ASSESSMENTS

China: Beijing's Olympic Disconnect

Jul 15, 2008 | 22:19 GMT

Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images

Summary

Beijing saw winning the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics as an opportunity to raise China’s international profile and solidify the "China rise" among the so-called big powers. Since 2001, times have changed, and Beijing has shifted from its initial focus on hosting the best Olympics ever to one nearly exclusively concerned with security of the games and avoiding further embarrassments. This is stirring complaints from foreign investors, domestic businesses and perhaps more important, fueling debates inside the Communist Party and central government over the decision to host the games and the best way to salvage any potential gain from hosting the Olympics.

Seven years after winning the right to host the 2008 Olympics, what China hoped for and what it may well get from the Olympics seem far apart....

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