“The secretary-general received an invitation from the International Olympic Committee to attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Games and he has accepted it,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

The US said its athletes would still compete, but that it would not send a diplomatic delegation in a protest against rights abuses by China.

Australia, Britain and Canada also announced diplomatic boycotts.

France has no plans to join the boycott, president Emmanuel Macron said yesterday, calling such a move “insignificant”.

China warned nations that they would “pay the price” for boycotts.

Advocacy groups have backed the US-led effort, with Human Rights Watch’s China director Sophie Richardson calling it a “crucial step toward challenging the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity targeting Uighurs and other Turkic communities”.