China continues tough talk as more countries issue diplomatic boycotts of Beijing 2022

China continues to lash out at countries who have issued a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Games, as several nations have followed the diplomatic boycott issued by the United States on Monday.

On Wednesday China told multinationals to sever ties with Lithuania or face being shut out of the Chinese market, according to a senior government official. Lithuania confirmed their diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 over human rights concerns last Friday.

Just this week Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom joined the U.S. by announcing plans to not send any diplomatic officials to Beijing in February. All of the countries have said their athletes will compete and have the full support of their respective government.

Wang Wenbin a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said, “The United States, Britain and Australia have used the Olympics platform for political manipulation. It doesn’t matter if their officials come or not, they will see the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics.”

Wang also said China would response with “firm countermeasures” against any country which boycotts the Beijing Winter Olympics, but gave no further specifics.

France, the host of the next Olympic Games in 2024 said it would not join in any boycott, while Italy, host of the 2026 Winter Games, also will not be boycotting the Beijing Games.

During the Wednesday briefing, Wang also wanted to remind the world that no formal invitation to attend the Beijing Games was ever offered to the United States, Australia or any country which has issued a diplomatic boycott.

“China hasn’t invited any Australian or American government official to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. No one would care whether they came or not. Their political stunt for selfish gains has no impact whatsoever on the Olympics to be successfully held by Beijing,” Wang said.

Japan, which hosted the Summer Games a few months ago in Tokyo, is thought to be considering a diplomatic boycott as well, though no formal announcement has been made.