A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Portugal on Saturday refuted a recent report by CNN Portugal claiming that Portugal will join the "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

CNN Portugal used a headline that read "Portugal joins diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics" in a TV news report, the spokesperson said, calling the headline a "deliberate distortion of facts" and "misleading." The spokesperson expressed strong dissatisfaction with the report. 

Nearly 3,000 athletes from about 90 countries and regions, including Portugal, will take part in the upcoming Games, the spokesperson said. Portugal will send its largest delegation ever to the Winter Olympics, which shows that the country attaches great importance to the event, the spokesperson added. 

Portugal supports Beijing 2022 and has never made any remark about "boycotting" the Games, the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson urged relevant media outlets to discard ideological prejudice and stop fabricating disinformation. 

The Beijing Winter Olympics will open on February 4.