A representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry called US senators “ignorant” and invited them to learn more about digital currencies.

China has responded to the request of three US senators to prohibit the country’s athletes from using the digital yuan during the 2022 Winter Olympics which will take place in Beijing.

Earlier this week, US Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker sent a letter to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressly requesting that national athletes should not use the digital currency of the central bank of China during the Olympic event.

Members of the Senate pointed out that the digital yuan could serve as a surveillance tool for the Chinese government on a wide scale. In this regard, they warned that the use of said currency can represent a threat to the privacy of the athletes who attend the Olympic event.

According to China, the Letter Only Reflects Ignorance

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry spoke out at the senators’ letter warning the United States Olympic Committee about the use of China’s central bank digital currency during the upcoming sporting event.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese government department spokesman Zhao Lijian said that recent actions by US politicians only reflected their ignorance about cryptocurrencies. Lijan, who responded to a Reuters reporter who asked about the issue during the press call, also invited senators to learn more about digital currencies.

The representative continued to reject the surveillance arguments about the digital yuan made by the senators in the letter, adding that the United States of America was the leading expert on espionage and digital threat.

 The representative said that The United States of America has been spying on its competitors and its allies through various methods such as cyber theft and wiretapping, these facts are well known to the world.

Likewise, Lijian encouraged US politicians to separate sports from political affairs, adding that they must stop creating problems with digital currency in China.

Yuan Digital to Debut at 2022 Olympics

China has been carrying out multiple efforts to test its Central Bank digital currency, CDBC, the digital yuan, during the past year. The country’s officials have already revealed that they intend to take their testing procedures to the 2022 Olympics.

A  report made by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)  provided details on the deployment of the digital yuan during the sporting event and highlights that self-service vending machines, supermarkets, clothing, and other services will receive the CBDC. Other devices will appear in an offer to achieve the success of the payments.

Even though the Chinese government assures that users will be able to use the wallets without providing any personal information, various reports have warned, in the same vein as the senators’ letter, about the possible uses of such technology as a control mechanism.

By: Jenson Nuñez

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