Chinese media has hit back after Australia joined the US's diplomatic boycott of the winter Olympics in Beijing.
Communist Party backed outlet The Global Times Tweeted an image of a kangaroo holding a balloon bearing the US flag with the caption: 'No. 1 US lackey'.
The newspaper frequently accused Australia of blindly following the US on foreign policy.
The United States on Monday said its government officials will boycott the Games in February because of China's human rights 'atrocities'.
China said the US will 'pay the price' for its decision and warned of 'resolute countermeasures' in response.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (centre) has confirmed Australia will boycott the winter Olympics
Pictured: Protesters in Sydney in June called on the Australian Government to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
On Wednesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Australia will also boycott the games, meaning officials will not turn up but Aussie athletes will still compete.
Up to one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to be held in camps in China's far-west region of Xinjiang, according to the United Nations.
China says they are legitimate prisoners but the West fears they are being unfairly detained because they are Muslim.
Confirming Australia will join the boycott, Mr Morrison said China has refused to speak to Australia about 'the human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other issues that Australia has consistently raised.
'So it is not surprising, therefore, that Australian government officials would, therefore, not be going to China for those Games. Australian athletes will, though,' he said.
A perimeter fence around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang in China's far west region. Activists say Muslims are being detained against their will
Asked if he feared backlash from China for the decision, Mr Morrison said: 'That would be completely and utterly unacceptable and there would be no grounds for that whatsoever.
'I'll always stand up for Australia's interests and what Australians believe is right and we are living in an uncertain time.'
Mr Morrison said the Olympics would still be a 'spectacular' sporting event.
The boycott has been backed by Australia's most famous winter Olympian, Steven Bradbury, who won speed skating gold in 2002 when all his opponents fell over.
The Brisbane local told The Australian: 'You can't take away an athlete's dreams. But if China isn't going to act in a way so that we can all live together on planet Earth and if China is going to continue to put tariffs on our products and try to hamstring us, then we need to act.
Steven Bradbury (pictured winning gold in 2002) has backed the boycott
'It has become glaringly obvious that China's mission is to take over the world, and more and more people are starting to understand that.'
In Beijing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing
