The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games were to show the new face of China after thirty years of transformation. The main purpose of this article is to analyze how this aim was achieved and how the Chinese mass-media were employed in order to display the impressive outcome. The Chinese mass-media are regarded here as one of the instruments employed by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in conducting its politics.

The transformations initiated by CPC pragmatists in the late 1970s led to profound changes in the economic and social spheres. While the middle class is growing in number, many social categories did not benefit from modernization to the same extent. It is difficult to overlook the disparity between the countryside and cities, especially the rapid economic development of east coast cities as opposed to the relatively backward western provinces. The citizens of China, a country officially called socialist, do not enjoy social benefits, free education, health care, or an efficient pension system. Corruption and nepotism constitute additional problems. Since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of demonstrations, protests and petitions against corrupt officials and the unfair state system. These protests represent a new challenge for the CPC if it intends to remain in power. The state needs soft power and a new ideology that could replace Maoism and maintain social unity and support for the party.