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US government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of China's human rights "atrocities," the White House said on Monday, just weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the two superpowers.To get more news about beijing 2022 winter games, you can visit shine news official website.

The diplomatic boycott, which leaves athletes free to travel to Beijing to compete, has been encouraged by some members of Congress and rights advocacy groups for months.

Beijing threatened unspecified "resolute countermeasures" against any such move before Monday's announcement, which is certain to further strain relations already at their lowest point in decades.President Joe Biden's administration highlighted what Washington says is genocide against minority Muslims in China's western region of Xinjiang.

"US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can't do that," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a daily press briefing, referring to the People's Republic of China.The athletes on Team USA have our full support," Psaki added. "We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home."

The move comes despite an effort to stabilize ties with a video meeting last month between Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping.China's embassy in Washington called the boycott "political manipulation" as no invitations had been extended to US politicians.

"In fact, no one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to be successfully held," embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said.The boycott reflects the Cold War mentality of the United States, the spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations said in a statement.

"The US just wants to politicize sports, create divisions and provoke confrontation," the statement said. This approach will find no support and is doomed to fail."Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States consulted allies on a "shared approach" to the Beijing Games. It was unclear if they would follow the US lead.

"Canada remains deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in China," Canada's foreign ministry said in a statement. "We were notified of the US decision and we will continue to discuss this matter with our partners and allies."

The Australian and Japanese governments said on Tuesday they were also still considering their positions for the Games, which begin on Feb. 4.

"We will consider matters such as the meaning of the Olympic Games and our diplomatic relations, and would like to make our own decision based on what is best for our national interest," Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said his country would not be sending government officials but that decision was based largely on COVID-19 concerns and preceded the US boycott.

"We've made clear to China on numerous occasions our concerns about human rights issues - as recently as the Prime Minister talking to President Xi," Robertson told reporters, according to state broadcaster TVNZ. "They're well aware of our view on human rights but we'd already made that decision not to attend."

The 2022 Beijing Winter Games will likely be remembered for being yet another "COVID Olympics."To get more news about 2022 winter olympics, you can visit shine news official website.

Similar to the Summer Games only six months ago, athletes, staff and journalists were required to stay in a closed "bubble," cut off from the local population over fears of spreading the disease. Athletes performed before an audience on television with few fans in attendance.Still, there was much more to the Winter Games than the cloud of the ongoing pandemic.

NPR's team in Beijing put together moments and storylines that stuck out — including those that showed immense inner strength, athleticism and grace.It wasn't a gold-medal winning moment by U.S. Alpine star Mikaela Shiffrin that put her on the top of the list. Rather, it's the way the Olympian failed — and responded to her unusual struggles on the slopes.

Shiffrin is a bona fide star — despite what internet trolls have been saying about the 26-year-old. She has won more World Cup slalom races than anyone in history, woman or man. She came into these Games already having won three Olympic medals, including two gold.

Asked about the pressure of coming into the Games as one of those few athletes expected to win medals, Shiffrin said she felt pressure but no more than she had experienced before."That's the whole shebang in sport: You can have preparation, confidence ... and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't," she said. "And I literally have no idea why we keep coming back and doing it."

In the mountains northwest of Beijing, she didn't finish three of her five individual races after either falling or skiing out of the course after a matter of seconds.She managed to face those difficulties thoughtfully, honestly and with a sense of humor.

"I don't know if anybody's failed that hard with so many opportunities — maybe in the history of the Olympics. But I will take it," she said joking.One of the Games' lasting images may be her after her second race: Sitting by the safety netting off to the side, with her head down.

She leaves China with no hardware, but Shiffrin can take solace in her handling of failure. And how, if people were paying attention, she taught them something about failing with grace and honesty.These Games were billed as U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen's chance for redemption after a disastrous performance during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

In the face of immense pressure heading into Beijing, Chen managed to deliver. His stunning short program performance netted him a season-high, world record score of 113.97. It set the bar high for his final run on the ice later that week.

He was the last skater of the day among a slew of talented skaters — each better than the last. It seemed each man executed routines that were energetic and just pure fun. Some performances even had even the audience clapping their hands to the beat of the music.