China shines at the Olympics, but there are some who “don’t want that”

The article below analyses the Western media response to China’s successes in the Olympic Games, in particular the persistent attempts to discredit China’s achievements and to portray the country as a systematic violator of doping regulations.

The author points out that this negative portrayal of Chinese athletes reflects two underlying dynamics. Firstly, an inability to accept that countries of the Global South can, along with their economic emergence, establish the infrastructure necessary to compete at the highest level in sports. Secondly, it reflects a broader hostility towards China, itself a manifestation of an escalating US-led New Cold War.

When it comes to attacking China, racism and war preparation go hand in hand. A campaign is underway against the People’s Republic of China in which lies and distortions of the truth in many areas breed hostility and fear of the country, its leaders and even its people.

This article originally appeared in the Belgian website China Square, and has been translated into English by the author, Friends of Socialist China advisory group member Dirk Nimmegeers.

The people and the media in China are excited about Team China’s outstanding results at the Olympics, though without ignoring the victories of other athletes or looking down on them. Those pushing for war totally dislike this.

Last Sunday, 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen defeated her opponent in the singles tennis final. She made history in Chinese tennis, winning the first gold medal for a Chinese and even for an Asian athlete in that event. Earlier, on Thursday, in the final of the men’s 100-metre freestyle swimming, Pan Zhanle had won and broken his own world record with an astonishing time of 46.40 seconds. Pan is a member of the foursome that won the 4×100-metre medley relay on Sunday.

Exceptional sports performances provoke mixed reactions: admiration, amazement, but sometimes also suspicion. Cyclist Tadej Pogacar, who achieved a spectacular double and more this cycling season, had to deal with doubts from certain quarters. However, the positive usually prevails.

The Positive

Swimming champion Pan Zhanle experienced both positive and negative reactions. His closest sporting rivals, Kyle Chalmers, the Australian silver medal winner, and a previous world record holder, Romanian Popovici, warmly congratulated him. They predicted that swimmers would go even faster as long as they keep working hard and in the right way. Pan has indeed done that and so, after a somewhat hesitant start as a 16-year-old, he managed to make a steep ascent and reach the absolute top just days before he turned 20. Pau Gasol, member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, and until recently an Olympic athlete himself, stressed that in the “many World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doping tests that all Chinese swimmers had to undergo, absolutely nothing was found”. At a press conference Gasol also made clear that “he thought those tests that cause a lot of stress and turn athletes’ lives upside down were excessive” and that “he was not sure whether the measure [of testing Chinese swimmers two or three times more than others] is right or not”. IOC spokesman Mark Adams also confirmed that the Chinese swimming team was “the most tested team” at the Paris Olympics. Since January, the team has undergone more than 600 tests.

The negative

But according to certain western media, Pan Zhanle was “the winner nobody wanted” (as Belgian television journalists stated). Indeed, there were a few ‘boos’ in the stands. There is a connection with insinuations and accusations poisoning the minds of part of the sports world and the Western public. German TV channel ARD and ‘quality newspaper’ the New York Times have published articles in recent months alleging that doping scandals among Chinese swimmers were covered up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Politicians in the US have also colluded in this attack on the integrity of Chinese and global sports organisations: at the request of the US Congress, the FBI has been called in. Some in the West cannot accept that China is so glaringly successful: the Australian swimming coach, and even some US swimmers, showed themselves to be bad losers. They refuse to believe that Chinese athletes won their medals in a fair way.

Whence the Chinese success?

The Global Times offers some convincing explanations for China’s success. It is due to “physical fitness and skills and a comprehensive competition integrating nutrition, sports science, production science and other disciplines. In those fields, the Chinese government, as we know, has been making efforts for years and with excellent returns. That we see Chinese athletes on the Olympic podium is the result of Chinese participation in global competition… a fair, equitable and open competition.”

Finally, there is another global trend, which we see today in cycling and other competitions: “In large-scale international sporting events, winning gold medals is no longer the preserve of developed countries”. The Chinese newspaper points to a necessary historical catch-up: “according to a study by the British Lawn Tennis Association, developing a professional tennis player aged 5 to 18 can cost more than $300,000. The same applies to swimming. In terms of venues, swimming pools have long been popular in western developed countries, while developing countries started using them much later… Countries in the Global South are increasingly participating and are even among the world leaders.” Thanks to the economic development of emerging countries, “the Olympic movement is really becoming more international”.

New generation

In China, there is also lots of satisfaction with and admiration for the attitude of the new generation of Chinese athletes and what these youngsters exude. The Global Times notes: “Many people have noticed that the new generation of Chinese athletes are increasingly showing the grandeur of a great nation. They naturally praise and encourage athletes from other countries, are proficient in speaking English off the field, and are confident and inclusive in cross-cultural interactions. They use the universal language of sports to present a new understanding of China to the world – always striving for excellence and breakthroughs, and promoting cultural exchanges and mutual learning in a peaceful and cooperative manner, fostering mutual understanding among people. This is evident both on and off the sports field.”

That was certainly the case when Pan Zhanle had to cope with the negative reactions from some in the public and Western media. Pan acknowledged that the testing regime was tough, but remained positive: “Last year I was tested 29 times, none positive. This year, I was tested 21 times between May and July, again no positive. During the Olympics I was tested twice, let the results come. All those tests didn’t affect me much and I don’t find it that annoying. It’s part of the rules”, he said.

Clearing misunderstandings

The swimming champion had understandably got angry for a while after the outrageous hostility with which his victory was greeted and he had misinterpreted Kyle Chalmers’ behaviour. But Chalmers had been quick to say that, in his opinion, there was no cheating. “I trust he did everything he could to get to this point and he deserves that gold medal”. The two swimmers have since agreed that there had been a misunderstanding and a language problem. Moreover, this is confirmed by the photo of the medallists standing amicably together on the podium.

Racism and war

So, “all’s well that ends well?” No, it is not. The mainly Western suspicion and hostility has a decidedly racist, Sinophobic undertone: “Chinese are not capable of that”, “Chinese cannot be trusted”. Those are racist reflexes on the Olympics of which also other Chinese athletes, as well as athletes from other third-world countries, are the victims. Moreover, when it comes to attacking China, a dimension is added: racism and war preparation go hand in hand. A campaign is underway against the People’s Republic of China in which lies and distortions of the truth in many areas breed hostility and fear of the country, its leaders and even its people. In the case of the accusations against Chinese athletes at the Olympics, it can be seen how easily some journalists from established media go along with this.

In the case of the accusations against Chinese athletes at the Olympics, it is obvious how easily some journalists from established media go along with this. Reporters of Belgian television VRT, provided a typical example regarding the Pan Zhanle incident. The journalists are not outraged because of the booing of a medallist. They go along, somewhat meekly, with the US narrative (“in the US, they don’t shy away from using any measure to prove themselves right”) and invoke anonymous experts. The Chinese meanwhile are accused of constructing “questionable arguments” and “totally implausible stories”, and can only “fuss” about “mental stress”. Pan is said to have “lashed out unusually hard at his opponents”. He is the “winner that nobody wanted”.

Olympics revisited

Is it a stretch to point to the New Cold War against China and to the top dogs in the two major US parties and in the EU and NATO leadership who seem to be pushing for a ‘hot’ war? How much has public opinion changed since say 2008 around issues that basically only concern the Chinese themselves – Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and especially around the fable of China’s aggressiveness in the Pacific? To return to the Games for a moment: before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Western anti-Chinese campaigns were still mainly focused on Tibet, with unashamed disruptions of the Olympic torch relay by separatists and their supporters. Jude Woodward, who was among those in charge of the City of London’s relations with China at the time, was so shocked that it motivated her to write the prophetic book The US versus China.

Compare all this to what is going on in Europe now. That there is still a majority in the West prepared to accept Washington and NATO’s views on the war in Ukraine and to approve arms deliveries to Kiev has been carefully prepared by poisoning people’s minds. In the process, Russia and its president Putin have been and are being demonised to such an extent that political parties, movements and citizens hardly dare to criticise the West’s Ukraine policy, or do not want because they fear they will be ostracised. Let’s return to the Olympics and other sports tournaments: Russian athletes are simply refused entry there, a disgraceful undermining of the Olympic spirit against which there seems to be little opposition. Food for thought when all those stories about “unstoppable, unreliable and aggressive Chinese” are trumpeted.