United States staging diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Last month, President Joe Biden told reporters he was "considering" a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing from Feb. 4-20 as a protest of China's alleged human rights abuses. 

Per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) and Allie Malloy and Kate Sullivan of CNN, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed such a boycott will occur. While American delegates will be skipping the Winter Games, athletes and coaches won't be impacted by this development. 

"U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can't do that," Psaki explained. "We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights. And we feel strongly in our position and we will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond." 

Psaki added the White House has informed international allies about this decision, and also that there is currently no desire to punish or penalize athletes who have been training for the Olympics. The U.S. hasn't fully boycotted an Olympic Games since 1980. 

First Lady Jill Biden was the face of the American delegation at the Tokyo Olympics that were postponed to this past summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff led the U.S. delegation for the Paralympic Games. 

"Without being invited, American politicians keep hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is purely wishful thinking and grandstanding," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian remarked at a briefing. "If the U.S. side is bent on going its own way, China will take firm countermeasures." 

It's unclear exactly how China might respond to today's update.