Games are over, but contest of ideas between China and West has begun

In sharp contrast to the hyperbole and superlatives piled up by the Chinese media for the Beijing Olympics, CCTV labelled the London Games "the most controversial Olympics Games", and more than once sentiments ran high in the official Chinese media and among the public over Western bias towards Chinese athletes. By the end of the Games, Chinese authorities lodged official protests over judges' discrimination against Chinese athletes in cycling, gymnastics and the hammer.

Apart from being a worldwide sports event, the Olympics has always been a showcase of the host nation's "soft power". The media's role is, of course, central to soft power but when it comes to international events like the Olympics, the media cannot maintain a completely objective stance for obvious reasons - it must cater to the interests of its domestic and local audience first and foremost.

Political and ideological prejudices certainly play a part, as when the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics was disrupted in Paris, London and San Francisco. This time, China was not singled out for its Tibet policy and human rights record; instead its athletes' performances drew considerable scepticism and, in some cases, outright castigation.

Misgivings and distrust of China's overall performance in the international arena and its global vision and strategy (if there is such a thing) now tend to dominate the Western media and public opinion of most nations. While the world continues to marvel at China's economic miracle, it becomes increasingly wary of its global expansion, perplexed especially by its self-claimed exceptionalism, which in many ways clashes with Western-dominated universalism. Whether through "socialism with Chinese characteristics", the "China model" or the "Beijing Consensus", China challenges as fundamentals of the modern world such values as multiparty electoral democracy, the free market economy, and individualism and the middle class as a social foundation.

The Olympics should be true to its original goal of sportsmanship and fair play. However, it has also been a political and commercial vehicle for a nationalistic and ideological agenda, as well as business gains.

The London Games tried to fulfil both objectives. It was designed as a great party. It showed the values that Britain today tries to sustain. As British historian Tim Stanley said of the opening ceremony: "So after all of this, what is Britain? A country that can still put on a show, that has many identities, that is culturally rich … that is intensely proud of what it got right (free health care, women's votes), but not too comfortable about what it got wrong (empire was never mentioned). It is a mess. A jolly wonderful mess. We're good at those."

In the grand finale of the opening ceremony, Emeli Sandé sang Abide With Me, accompanied by dancers led by British-born Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan - an embodiment of the cultural diversity and pluralism that are mainstream values in modern Britain.