LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken out against a sports boycott of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

He will consider calls for a diplomatic boycott of the tournament in the Chinese capital, Johnson said in parliament in London. “But instinctively I was – and was – against a game boycott.” Earlier, MP Tim Lawton of Johnson’s Conservative Party announced a proposal for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games “unless this dangerous regime adheres to basic international standards of decency.”

Johnson emphasized his critical stance against China, specifically referring to the way it treated the Uighur minority in the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang. “This country is a world leader in condemning human rights abuses in Xinjiang and in imposing sanctions on those responsible for bringing to justice companies that import goods made by forced labor in Xinjiang.”

British-Chinese relations are quite tense. Great Britain, along with the European Union, the United States and Canada, have issued sanctions against those responsible for the persecution of the Muslim Uighur minority. China then punished many British critics for their policies.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210707-99-292378 / 2