The United Kingdom and Canada joined the United States and Australia on Wednesday in the "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Games, another setback for the Chinese regime accused by the West of trampling on human rights, especially in its predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang (North-West).

These countries will send many athletes to the Games, but no officials.

"The use of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada to the stage of the Olympic Games for purposes of political manipulation is unpopular and amounts to isolating oneself", estimated in front of the press Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

"They will inevitably pay the price for this bad move," he said, in response to whether Beijing was considering specific retaliatory measures.

The spokesperson said his country had not sent out invitations to the countries in question.

"Whether their official representatives come or not, the Beijing Winter Games will be a success," he said.

The Olympics are scheduled for February 4 to 20, but due to restrictions imposed by China on the entry of foreigners in the name of the fight against Covid-19, few world politicians are expected to travel from Beijing.

With the notable exception of Russian President Vladimir Poutine who accepted the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Paris had initially indicated that it "would coordinate" with the other countries of the European Union on the attitude to adopt.

Trudeau "troubled"

"We are deeply troubled by the human rights violations by the Chinese government," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference on Wednesday.

A few hours earlier in London, during the weekly question-and-answer session in front of Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that there would be "indeed a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference, December 8, 2021 in London Adrian DENNIS POOL / AFP

There are many sources of tension between London and Beijing, between respect for human rights in Xinjiang, decline in freedoms in Hong Kong and the exclusion of Chinese giant Huawei from British 5G infrastructures.

Before the British and Canadian announcements, the decision of the United States had aroused the anger of Beijing, and that of Canberra contempt.

"Everyone does not care whether they are coming or not," Wang said on Wednesday in the direction of Australia.

Asked about the risk that these cascading decisions pose to the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee once again invoked its "neutrality" to refrain from commenting on these "purely political decisions", especially welcoming the absence of a sports boycott .

Chinese diplomacy spokesman Wang Wenbin, during a press briefing, July 24, 2020 in Beijing GREG BAKER AFP / Archives

"The integrity of the Games is the integrity of sports competitions, which is why our attention is fully focused on the athletes," hammered Wednesday in front of the press Thomas Bach, the head of the body.

According to human rights organizations, at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkish-speaking minorities, mainly Muslims, are being held in camps in Xinjiang.

China is accused of forcibly sterilizing women there and imposing forced labor.

The United States denounces "genocide" on this subject.

Beijing says the camps are in fact "vocational training centers" to fight radicalization.

© 2021 AFP