For Chinese leaders, Olympics weren't 2022's big-ticket item
A child plays with a red scarf near a decoration for the Beijing Winter Olympics Games in front of the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 18, 2022. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A child plays with a red scarf near a decoration for the Beijing Winter Olympics Games in front of the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 18, 2022. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Feb. 21, 2022 08:58 PM EST
A paramilitary police officer wearing a face mask marches past a decoration for the Beijing Winter Olympics Games in front of the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 20, 2022. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A paramilitary police officer wearing a face mask marches past a decoration for the Beijing Winter Olympics Games in front of the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 20, 2022. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Feb. 21, 2022 08:57 PM EST
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, presides over the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2017. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, presides over the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2017. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Feb. 21, 2022 08:59 PM EST
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping waves during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping waves during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. The just-concluded Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Feb. 21, 2022 08:58 PM EST
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, front row center, and his cadres sing the Communist song during the closing ceremony for the 19th Party Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2017. The just-concluded 2022 Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, front row center, and his cadres sing the Communist song during the closing ceremony for the 19th Party Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2017. The just-concluded 2022 Winter Olympics weren’t China's big event of the year, internally, at least. For the Communist Party, that comes this fall at a major meeting that will likely cement Xi Jinping's position as one of the nation's most powerful leaders in its seven decades of Communist rule. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Feb. 21, 2022 09:00 PM EST