Canada: On Wednesday, Canada joined Australia, Britain, and the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which China described as “political posturing” and a smear campaign. The US was the first to declare the boycott this week, starting on Monday that government officials will not attend the Beijing Olympics in February because of China’s human rights “atrocities,” weeks after negotiations aimed at improving hostile relations between the world’s two largest economies failed. China said on Tuesday that the US will “pay a price” for its decision and warned of retaliation, but provided no details. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) attempted to deflect attention away from the increasing diplomatic boycott.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said Beijing will be aware of long-standing Western concerns about China’s human rights situation. Trudeau’s decision is likely to exacerbate tensions in a relationship already strained by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s detention on a US warrant. Trudeau was accused of making misleading assertions by a representative for the Chinese Embassy in Canada. President Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee stated that the Committee has always been concerned about athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games. According to a news source, the chairman of the Beijing 2022 athletes’ committee stated that the Games are a stage for athletes, not a runway for politics.