Dutch Athletes Warned to Keep Phones and Laptops out of China: Media

A car checkpoint in front of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, where the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, on Jan. 11, 2022. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

AMSTERDAM—Dutch athletes competing in next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics will need to leave their phones and laptops at home in an unprecedented move to avoid Chinese espionage, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported on Tuesday.

The urgent advice to athletes and supporting staff to not bring any personal devices to China was part of a set of measures proposed by the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOCNSF) to deal with any possible interference by Chinese state agents, the paper said citing sources close to the matter.