The United Kingdom announced Wednesday no government minister will attend the Beijing 2022 Games. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it “effectively a diplomatic boycott.”
Johnson has previously said he opposes boycotts involving athletes, and all British athletes are free to compete in Beijing with the full support of the U.K. government.
“There will be effectively a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing,” Johnson told lawmakers. “No ministers are expected to attend and no officials. The government has no hesitation in raising these issues with China, as I did President Xi the last time I talked to him.”
The U.K. joins the United States, Australia, Lithuania and New Zealand in issuing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games.
China has vowed to combat the United States’ diplomatic boycott with “firm countermeasures” but has not announced any specifics regarding the American boycott or any others.