“The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home.”

For months, the US government has been trying to find the best way to position itself with regard to the Winter Games, hosted from Feb 4 to Feb 20, 2022 by a country it accuses of perpetrating “genocide” against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, northwest China.

Several human rights organisations have accused Beijing of having interned at least 1 million Muslims in Xinjiang in “reeducation camps”.

Sending official representation to the Olympics would signal that, despite China’s “egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang”, the Games were “business as usual”, Psaki said.

“And we simply can’t do that,” she continued.

Earlier yesterday China had threatened “countermeasures” if such a boycott were announced.

“I want to stress that the Winter Olympic Games is not a stage for political posturing and manipulation,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in response to weekend media reports that a boycott could be imminent.

Speaking at a regular press briefing yesterday, he warned the US should stop “hyping” the boycott.

“If the US is bent on having its own way, China will take resolute countermeasures,” Zhao said.

There was no immediate reaction to Psaki’s statement from Beijing.