President Joe Biden could be invited to Beijing Olympics by Xi, potentially raising political issues

As the United States and China continue discussions on a virtual summit to be held between the countries’ two leaders next week, one thorny topic looms large: the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

President Xi Jinping of China is expected to use the discussion, expected next week, to extend a personal invitation to U.S. President Joe Biden to attend the events in Beijing in February, said two people familiar with the matter.

The invitation would serve as a challenge to Biden to decline and put the relationship on ice; or accept and contradict his administration’s own messaging on democracy and human rights.

The White House and National Security Council declined to comment on how the president would respond to such an invitation. Karine Jean-Pierre, White House principal deputy press secretary, previously said staff were working out details of the summit, which was focused on managing the countries’ competition, not on “deliverables.”

Further complicating the issue: Group of Seven, or G-7, nations are still discussing a possible “diplomatic boycott” of the games, where athletes would participate but heads of state would not attend, according to two Western diplomats.

A joint decision has not yet been made on government attendance, these officials said.

Activists have called for a global boycott of what they’ve labeled the “Genocide Games” and urged the International Olympic Committee to postpone or relocate the events, citing China’s human rights abuses against the Uyghur population.

The State Department has condemned the “mass detention and political indoctrination campaign” against China’s ethnic minority, which it estimates are engaged in forced labor in some 1,200 “state-run internment camps.”

“In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker,” the agency said in a July factsheet.

In April, State Department spokesman Ned Price said a coordinated boycott is “something we certainly wish to discuss” with allies. The department later walked back the comments, suggesting it is not discussing a full boycott of the Games.

But dissension has continued to simmer. A group of U.S. senators, led by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, have proposed to exclude funding for government travel to the Games in an upcoming defense spending bill. And at the G-20 summit in Rome, the U.S. and Canada blocked language praising the upcoming Beijing Games from inclusion in the joint statement, according to Politico.

Reached for comment about the administration’s current posture on the boycott, a spokesman for the State Department referred CNBC to comments made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at The New York Times DealBook Summit.

“This is the most complex and consequential relationship we have,” Blinken told Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Biden will enter the talks with Xi coming off a domestic win, with the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal. The U.S. and China also pledged in Glasgow to work together on climate. The top U.S. trade official, Trade Representative Katherine Tai, said Wednesday that progress is being made on discussions to enforce the trade deal negotiated by the Trump administration.

The virtual Biden-Xi summit, which sources said could happen early next week, will be the closest thing to a face-to-face meeting between the two world leaders since Biden took office. Though the two leaders engaged closely before becoming heads of state, they have been relegated to phone calls as the coronavirus pandemic lingered and Xi opted not to travel internationally.

If it appears Western leaders will not attend the Beijing Games in person, Xi may also opt not to attend, citing Covid-19 risk, according to the diplomats.

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[ismailalialiali]

Don't think China give a "F" about USA! Do what you want! Fully support President Xi, the true president of the world who think about how to develop the world, lift up the lives of the developing world.

[iamthatiam]

So he's going back to his own country?

[googlebanmetoomuch]

This is propaganda and not very diplomatic

[chriswestwood]

I had enough of lies from politicians.

[mysticalwind]

I have high hopes that real adults will come to the table (although virtual) to come up with sensible steps to work together on solving real problems and make the world a better place.

[adminsystem]

Is Hunter going as well? nowadays hard to find a Chinese foot massage...

[Omikoshi]

This is like a domestic violence victim getting invited to thanksgiving by the aggressor.

[konradschmidt]

Let's fart, ups... let's go Brandon!

[lorainejones]

I hope the Chinese fans support the American athletes if no one shows up for them. That would show the Chinese people as the classier people and not petty like the American politicians. President Xi will definitely show up and be greeted fondly. He cares about China not stupid vindictive American political games.

[juliovivas]

It seems more advertising to me: attending the games, but that all athletes carry on their shirts, a symbol as a protest.

[joking]

History repeating. 1936 Berlin Nazi Olympics.

[AmericanAntiCorruptionAct]

The economy's doing great if you're a billionaire.

[Maidiac]

We should have boycotted the Olympics all together. But hey, who are we to look down our noses at MODERN SLAVERY....

[juliovivas]

I think it’s more advertising and more sporting, attending the championship, but that all athletes, wear a symbol, on their shirts, as a sign of protest.

[MuchCow]

"I taught Sun Tzu everything"

- Abraham Lincoln

[michaelpearson]

He can't travel cause anywhere he goes he'll get arrested

[elicooper]

There's a Chinese phrase "Weasel greets chickens happy new year" ... no good intention. （黃鼠狼拜年，沒安好心。）

[torturedsoul]

How did the U.S. feel with China sending troops to the Canadian border? That is how China feels with the U.S. having troops in Taiwan. President Xi was trying to make a point but it went over everyone's heads. The United States has always recognized Taiwan as a Chinese territory and a U.S. military presence in Taiwan is inappropriate and most likely viewed as an insult to the Chinese government. I would withdraw any U.S. troops to any navel vessel in the area to see if that relives tensions. A U.S. presence is putting Taiwanese lives in danger. Once troops are off the island I would then suggest a summit between the 3 countries to clearly establish some needed boundaries. The U.S. is concerned with Chinese seizing Taiwan like Hong Kong but Hong Kong is clearly a part of China. The Taiwanese want to be declared a country and they should as they would be recognized by the world and benefit from that status. It can still remain a Chinese territory but a self governing one.