International Communication Implications of Beijing 2022

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics hosted by China is based on the Olympic Agenda 2020 adopted by the IOC in December 2014. The core content of the agenda includes reducing the bidding and operation costs of the Olympics， promoting sustainable development， enhancing credibility and delivering humanistic care. In November 2015， General Secretary Xi Jinping instructed that the Beijing Winter Olympics should be held in a “green， sharing， open and clean” manner. When covering the Beijing Winter Olympics for the international community， we should not only vigorously promote the Olympic spirit by integrating the Olympic Agenda 2020 with the “green， inclusive， open and clean” Olympic vision， but also introduce Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the world by incorporating the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind into the publicity efforts. Due to the difficulties and complexities brought by COVID-19 prevention and control， the Beijing Winter Olympics will only allow targeted audiences to watch the games on site， denying direct access to the Games from global citizens. Against this backdrop， it has become inevitable and necessary for China to leverage both its own and foreign media in China to present a reliable， admirable and respectable national image to the rest of the world and share with the international community a “wonderful， safe and simple Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics”， so as to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The Beijing Winter Olympics is an opportunity to demonstrate China's international communication ability

As a global event， the Olympic Games upholds the spirit of “mutual understanding， friendship， solidarity and fair play”， transcends the boundaries of politics， religion， color， race and language， and has attracted 206 members to participate in the Games， forming an international community that is even bigger than the United Nations. Its appealing force and inclusiveness is self-evident. China will undoubtedly embrace great opportunities by hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics.

On the one hand， the Beijing Winter Olympics brings an important impetus for China to realize its dream of becoming a strong sports power. A country can only become stronger when its people are strong physically and high in spirit. The popularization of mass sports and the roll-out of national fitness programs may create a solid foundation for the development of national health and physical education. When bidding for the 24th Winter Olympics， China promised to get 300 million Chinese involved in winter sports. To this end， at the national level， the General Administration of Sport of China and other departments have issued important documents such as the Development Plan for Winter Sports （2016-2025）， The Plan for the Popularization of Mass Winter Sports （2016-2020）， and The National Construction Plan for Winter Sports Venues and Facilities （2016-2022）. In September 2018， the GASC issued the Implementation Outline of “Getting 300 Million Chinese Involved in Winter Sports” （2018-2022）. In August 2021， the State Council issued the Extensive Mass Fitness Program （2021-2025）. These plans and programs were all created to promote mass winter sports and high-level development of extensive mass fitness， help build a “healthy China” and bring China’s dream of becoming a strong sports power into reality. At the local level， a number of provinces and municipalities have also been developing winter sports vigorously. Beijing took the lead in introducing the “1+7” winter sports development master plan， which defined the seven core tasks in promoting winter sports -- encouraging mass participation， highlighting the competing nature， encouraging youth participation， industrialize winter sports， holding winter sports contests， building winter sports facilities and cultivating winter sports talents. By 2022， Beijing will have basically formed a relatively complete winter sports service system， and winter sports development will come to a new stage. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in February 2014 when he visited members of the Chinese sports delegation attending the 22nd Winter Olympics in Sochi， Russia， “The dreams of every Chinese and China’s dream of becoming a strong sports power are closely linked to the Chinese dream.” Hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics is not only conducive to enhancing China’s global influence and building its image as a big country， but also brings a good opportunity to promote national fitness in China.

On the other hand， the Beijing Winter Olympics is an important opportunity to test China’s international communication capacity. The Olympics emphasize the promotion of mutual understanding among people from different nations and the maintenance of world peace. Since 1924 when the first Winter Olympics was held， the number of participating countries and regions has been increasing and the influence of the Winter Olympics has been growing. The Beijing Winter Olympics will bring an important opportunity for China to tell its story， communicate its solutions and share its wisdom with the rest of the world. However， whether China is able to do these well， and thus win global recognition， also depends on the strength of China’s international communication capacity. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China， the top leaders of China have repeatedly emphasized and urged the enhancement of international communication capacity， and relevant instructions and requirements have been written into government work reports. On May 31st， 2021， the 30th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was held under the theme of strengthening the building of China’s international communication capacity. General Secretary Xi Jinping urged Chinese officials and institutions to “work harder on international communication to enhance China’s influence， the appeal of Chinese culture， the affinity of China’s image， the persuasiveness of China’s discourse， and the steering power of China in international public opinion”. This has shown that international communication capacity has already become part of China’s national power and a supporting part of the country’s soft power， and that the communication and shaping of the national image has also become a national strategy of China.

Realistic goals of the international communication of Beijing Winter Olympics

The realistic goals of the international communication of the Beijing Winter Olympics are to present “a reliable， admirable and respectable national image of China” to the rest of the world. A good national image helps a country to win a favorable international environment for development and reduce its development cost. In contrast， a country without a good national image may be left helpless and frustrated in international exchanges， and be forced to increase input in political， military and diplomatic fields， which would greatly raise the cost of its development.

In recent years， in order to maintain its hegemony， the United States has strengthened its containment of China to worsen the international public opinion environment for China， which to some extent has affected the external environment for China’s reform and development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made it clear that “we must strive to build a reliable， admirable and respectable image of China， and to tell China’s stories and exhibit the ideological and spiritual power behind the stories in a fuller and clearer manner”. “Reliable” means that the information disseminated should be objective， true and able to demonstrate the vivid practice in contemporary China’s reform and opening up. “Admirable” means that information should be disseminated in line with the acceptance habit of the international audience， have affinity， and be able to inspire empathy. “Respectable” means that the information disseminated should showcase China’s wisdom and solutions， highlight China’s views on development， civilization， security， human rights， ecology， international order and global governance， and clarify China’s contribution to the world.

The Winter Olympics is a big event under global attention， and the host country naturally becomes the focus of the entire world， and its national image is also placed in the spotlight of global media. The important ceremonies （opening， closing and awarding ceremonies， etc.） of the Winter Olympics are the best opportunities for the host country to present its national image to the international public. During these important ceremonies， China should adopt an approach of “maximizing plus minimizing”， that is， to maximize Chinese characteristics （Chinese culture） and to minimize cultural discounts （of international public perception）. To this end， on top of the Chinese elements （panda， the Great Wall， the Forbidden City， etc.）， common values of humanity （peace， development， fairness， justice， democracy， freedom， etc.） should be incorporated， and global elements lucid to non-Chinese audiences such as IP images should also be included in the international communication of Beijing Winter Olympics. This will not only be a display of the Chinese culture， but also a demonstration of China’s integration into the world.

Significance of the international communication of Beijing Winter Olympics

The Olympics are undoubtedly a cultural performance and political ceremony attracting worldwide attention. The communication of modern Olympics has experienced a process in which the audience shifted from being in direct contact to indirect communication and from being on site to being off-site. Communication at the early Olympics was mainly done through interpersonal communication when the media only had a small influence. From the end of World War II to the mid-1990s， international radios and televisions gradually became the main channels for Olympics coverage. Live broadcasting allowed global audiences to enjoy the games without being on-site. Since the mid-1990s， social media and platform-based media have provided a new space for the communication of the Olympics. The interaction of the off-site international public in virtual space has further transformed the communication of the Olympics in terms of thinking mode， cognition and behavior. In 2022， China will deliver a splendid， safe and simple Olympics to the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic， it is difficult for the international public to watch the Beijing Winter Olympics on site， and the media will become the most important communication channel for the Games. On the one hand， the traditional television will remain an important channel for communication. On the other hand， social media and platform-based media will become the main channel of transnational and cross-cultural communication， providing a shared Olympic time for the international public who are not on site.

As the “Dual Olympic City”， Beijing should make good use of the “halo effect”. To be specific， it should endeavor to extend the “halo” of the Beijing Summer Olympics to the Beijing Winter Olympics and the “halo” of the Beijing Olympics to China through customized communication strategies for each country or region， so that the charm and image of China will continue to be enhanced. Among the 86 countries and regions participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics， most are in the subtropical， temperate and cold zones， but some are also in the tropic zone， such as those from South America and Central Africa. The hot climate and scarcity of snowfalls in these countries and regions are not conducive to the development of winter sports， making it difficult for their athletes to win medals in the Winter Olympics. China should adopt precise and targeted communication methods that cater to the tastes of audiences in these countries and regions， and give special attention to the athletes from these countries. By sharing the splendor of the Beijing Winter Olympics extensively， discovering the commonality between Chinese and foreign cultures and that between famous figures in the history of Chinese and foreign exchanges， new friends could be made during the international communication， thus further increase the number of people that understand and become friendly to China.

In view of the false reports that some countries’ mainstream media have made or may make on China， China needs to soberly recognize the complex situation and cultural conflicts in international communication， leverage the roles of overseas Chinese and foreign students in China， and address the fragmentation of China-related reports by western media. China should also make good use of the platform of global peace and friendship created by the Beijing Winter Olympics， and interact with the international public who are not on site through global social media platforms， to display a genuine， objective and comprehensive national image of China， thus improving China’s international influence via the influence of the Olympic and Chinese cultures.

Objective values of the international communication of Beijing Winter Olympics

The objective value of the international communication of the Beijing Winter Olympics is to provide the world with “a typical example of a community with a shared future”. According to IOC President Thomas Bach， “the Olympic values of peace， solidarity， respect and unity unite the human race in diversity.” The vision of a community with a shared future for mankind put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping adopts “building an open， inclusive， clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace， universal security and common prosperity” as its core connotations. The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind shares the same pursuit with the Olympic values. It has extended “peace， solidarity， respect and unity” in sports to all the fields of human activities， reflecting a broader inclusiveness. A successful Beijing Winter Olympics is not only the best way for China to practice the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind， but also an opportunity to enrich the Olympic values.

The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is not only a modernized expression of the concept of “harmonious society” in traditional Chinese culture， but also echoes the concept of community in western philosophy. It is believed in western philosophy that the community of modern society is different from that of traditional society. In a community of traditional society， the meaning and value of individuals are based on a common social order， and people who share the same vision and have the same understanding of the good can form a community. In such a community， each individual has a fixed identity， which is determined by the ethics， beliefs， and values that govern life and define individual identity. In a modern society， though， the traditional hierarchy has been disintegrated， and individuals have developed a new and more autonomous identity， that is， an identity relatively independent from their family and society. Each individual pursues their own ideals and goals based on their own understanding of the good， and the autonomy level of individuals in modern days has never been higher. At the practice level， the “modern” community has become a unified framework and common understanding recognized and accepted by individuals based on their analysis of their roles in and relations with society. Modern society is not lack of common understandings， frameworks or values. What it lacks is the restoration of or emphasis on the common understandings， frameworks and values that used to exist. From this perspective， the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind can be viewed as a deepening and expansion of the Olympic spirit.

For more than a century， the modern Olympic movement has transcended people's social， political， religious or cultural backgrounds， and become the glue that binds the international community together. On July 20， 2021， the 138th plenary session of the IOC agreed to add “Together” to the Olympic motto of “Faster， Higher， Stronger”， stressing that mankind should join hands in a united response to COVID-19. No matter how some malicious forces may stir up trouble， facts have proved that the Beijing Winter Olympics have won extensive international support and will surely become an important symbol of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and a great practice of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Adhering to the principles of being held in a “green， sharing， open and clean” manner， the Beijing Winter Olympics is aimed at promoting the Olympic values， advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and making a major contribution to the progress of human civilization. The international communication of the Beijing Winter Olympics should follow the principles of clarifying concepts， conveying goodwill and inspiring empathy， so as to turn the Olympic spirit and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind into driving forces that will enhance people-to-people ties and promote shared values among mankind during China’s interaction with the rest of the world.

Gao Jinping is Professor of the School of International Journalism and Communication， Beijing Foreign Studies University