China Winter Olympics Boycott Calls Are “Premature” Says Sec’y Of State

Secretary of State Antony Blinken danced around the notion of a 2022 China Winter Olympic boycott Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, calling such talk “premature.”

The next Winter Olympics are slated for February 2022 in Beijing. Earlier this week, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry warned of an unspecified “robust Chinese response” to a potential Olympics boycott, which some reports indicate has been discussed by the US and its allies.

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Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd asked Blinken how the US can justify doing business with China, “or any country that you believe is committing genocide?”

Blinken said that products made in regions where the Uyghur population is under persecution should not be coming to the US market, but added that, “We have to be able to deal with China.”

Todd then asked, “Some people think a proper punishment is to not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Is that on the table among Western allies, or not?”

Blinken said “We’re not there yet. This is a year or so before the Olympics. We’re not focused on a boycott. What we are focused on is talking, consulting closely with our allies and partners, listening to them, listening to concerns. But that’s premature.”

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