The Beijing Winter Olympics ended Sunday without a major protest, diplomatic incident, virus debacle or war in Ukraine. For Chinese President Xi Jinping, that’s about as good as could be expected.
A U.S.-led diplomatic boycott had raised the stakes for governments around the world, with attendance framed as a choice between respecting human rights or cozying up to the world’s No. 2 economy. The most-powerful attendee, Russian President Vladimir Putin, added to the drama with a military buildup around Ukraine as Western powers sought to deter a conflict.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.