"This is something that we are considering," he told reporters of the option of not sending government officials to represent Washington at competitions while still letting American athletes participate.
Several Republican hawks urge Joe Biden to announce a total boycott of sports competition by officials but also athletes, to denounce the repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China, described as "genocide" by the US government.
But many elected officials from all sides, including the Democratic President of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Republican Senator Mitt Romney, plead for this diplomatic boycott.
China protested strongly when Nancy Pelosi made this assumption in May.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the White House is expected to announce soon that it has chosen this path.
The daily specifies that President Biden should "approve" by the end of November this option which was formally recommended to him by his advisers.
© 2021 AFP