Deng Xiaoping's idea of 'one country, two systems' has been famously applied to dealing with Hong Kong's return from British colonial rule but the principle made its debut on the running track, when it was applied to solve the Olympic dispute over self-ruled Taiwan, a province Beijing has pledged to take back by force if it moves towards independence.

In the face of such hardline opposition from Beijing, how do you deal with Taipei's demands to be represented at the Olympics? Reading Xu Guoqi's Olympic Dreams, his accomplished study of China and sport, it is sometimes impossible to see the sport behind the murky veil of politics, although in highlighting the general goodwill towards the Games in China, the book perhaps points the way to a non-political future for the event.

Recent accusations by Beijing that outside forces are trying to politicise the Olympic Games read a little hollow when you see how deeply political the Olympics have always been.

Any event that focuses on competing national interests is essentially political, as Xu points out in his book, which takes us from the end of the 19th century, when the word for sport, tiyu, first properly entered Chinese, until today when the world is watching to see what the Beijing Olympic Games will bring.

The Taiwan issue nearly led to the US boycotting the Montreal Games in 1976. Canada formally recognised the People's Republic of China and severed relations with Taiwan, one of the few western powers to do so at the time. In the end, Taiwanese athletes took part as representatives of the 'Republic of China' but without using its name, flag or anthem.

In the 1980s, when Deng was overseeing the issue, the debate centred on the translation of the word for China. Beijing wanted 'Zhongguo Taibei' (China Taipei), while Taipei wanted 'Zhonghua Taibei' (Chinese Taipei). While just one character was at issue on the surface, politically it meant a world of difference because it was symbolic of Taiwan's role in the world. The pragmatic Deng accepted Taipei's formulation, the Taiwanese accepted conditions and both Chinas continued to take part.

A similar pragmatism was called for in post-handover Hong Kong, whereby the SAR keeps its membership in the Olympic movement but adds China to its designation, flies the SAR flag and has the Chinese national anthem for victory ceremonies.

Where Olympic Dreams scores highest is in describing and explaining the importance of the Olympic Games to China's self-esteem and its sense of belonging on the international stage, and how successive leaders have focused on the powerful political platform the event provides.

The manner in which Chairman Mao Zedong chose table tennis as a way of signalling China's intentions to end years of self-imposed isolation with the introduction of 'ping-pong diplomacy' with the US under Richard Nixon is evidence of an awareness of the political power of sport.

'For the Chinese, sporting events represent something deep and fundamental - a validation of their nation's long labours towards international acceptance, a sign that China has overcome its 'century of humiliation and shame' to become a full member of the community of nations,' Xu writes.

The People's Republic of China won its first Olympic medal in the Los Angeles Games in 1984, but by the 2000 Olympics in Sydney it had finished third in the medals' tally behind the US and Russia. Liu Xiang's victory in the 110-metre hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens was the first win for China in a sprint event. Many Chinese believed he had overcome a genetic disposition that limited Chinese people's ability to win in track and field.

Pondering Liu's spectacular win, it is interesting to recall China's first Olympic athletes, runners Liu Changchun and Yu Xiwei. They were chosen to take part in the Los Angeles Games in 1932 after rumours that the Japanese puppet government in Manchuria was thinking of sending them to represent the occupying forces. The Japanese arrested Yu to stop him leaving China, so Liu went alone, the sole representative of 400 million Chinese. He was given 8,000 yuan by Zhang Xueliang, Manchuria's chief warlord, while the mayor of Beijing, Zhou Dawen, presented him with a new suit.