Why China was ready with short guest list for Beijing Winter Olympics long before US diplomatic boycott
- 2008 Summer Olympics was China’s big moment on the world stage, and it has nothing left to prove, analysts say
- Beijing sees the US boycott as part of their mutual strategic rivalry, and was mentally prepared for multilateral action, they point out
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“China does not view the 2022 Winter Games as a chance to display its power or its capacity to host a successful Olympics – it already did so last time,” Zhao said.
“Thus the presence of an array of foreign leaders is not something that China is really concerned with diplomatically.”
02:29
US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, expects other countries to follow
The announcement by White House press secretary Jen Psaki was followed by a similar statement from New Zealand, though Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson cited Covid-19 as the reason for not sending ministerial-level diplomatic representatives to the event.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that China had lodged a solemn representation and would resolutely retaliate.
Invitations to foreign dignitaries were sent by their respective national Olympic committees, he noted.
“It is the American side’s own business whether their officials want to show up at the Beijing Olympics to cheer for their athletes.”
Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said it did not seem like China would bother sending any invitation to American officials, as that might risk a public refusal.
“My guess is that China has been mentally prepared for a situation where no officials from the US and its major allies would attend. Whether they announce it very soon or not until the last minute, or do so without an announcement, it won’t come as a surprise,” Shi said.
“And my guess is the Beijing government does not care so much.”
03:36
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Zhu Feng, an international relations expert with Nanjing University, said Beijing viewed the US boycott call as part of their growing strategic rivalry, and had anticipated Biden’s multilateral approach to countering China.
“But the situation is not as bad as the Cold War yet, and it is also unlikely that not a single Western leader will turn up,” he said.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Sochi for Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympics, when some Western leaders declined invitations over Moscow’s human rights record.
Even the spectacular Beijing Summer Games of 2008 - considered by both the hosts and the rest of the world as symbolising China’s ascent to the centre of the global arena – was not free from controversy.
But Beijing’s great diplomatic efforts meant that, on August 8 that year, as many as 54 heads of state, 16 heads of government, nine royal representatives, four first ladies and other dignitaries were present at Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium for the grand opening ceremony.
Apart from Bush and Putin, they included president Nicolas Sarkozy of France, also the holder of the EU rotating presidency at the time, and Princess Anne of Britain.
Xi, then vice-president of China, had served as chief of the 2008 Games’ organising leadership.
But international relations had changed greatly since then, and the divergences and contradictions between China and the West had become deeper, Shi said.
“Many would feel nostalgic now to think of 2008.”
Additional reporting by Catherine Wong
