| Argentina’s Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup following defeating France in the 2022 Qatar World Cup final held at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the 18th (local time) and winning the championship following 36 years. © AFP=News1 © News1 |
While Argentina took the 2022 FIFA World Cup championship cup in Qatar, some netizens in China, who were eliminated from the World Cup finals, are claiming ownership of the championship cup. It was because there were traces of China everywhere in the World Cup.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on the 19th, “This competition cannot be completed without praising China,” and although it did not advance to the finals, the infrastructure and products developed by China were widely spread in Qatar.
In fact, China advertised itself as the biggest sponsor of this World Cup. According to Global Data, a British data analysis company, the total amount of sponsorship by Chinese companies for the World Cup in Qatar is 1.395 billion dollars (approximately 1.82 trillion won). After Chinese companies, American companies were found to be sponsoring $1.1 billion (approximately 1.43 trillion won).
The media emphasized that Doha’s main stadium, Lusail Stadium, was also jointly created by Qatar and China Railway Construction Corporation. It also announced that it had supplied more than 3,000 buses, including 888 electric vehicles, to Doha, saying that China’s new energy technology was recognized by the world.
He also mentioned that Midea Group, a Chinese home appliance company, provided 2,500 air conditioners for the stadium’s security screening center, and Sanyi Group, a heavy equipment company, also delivered 100 pieces of heavy equipment to the construction site.
In addition, 70% of soccer balls, uniforms, cheering goods, and souvenirs are known to have been produced in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China. Regarding this, the media praised themselves, saying, “China’s influence can be seen.”
In addition, some netizens claiming that “the owner of the World Cup championship is China” appeared on social network services (SNS) in China such as Weibo. The winning team is given a gold-plated replica of the winning cup, which makes an absurd claim that China, the manufacturer of the imitation, is the main character. However, it has not been confirmed whether this counterfeit product is made in China.
Finally, Xinhua News Agency quoted Song Xiangqing, a researcher at Beijing Normal University, as saying, “The World Cup is the perfect stage for Chinese-made products,” adding, “The popularity of these products speaks to the fact that Chinese manufacturers have entered the global high-end market.”
