Winter Olympics: has China’s Games success raised its global standing, allowing it to win friends and influence people?

Before the Games started, questions were raised as to whether they should even go ahead, and several countries backed a US-led diplomatic boycott

But by the end, China had controlled infections inside the ‘closed loop’, negotiated on global trade and backed other countries’ foreign policy

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Beijing before the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Photo: AP

Published: 10:15am, 25 Feb 2022Updated: 3:30pm, 4 Mar 2022

Before the Winter Olympics in Beijing, we asked what success for China might look like. In the second of our two-part series, Jack Lau and Cyril Ip look at how China fared in the political arena.

The five Olympic rings stood above a masked President Xi Jinping, as he waved to the camera and stood in front of a pastel blue backdrop for the 2022 Winter Games. His wife Peng Liyuan stood beside him at the photo-op, surrounded by 25 other socially distanced world leaders who flew to Beijing for the Olympics.

For Xi, the Games did not begin with his declaring them to be open at the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, but at meetings with 20 leaders and a welcoming banquet at the Great Hall of the People.

The China-friendly world leaders – including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob and UN Secretary-General António Guterres – accepted Beijing’s invitation to attend the Olympics despite a US-led diplomatic boycott over alleged human rights abuse in Xinjiang.

China’s President Xi Jinping, fifth from left, stands alongside government officials and guests, including International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, during the opening ceremony. Photo: Getty Images

Questions were raised whether the Games should go ahead. The Covid-19 pandemic was raging, and media focus was locked on the safety of Peng Shuai, the tennis player who wrote on Weibo then retracted the allegation that Zhang Gaoli, a retired Chinese vice-premier, had forced her to have sex. Unfavourable views of China in democratic countries rose to new highs.

But by the end of the two weeks, China had controlled infections inside the Games’ Covid-19 bubble, negotiated on global trade and backed other countries’ foreign policy.

Winter Olympics: has China’s Games success raised its global standing, allowing it to win friends and influence people?

Before the Games started, questions were raised as to whether they should even go ahead, and several countries backed a US-led diplomatic boycott But by the end, China had controlled infections inside the ‘closed loop’, negotiated on global trade and backed other countries’ foreign policy

Before the Games started, questions were raised as to whether they should even go ahead, and several countries backed a US-led diplomatic boycott

But by the end, China had controlled infections inside the ‘closed loop’, negotiated on global trade and backed other countries’ foreign policy