The opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Credit: U.S. Army/Wikimedia Commons
Global audiences will turn their eyes to Beijing when the 2022 Winter Olympic Games begin on February 4, thirteen and a half years after China hosted the summer games for the first time.
Despite its recent growth slowdown, China’s economy has changed markedly in the intervening years. Today’s China is four times richer than it was in 2008. Back then, its per capita gross domestic product put it behind countries like Iraq and El Salvador; in 2021, it ranked above Russia and Malaysia.
Yet while China has also advanced on "hard power" measures like military spending and infrastructure, it is now viewed more unfavorably around the world than at any point this century. More than 80 heads of state traveled to Beijing in 2008 for the Olympics; in 2022, ten countries have announced diplomatic boycotts against the Games.
This week, The Wire takes stock of how China has changed between the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2022.
AN OLYMPIC BUILD
The 2008 Olympics catalyzed a mas
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
Chinese mining companies dominate the Congo’s critical mineral production, but an ongoing, nasty dispute at a cobalt mine shows the country is starting to drive a harder bargain. After more than a decade of Chinese companies operating largely unchecked in the DRC — almost 70 percent of the country’s mining is controlled by Chinese companies — the current standoff could represent a turning point.
The former U.S. Trade Representative, diplomat and World Bank president talks about his 40-year relationship with China, including refreshing the WTO deal; the danger of fortress economies; why engagement hasn't failed; and what he thinks...
.jpg){kind=link}