Citing lack of support for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games, Chinese media calls the United States’ action “absurd”

With the recent announcements from South Korea and Germany stating they will not join the United States and other Western countries in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games, China can hardly contain their glee and called it a “slap at Washington’s absurdity.”

An article in The Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, said it’s clear the majority of the international community does not support the U.S.’s exploiting of the Olympics for political purposes.

They further claim the U.S. is “trying to kidnap international society.”

South Korean president Moon Jae-in said Monday his country will not participate in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games, citing a need for China’s help in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while acknowledging some opposing viewpoints in their relations with China.

China is the largest trading partner for South Korea and the main benefactor for North Korea. The Chinese government has threatened any country who issues a diplomatic boycott with “firm countermeasures.”

Lu Chao, director of the Research Institute for Borderland at Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, “it’s a common consensus that Olympic sports are independent from politics and the U.S. is going against such a consensus, which will only hurt itself.”

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, echoed those sentiments.

“The actions by the U.S. have won little support and are doomed to fail,” said Wenbin.