The 2000 Olympics became a proxy geopolitical contest between China and the West

Evidence

Securing the 2000 summer Olympics for Beijing was a major goal of the Chinese government, which invested tremendous resources in trying to achieve it. In China there was immense publicity about the Olympic bid and public expectations were high; the government lobbied other governments to pressure their Olympic associations; Taiwan and Hong Kong joined in the campaign. On the other side, the United States Congress, the European Parliament, and human rights organizations all vigorously opposed selecting Beijing. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 525

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the modern pattern of the Olympic Games as a political prestige arena, and how hosting major sporting events functions as soft-power diplomacy — parallels the later Chinese success in hosting in 2008.