Polish President Andrzej Duda will attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Duda took this stance when a number
of Western countries carried out a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing
Olympics.
"Unless the epidemic or the security situation changes at our borders, the
president plans to take part in the opening of the Olympics in China and
support Polish athletes in this way," the president's foreign affairs
adviser, Jakub Kumoch, told Poland's state news agency PAP. Reuters, Tuesday
(18/1/2022).
Officials have told Reuters that as Poland's relations with the United
States have deteriorated under President Joe Biden's administration, it is
no longer in Poland's interest to continue criticizing China just to please
America.
The Polish president's relations with China have recently been positive,
with him making a surprise appearance at the 17+1 summit with China, when
other central European countries sent lower-ranking officials.
Duda said Poland plans to take advantage of its geographical location to
increase its role in trade between Europe and China. The president's
representative did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment
on why Duda chose to attend amid the boycott.
The US boycott to protest China's human rights record has been followed by
Australia, Britain, Canada and Japan. Recently, the Netherlands and Denmark
have also pledged to join a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter
Olympics.
China denies the rights violation and condemns the boycott as a betrayal of
Olympic principles.
