‘Wheels Will Come Off’ for US if It Boycotts Beijing Olympics, Warns China

A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson warned Wednesday that “the wheels will come off” for the U.S if it persists in alleging genocide and other atrocities in Xinjiang and uses the accusations as grounds for boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Allegations about human rights abuses in Xinjiang are “the most outrageous lie of the century,” he said, a day after State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters the U.S. would “review” its Olympics options in "close consultations with partners and allies" around the world. “Politicization of sports runs counter to the spirit of the Olympic charter and harms the interests of all athletes as well as the international Olympic cause,” said the ministry spokesperson of a possible U.S. boycott. “The international community, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, will not buy it,” he said. “We have every confidence that with concerted efforts, we will host an extraordinary and outstanding Olympic event in Beijing in 2022.”