Editor's note: Elias Jabbour is a professor in the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, to the most perceptive, happened to be a special moment for the Chinese people to send two profound messages to the world. The first message has a name: Peace.

This message of peace is exceptionally deep at the very moment of the Apex Offensive led in recent years by the U.S. to deconstruct the Chinese image to the world, and the tensions that this very same country has provoked with Russia, threatening its national security by trying to militarize its border with Ukraine.

The message was sent as politely as the moment demanded. The opening of the games represented a synthesis of demonstrating mastery of various technologies, without the need to be aggressive in showing up the advances of the Chinese people in this field. An important detail is that alongside large pyrotechnic shows typical of Western futility, they made a point in strictly following the safety standards imposed by COVID-19.

It has the character of the symbology that China tries to deliver to the world. The shape of the Olympic cauldron (torch) epitomized the Chinese commitment to "zero carbon" goals. The children who sang the Olympic anthem in Greek are all from towns recently freed from extreme poverty. An example of the tenacity of these children is the fact that they learned the hymn in just months.

On the other hand, it is impossible not to refer to the historical memory. I had been in Beijing in 2004 and 2007, so I could watch the city being prepared to host the 2008 Olympic Games. I was taken by emotion. The Bird's Nest stadium has a very strong symbology not only for me, but also for the Chinese people. It is one of the landmarks and places to remember when the story of restoring the dignity of the Chinese people is told. 

The Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and its international strategy of building a world with a shared future were very clear and evident as a materialized reality at the opening ceremony of the event. Historical memory is part of the construction of the opening of major events like this in Beijing.

The second message is also clear and evident. Gone are the days when the U.S. held power of will over various peoples and countries. The media controlled by Western imperialism tried in every way to smear and dismantle the image of China, trying to create a mood of diplomatic "boycott" to the Games. 

All modern ways of spreading fake news, undisguised interferences in China's internal affairs were mobilized and the failure was complete. The world changed deeply. Despite the plea of the imperialist bloc, such as the U.S., UK, Australia and Canada, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the opening ceremony.

The diplomatic "boycott" attempt was one of the biggest diplomatic jokes of recent times. A shame that gets even greater as the world needs more and more cooperation to overcome the pandemic and resume international economic development. The shameful failure of the U.S. attempt to nullify China with the so-called diplomatic "boycott" showed that the world today is very different from the time when the U.S. mobilized more than 50 countries to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In this parallel with the Olympic Games in Moscow, the old phrase of Karl Marx, "History repeats itself, the first as tragedy, then as farce," can be very well applied.

History repeats itself twice, as tragedy and farce. The first was under the host of the tragedy of the strategic mistake of the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan. And now under the farce of the complaint of "human rights violations" in China. The U.S. lives under intense social and racial tension that for many could lead to a new civil war. The levels of social inequality, homelessness and urban violence are the highest in history. Over 900,000 deaths from COVID-19 denounce a society where large portions of the population sympathize with far-right religious sects and the denial of science. Never has the U.S. made the world such a dangerous place to live.

The Chinese march towards its dream of national rejuvenation is in full progress, but not without first having to face the international challenge imposed by imperialism. And it is at this moment that the millennial intelligence of the Chinese people imposes itself. The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics was enough to send these two interesting messages.

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