You would think Putin would be concerned with Russia’s sluggish economy, Ukraine and the country’s failure to contain COVID-19. Putin will be at the Beijing Olympics although because of doping problems, the International Olympic Committee has ruled Russia’s national anthem and the Russian flag booted from the sports event. Putin continued, again sounding more like a propaganda mouthpiece than a country’s president. They (the US) cannot hold back the development of China. The Chinese economy is already larger than the US economy in terms of purchasing power parity. China will inevitably become the world’s top economy in all other respects.” The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are not sending diplomats to the opening ceremonies in Beijing. Japan will not send top diplomats either but the country is not calling it a boycott. The games must go on without the diplomats after all there is money on the table but COVID-19 may also play a role.
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