When the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the rights to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, jointly with Zhangjiakou in North China's Hebei province, the initial reaction of the international community was lukewarm.

Over the past two decades, the cost overruns of hosting the Olympic Games have skyrocketed.

While Barcelona 1992 ($9.7 billion) and Athens 2004 ($3 billion) contributed to the debts of Spain and Greece, London 2012 ($15 billion) intensified the United Kingdom's economic distress before the Brexit referendum and Sochi 2014 ($22 billion) added to Russia's economic challenges amid the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. And for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, the costs soared to $10 billion amid Brazil's economic, political and security challenges.