2019 Asiad should not be China's game

Cut their coats according to their cloth. That is exactly what Vietnam and China are doing on sports galas.

On April 17, Vietnam announced that it was pulling out as hosts of the 2019 Asian Games in Hanoi because of lack of preparedness and concerns that holding the multi-sport event for the first time may not be financially viable.

But Vietnam's decision to quit as host of the 18th Asian Games should not come as a big surprise given its socio-economic situation. The estimated cost of $150 million to host of the 2019 Asiad in Hanoi may have been less than previous ones. But the fact is that the country of 90 million people just started recovering from the global financial crisis last year, with its GDP increasing by 5.42 percent to about $170 billion. Besides, Vietnam has been battling with inflation, with its consumer price index once exceeding 18 percent in 2011.

Of course, Vietnam's decision will hurt its reputation in the sports world, but it has to be respected, for it was taken for the good of the country.

Which country will now come forward to host the 2019 Asian Games? This question has left many Chinese worried because they fear China could take the this upon itself given its "past zeal for big events".

After the magnificent but controversial Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, China hosted the equally controversial Shanghai 2010 World Expo. And it is now bidding for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, with Beijing and Zhangjiakou, a city that neighbors the capital in the north, as the venues.

Vietnam's decision to pull out as hosts of the 2019 Asiad can't prove that China's bid for 2022 Winter Games is wrong. But that doesn't mean that China should pick up the relay of the 18th Asian Games.

China is the world's second largest economy, and its GDP last year reached 56.9 trillion yuan ($9.12 trillion). The official figure of spending on the 2008 Olympic Games was more than $2 billion. And if the 2022 Winter Games costs as much, China can afford it considering its GDP.

Economists estimate that the revenue from the 2008 Olympics, including TV broadcasting rights, ticket sales and advertising, was about $2 billion. And although it will take 30 years to pay for its construction, the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, has become a new tourist attraction in Beijing, drawing thousands of people every day. The Games also radically improved Beijing's infrastructure - for instance, the capital now has one of the world's longest metro systems of about 456 km.

Similarly, the 2022 Winter Games (if China wins the bid to host it) could be another opportunity for China to fuel economic growth and improve the environment in the northern part of the country. The International Olympic Committee requires cities bidding to host the Winter Olympics to provide their environmental data, including those on carbon monoxide, PM10, PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. But since the whole of North China, including Beijing, is infamous for its smog, the authorities have to accelerate their pace to phase out highly polluting industries from the capital and the neighboring Hebei province - which is also essential for industrial upgrading and economic transformation - to win the bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

So why are people still worried despite so many gains? Because a clear list of expenditure and revenue has never been forthcoming. The authorities are not known to calculate the revenue after a big event is over, be it the 2008 Olympics or the 2010 World Expo. And even if the revenue may be hard to calculate, the expenditure is always impressive.

The official estimated cost of the 2010 World Expo was about $5 billion, but unofficially the cost has been estimated to be as high as $58 billion. Besides, most of the buildings built for the Expo were torn down after the event. Such short-life buildings constructed at huge costs are a waste of money and resources, and against the global trend of lowering emissions and saving energy.

The National Sports Games held in Shenyang, Liaoning province last year were the thriftiest, with the expenditure on its opening ceremony reduced from 90 million yuan to 9 million yuan. But the games still cost about 2.8 billion yuan, even according to official estimation.

Sports and exhibition galas have indeed improved China's image and enhanced its soft power, but they have also compelled many international observers to doubt whether China is still a developing country, even when the truth is that one out of every ten people in China still lives on $1.25 or less a day. The economic spillover effect of such galas, though highly praiseworthy, hardly reaches the bowls of the 128 million people living in poverty.

It took 19 years of effort before the authorities to allocate the targeted 4 percent of GDP for education in 2013. Millions of rural children rely on the public-funded "3-yuan nutritious lunch" served in schools, and more than 300 million people in China, especially in rural areas, still don't have access to safe drinking water. If more public fund is allocated to these areas, it will not only improve people's livelihood but also boost the local economies.

Vietnam's decision to pull out as the host of the 2019 Asian Games is a big pity. But the potential gains of hosting it will be even much less compared with the Olympic Games or Expo, because it's a much less influential event.

Unprofitable and costly as it would be, the 2019 Asian Games should not be China's game.

The author is an editor with China Daily.

zhuping@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/21/2014 page9)