Diplomatically speaking… The White House has announced that the US won’t send its officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. A diplomatic boycott will allow US athletes to compete while keeping its officials at home. It’s designed to mark America’s disapproval with China’s concerning human rights record and aggressive stance on Taiwan without punishing the athletes. The countries’ presidents talked last month, which commentators saw as an important step in thawing relations between the economic giants. But after the virtual summit, Biden said officials may not go to the Games as pressure builds on Western nations to send a message to China. Reports say Australia may do the same now that the US has led the way. Overnight, Chinese officials said the Games are “not a stage for political posturing and manipulation”. They are set to start on 4 February.