Tensions on the rise as U.S. boycotts Winter Olympics in Beijing

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images News

• Pointing to China's "crimes against humanity" and other "human rights atrocities," the U.S. government is boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will take place from February 4 to 20 in Beijing. While American athletes will be free to compete, diplomatic personnel will be barred from the event, further straining relations already at their lowest point in decades. The boycott puts corporate Olympic sponsors in "an awkward spot," but was less concerning than a full measure barring athletes, noted Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports who has overseen Olympics broadcast rights deals.
• China responds: "If the U.S. is bent on having its own way, China will take resolute countermeasures," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a press conference. China's embassy in Washington also called the boycott "political manipulation" that would have no impact on the Games as no invitations had been extended to U.S. officia;s. The news follows American intelligence reports that found China intends to establish its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean in Equatorial Guinea.
• It's not the only potential crises unfolding on the world stage. The U.S. and European allies are weighing sanctions targeting Russia's biggest banks and the nation's ability to convert rubles for dollars and other foreign currencies should Vladimir Putin invade Ukraine. President Biden is expected to outline the economic threats in a phone call today, with U.S. intelligence suggesting there could be an invasion involving as many as 175,000 Russian troops in the coming year.
• Don't forget Iran: On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the seventh round of nuclear talks in Vienna ended because Tehran did not seem serious about returning to the terms spelled out in the JCPOA. "We're going to be consulting very closely and carefully with all of our partners in the process itself and we will see if Iran has any interest in engaging seriously," he declared. "If the path to a return to compliance with the agreement turns out to be a dead-end, we will pursue other options."
• Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion.

Comments

[Chancer]

I oppose these boycotts. They are just PR promos for politicians. They do NOT change the behavior of bad nations. The Olympics is NOT supposed to be political.

[brainleft]

which fools voted for dementia Joe and heels up? the world is laughing. the division campaign in msm must stop or be stopped with treason charges. we the people are tired of bills written by lobbyists, stop spending $ we don't have, let capitalism continue growing our country, secure the wide open border. it's not complicated.

[kmi]

"Tensions on the rise as U.S. boycotts Winter Olympics"

lolwut?

Biden issues his 'strong disapproval' and someone cared?

China scoffed, nothing changed, no one is impressed, non-news item. Biden isn't relevant on the world stage.

[kmi]

@kmi

Let's be clear:

Russia as ALREADY won on Ukraine (Biden gave up nordstream2 with nothing in return), Iran has ALREADY won on the nuclear deal (Biden released billions to them and relaxed hundreds of sanctions, and got nothing for it), China has ALREADY won on Olympics, climate change, trade etc.

Biden has lost every fight he's picked.

[nhsully88]

@kmi just like his 50-year track record....

[bill h illify]

You may not be interested in war but it is interested in you...the WH needs to be laser focused on these international issues...and less worried on BBB silliness.

[LK106218]

The names have changed from 80 years ago but the conflict remains between governing systems that disperse political power, democracies, with those that consolidate power, autocracies. The locations of these conflicts have moved from central Europe to the Ukrainian border and northeast Asia to the seas and airspace around Taiwan.

The world economy is much more interconnected and interdependent than 80 years ago. We are witness to that as economies struggle with supply chain disruptions as we recover from the pandemic and the inflation that followed.

The expected response by the democracies to be announced later today to an anticipated military act is economic sanctions. That is a replay of the sanctions on Japan 90 years ago that failed to dissuade Japan and the attack on Pearl Harbor followed. I doubt economic sanctions will have the desired result. Autocrats control the narrative internally and will persuade their populations to go along in a nationalistic fervor.

It seems the Chinese government is already working to isolate themselves lessening dependence on US capital and limiting US access to Chinese sourced data. That should be very concerning in what is implied, the Chinese are expecting the competition between governing systems to escalate.

This is a site for investors. So, how will these geopolitical movements affect us? Well to start with US and EU investors should recognize the significant risk of investing in countries with governments trending autocratic. Those huge markets are worthless if you the investor cannot recover your invested capital. So, don’t go there.

A concern for Turkey’s and India’s purchase of Russian ground to air defense systems is that the purchase offsets Russian development cost of those systems. The US and EU investor should recognize their investments into autocratic systems may eventually lead to an attack on their own freedoms. Yes, it is that serious.