Australia joins US in boycotting Winter Olympics in China

New Delhi, Dec 07: Joining the United States, Australia said that it will not send officials to the winter Olympics in Beijing.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia will not step back from the strong position we've had standing up for Australia's interests, and obviously it is of no surprise that we wouldn't be sending Australian officials to those Games.

Morrison cited human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and the unwillingness by China to meet Australian officials for talks. "There's been no obstacle to that occurring on our side, but the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues," the Australian Prime Minister also said.

Zhao Lijian, China's foreign ministry spokesperson said that those calling for a boycott are grandstanding and should stop so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the US in important areas.

If the US insists on willingly clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures, he said.

Beijing also said that it opposes the politicisation of sports. US President Joe Biden had last month said that the boycott would not prevent its athletes from competing in the games. The US is hosting the Olympics in 2028.