Policy Alert #245 | February 11, 2022

In the run-up to the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China had insisted on keeping politics and sports separate. But as the 2022 Olympics are now officially underway, the excitement of the sports is being largely drowned out by political tensions. Much of the criticism surrounding the Beijing Olympics has focused on China’s treatment of its minority Uyghurs. The opening ceremony appeared to meet this criticism head-on. It featured representatives of all 56 officially recognized Chinese ethnic groups, including Uyghurs, standing together and passing the Chinese flag across Beijing’s National Stadium.

Adding to the controversy, only one day before the opening ceremonies began, India joined the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Olympics. This decision was made after China included a PLA soldier who was involved in a deadly border skirmish in 2020 with Indian troops in the torch relay ahead of the opening ceremonies.

In addition, just hours before the opening ceremonies, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who flew to China for the Games. It was the first face-to-face meeting Xi has had with another world leader in nearly two years. In a joint statement after the meeting, China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership. Beijing supported Russia’s demand that Ukraine should not be admitted into NATO, while Moscow opposed any form of independence for Taiwan. The agreement marked the most detailed and assertive statement of Russian and Chinese resolve to work together. 

China

In a press conference shortly after the Winter Games kicked off, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian condemned “the political hype with malicious smear” against China surrounding the Games. When asked directly about China’s decision at the opening ceremony to have the cauldron lit by a Uyghur torchbearer, Lijian boasted China’s “ethnic unity,” asserting, “We are glad to see athletes from all ethnic groups, including Dinigeer Yilamujiang, join the Chinese delegation.” 

When asked about the decision to select the PLA commander in the wake of criticism from India, Lijian defended the move: “I want to stress that the torchbearers…are broadly representative. We hope that the relevant sides can view this in a rational and objective light and do not read too much into it from a political perspective.” 

In terms of the meeting with Russia, according to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi “stands ready to work with Putin to chart the future and provide guidance for bilateral relations under new historical circumstances.” 

• The nationalist Global Times compares China’s progress between its two Olympics: “Back in 2008… the opening ceremony made a statement: China has arrived. In 2022, China no longer needs to prove its standing on the world stage… China is already ahead on the leader board.”
• In an op-ed for the independent South China Morning Post, journalist Josh Ball observes Xi’s determination despite geopolitical challenges from the West: “Xi was expected to ride on the momentum of the Winter Olympics to push forward his development agenda for northern China.” 

 

India

On February 3, 2022 after Beijing’s surprising move to pick a Chinese soldier involved in the Galwan incident as an Olympic torchbearer, India made the decision to boycott the Olympics at the diplomatic level. Until then, India had made it clear that it would not join the call for boycott though it was not going to send high level representation. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated, “It is indeed regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics… India will not be attending the opening or the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.” In addition, the chief of public broadcaster Prasar Bharti, CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, said that it “will not telecast live the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics being held in Beijing.”  India’s decision to boycott the games comes months after it adopted the BRICS joint statement in September last year, where it said, “We express our support to China to host the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

• In an op-ed for the pro-government Daily Pioneer, Bhopinder Singh, former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry, accuses China of “sports washing” or using a sporting event to distract from serious issues: “Despite its poor human rights record, China is trying hard to project that its world standing is unaffected and that the Games will be a success.” 

Russia

Back in December 2021, Russia criticized the US for its diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics. “Our position is that the Olympics Game should be free of politics,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters according to AFP News Agency.  Russia is still formally banned from competing in the 2022 Olympics, amid the fallout from Moscow’s massive state-sponsored doping scandal at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics — but its competitors can take part under a neutral Olympic flag as Russian Olympic Committee athletes.

In his opening remarks to Xi carried by Russian television, Putin praised “unprecedented” close relations with China. Putin also highlighted close economic ties, including a new contract to supply China with 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year from eastern Russian.

• In an op-ed for The Moscow Times, an independent newspaper based in Moscow, reporter Felix Light notes the pivotal role Russia has assumed in the Winter Olympics: “Putin’s presence at the opening ceremony is seen as a symbol of deepening Sino-Russian relations across a range of areas, including relations with the United States, cybersecurity and even Ukraine.” 

Japan

Japan did not send any senior officials or cabinet ministers to the Winter Olympics – but stopped short of calling the decision a diplomatic boycott. Japan “believes that respect for human rights is important,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference. “We made a decision comprehensively. “In an attempt to strike a diplomatic balance in its relationships with both the US and China, Japan instead is sending Yasuhiro Yamashita, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, to attend the Games. 

As the winter Olympics commenced, the Japanese parliament has added its voice to the global chorus of concern about human rights in China. The Resolution Regarding the Serious Human Rights Situation in Xinjiang Uighur and Other Areas passed almost unanimously on February 1, 2022. The Diet resolution made no direct reference to the People’s Republic of China, and yet there was no mistaking whose behavior this resolution was referring to. The Chinese Foreign Ministry reaction was swift, claiming Japan “has no authority whatsoever to make wanton remarks” about other countries’ human rights conditions. 

• According to the conservative Asia Nikkei, the policy chief of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party criticized the government’s announcement that it would not send any government officials to the Beijing Olympics, saying it took too much time: “Tokyo should have swiftly decided on diplomatic boycott.”