China’s Xi Names Eileen Gu, But Skips Photo With Olympic Star
- American-born skier was absent from most state broadcasts
- Xi used speech to bolster confidence in Covid Zero strategy
Photographer: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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President Xi Jinping celebrated the heroes of the Beijing Winter Olympics, calling out American-born freeskier Eileen Gu whose decision to represent China became a soft power win for his state.
At an awards ceremony Friday in Beijing featuring the Communist Party’s top leadership, Xi praised Covid controls that allowed the Olympics to go ahead earlier this year. “China’s Covid policies have once again withstood tests,” Xi said, adding the sporting event showed China was a “reliable, lovable and trustworthy” country.