WASHINGTON BEIJING Reuters -- U.S. politicians should stop calling for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics to avoid hurting bilateral ties and China will take countermeasures if necessary, China's foreign ministry said on Monday.
The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that U.S. government officials will not attend the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, CNN reported on Sunday.
Those calling for a boycott are grandstanding and should stop so as to not affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas, said Zhao Lijian, China's foreign ministry spokesman.
If the U.S. continues to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures, he said at a news conference.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last month he was considering a diplomatic boycott to protest China's human rights record, including what Washington says is genocide against minority Muslims. The administration has been under pressure from activists and members of Congress to skip the games.
The White House wouldn't say anything about CNN's report on Sunday. Four sources with knowledge of the administration's thinking previously told Reuters that there was a growing consensus within the White House to keep U.S. officials away from the Beijing Olympics.
CNN said that the U.S. boycott would not prevent its athletes from competing in the games.
The State Department didn't respond to questions about the report late Sunday.