US announces diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in China over human rights

The United States will not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the White House announced Monday, citing China's human rights record.

The United States will not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the White House announced Monday, citing China's human rights record.

The diplomatic boycott means that U.S. athletes will still compete in the Games, which will start in February.

The Chinese government responded with swift condemnation of President Joe Biden's decision -- saying the Olympics shouldn't be "a stage for political shows" and warning of "resolute countermeasures."

But the Biden administration said it would not send senior U.S. government officials because of China's mass detention camps and forced sterilization campaign against Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the country's western province -- policies that the U.S. government has determined constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.