China shoots against Germany: Xi Jinping's Olympic power play

t-online China shoots against Germany: Xi Jinping's Olympic power play Article by Patrick Diekmann • 1 hour • 7 minutes reading time Xi Jinping's sporting power play nping: China wants to profit politically from the success of its athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris. Xi Jinping actually wanted to celebrate a rain of medals at the Olympic Games and start a charm offensive. Instead, China is being pilloried for doping allegations - and is fighting back. It was one of those moments at the Olympic Games in Paris that particularly moved the international audience. After the Chinese Huang Yaqiong won the gold medal in badminton doubles, she was surprised by her partner - the badminton player Liu Yuchen - with a bouquet of flowers. Amid the cheers of the hall, he got down on one knee, proposed to her, and then put a ring on her finger. Then both of them waved to the audience. This scene is symbolic of how Chinese athletes should present themselves in France according to Xi Jinping's wishes. Not only successfully, but also approachable, emotional and always with an outstretched hand towards athletes from other nations. While at previous games Chinese delegations often kept their distance from the rest of the world, there were now public hugs and cheers - including with Western representatives. Related video: Why the Olympic Games in Germany are "absolutely" necessary (Dailymotion) One thing is obvious: for China, the Olympic Games are a political power game, a test of strength with its biggest rival, the USA. In addition, the Chinese leadership was apparently planning a charm offensive. Without an order, Chinese athletes would not produce friendly images with Western athletes, because their sporting future is always dependent on the favor of the Chinese leadership. But the Chinese president's plan did not work. Although China was on a par with the USA in the medal table at the end of the Games, the Chinese gold-winning swimmers in particular were internationally pilloried due to doping allegations. There is great anger about this in the People's Republic, and Chinese state media are also targeting Germany. Sporting success according to a political blueprint For China, competitive sport is an important element of its "soft power", i.e. a way of exercising power politics by influencing other actors without using economic incentives or military threats. One example of this was the Chinese "ping-pong diplomacy" in the 1970s, when friendly table tennis matches led to a rapprochement between the United States and the People's Republic. Parallel to China's rise to economic and military superpower, Chinese athletes were also expected to compete with the USA at major sporting events such as the Olympic Games. The rise to a major sporting power began at the turn of the millennium with a view to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The People's Republic caught up rapidly and won the most gold medals for the first time at the domestic games. But what was the price of the enormous speed with which China caught up with or overtook the world leaders in some sports? The training of Chinese athletes begins in early childhood. They can expect tough drills, thousands of repetitions, discipline and immense pressure to perform. This has resulted in many Chinese Olympians becoming dogged and having to win at all costs over the past two decades. The Chinese strategy in Paris now documented a certain course correction. Chinese athletes should apparently not only be successful, but also likeable. The fact that Paris was also about a charm offensive is made clear in numerous articles in the Chinese state media. The "China Daily" wrote, for example: "The Olympic Games in Paris saw wonderful expressions of friendship and camaraderie." This is quite remarkable in view of the current tensions between China and the West. But Xi Jinping could pursue the idea that his athletes should be international role models, similar to how he wants to present his country as a political role model for other countries. In addition, China is currently interested in good relations with Western countries for economic reasons. Doping allegations against China's swimming team and WADA The Chinese president has already portrayed himself as an amateur athlete. The 71-year-old had stated in the past that he swims one kilometer a day. When Xi visited the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne in 2017, IOC President Thomas Bach flattered him: "President Xi is a real champion and I would like to present him with a number of medals because he has a clear idea of ​​the important role of sport in society." Media research revealed that all 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine at a national competition in China in early 2021. However, they were not banned, as is usually the case with positive tests. Beijing told the global anti-doping agency WADA that trimetazidine had accidentally gotten into a hotel's food, and WADA closed the case, even though not all of the athletes had even been guests at the hotel. In addition, during the games in Paris it became known that two Chinese swimmers had been acquitted by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) even though they had tested positive for the steroid doping agent methandienone in November 2022. Here, too, China cited contamination as the reason. WADA shows no mercy even in the case of accidental doping with methandienone and a ban actually follows - not so in its dealings with China. This sparked great outrage during the Olympic Games in France. ARD doping expert Hajo Seppelt stated on "Sportschau" on August 10: "WADA is suspected of a cover-up." The IOC, in turn, tried to evade responsibility by referring to the global anti-doping agency. In the end, what Xi Jinping actually wanted to avoid happened: some of his swimmers were booed in the Olympic swimming pool in Paris. China's victories left a bad taste in their mouths. China goes on the offensive Beijing had to react and launched a media counterattack to gain dominance in the debate. The campaign, which was pushed forward via China's social networks and state media, also targeted German media such as ARD and ZDF. In a video that was distributed on the Chinese platform Weibo (微博), it says: "Let's see how commentator Volker Grube from German ZDF television shows arrogance and prejudice towards Chinese athletes." In the seven-minute report - in Chinese and with English and German subtitles - German television is accused of "inflammatory behavior", "arrogance" and "prejudice". The presumption of innocence no longer applies in Germany. The accusations have fallen on fertile ground in China, the video has tens of thousands of likes. No surprise, because the Chinese leadership repeatedly propagates that the West wants to slow down the rise of the People's Republic. This also applies to sport. But the United States is also the main opponent in dealing with the doping allegations. Chinese media such as the news site "Global Times", which is also controlled by the state, are writing about a sporting stalemate at the Games. For Beijing, this is an important political symbol because it also means the end of the Americans' sporting hegemony. The "Global Times" is now accusing the USA of double standards and of defaming Chinese athletes. "Faced with a strong competitor, the USA is prepared to bend the rules, slander opponents and manipulate international organizations to secure victory." Chinese athletes, on the other hand, are "clean" and have been tested often. The accusation of double standards has at least one factual core. The US sprinter Erriyon Knighton also tested positive for the banned steroid trenbolone this year. His explanation: contaminated beef. Knighton was allowed to take part in the games in Paris. This imbalance in the doping debate makes it easy for the Chinese leadership to play the ball back into the West's half. Critical comments about doping by China are deleted on social networks, whereas debates about US athletes, whose faces in Paris are allegedly disproportionately purple due to doping, are allowed. Above all, this Chinese anger shows that Xi Jinping was not able to fully use the Olympic Games for his own political ends, as he had originally planned. For China and the USA, the competitions in Paris were more than "just" sport. But there is definitely a difference between democracy and autocracy here too: While Western doping offenders - such as Lance Armstrong - are socially ostracized, Chinese athletes contribute to the country's political goals from the perspective of the Chinese leadership. If they were banned for doping, they would still have Xi Jinping's backing - and most Chinese would probably never find out about it because of the censorship.