U.S. Is ‘Considering’ Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Olympics, Biden Says

WASHINGTON — President Biden said on Thursday that the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, as pressure grows to hold China accountable for human rights abuses.

A boycott would mean that officials of the government would not attend the Games which are scheduled for February. However, it would not prevent U.S. competitors from competing.

As he met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada at the White House, Mr. Biden responded to a reporter’s question about the potential for a diplomatic boycott by saying it was “something we are considering.”

The comment came days after a virtual meeting between Mr. Biden and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, that was meant to prevent increasing tensions from turning into a broader conflict. According to a White House statement, while Mr. Xi warned that the administration should not support Taiwan, Mr. Biden raised concerns over abuses in the Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong regions.

Abuses against the Uyghur people, along with a crackdown in Hong Kong on free speech, have prompted calls for 180 human rights organizations and members to Congress to use the Olympics to hold China responsible. While some view a diplomatic boycott as a way of sending a message to U.S. athletes without punishing them, others question the effectiveness of withholding a government delegation while the focus is on the athletic competition.

“Whether we want it or not, the Olympics in Beijing are going to happen,” said Frédéric Mégret, a co-director of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at McGill University and an international human rights lawyer. “The question is: Do you want to give the Chinese government photo ops?”

There has been a steady increase in bipartisan support for a boycott. California’s Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the president to stop a U.S. delegation attending this year, although she stated that athletes should still be allowed to participate. Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas called for a complete boycott of the Beijing Games.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told The New York Times last week that the United States was discussing with allies “how they’re thinking about participation” in the Olympics. “It’s an active conversation,” he said. Canada and Europe have also been subject to pressure to boycott these Games.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (which would have to sign off on a full boycott) has made it clear that they do not support a boycott that would prohibit American athletes from competing at Beijing.

“They have been shown to negatively impact athletes while not effectively addressing global issues,” Kate Hartman, a spokeswoman for the committee, said of boycotts. “We believe that the more effective course of action is for the governments of the world and China to engage directly on human rights and geopolitical issues.” She did not respond to a follow-up question on what form of engagement the committee would prefer.

Jen Psaki (White House press secretary) said that Mr. Biden, Mr. Xi, and Mr. Biden did not discuss the Beijing Olympics during their Monday meeting.

But she acknowledged that “we do have concern,” noting the human rights abuses. Ms. Psaki didn’t respond to an email requesting information about whether the president had made a decision regarding the Games.

The last time the United States fully boycotted the Olympics was in 1980, when President Jimmy Carter rallied against allowing athletes to participate in the Summer Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet Union’s military presence in Afghanistan. This move is widely considered to have produced few tangible results, but provided Russia with plenty of talking points.

“It was seen as a propaganda victory for the Soviets at the time,” Mr. Mégret said. “It was seen as mostly punishing U.S. athletes and not really having any effect on the Soviet Union.”

This sentiment was echoed by Senator Mitt Romney (Republican from Utah) this year. The senator who organized the 2002 Salt Lake City Games wrote a New York Times Op-Ed in which he called for an economic boycott and a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics.

According to historians, limiting a boycott to government officials can send a message to the leader of the host country and allow athletes to protest oppression on a global stage.

Russia passed anti L.G.B.T.Q. Barack Obama signed legislation in 2013 that included three gay athletes in the U.S. delegation to Sochi’s Winter Olympics.

1968 was a memorable year in Olympic history, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists as a symbol for Black power.

“Regimes have a history of treating their hosts of the Olympics with an international seal of approval for whatever they’re doing,” said John Soares, a history professor at Notre Dame who has written about the Olympics. “Critics of a regime’s human rights record or other aspects of their policy say you don’t want to supply that seal of approval.”