Since China won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics on July 31, it has been embroiled in various waves of pungent criticism from overseas media. "A dearth of snow," "lingering pollution," and "human rights abuse" are among the sourest complaints that have hit the headlines.

    It seems that a number of Western media outlets are waiting to see a clumsy farce in Beijing and its neighboring Zhangjiakou by claiming that China just depended on its financial might, nationalist sentiments, and the utter lack of bids from any democratic country to win the hosting rights.

The recent release of an Olympics anthem has again pushed the rebuke to the forefront of public opinion, casting a darker cloud over jubilant Chinese people's celebrations for Beijing's success.

Commentators have pointed out that the song "Bing Xue Wu Dong," translated as "The Snow and Ice Dance" in English, bears a striking resemblance to the widely known theme song "Let It Go" from Disney's Oscar-winning animation Frozen.

The two share a similar introduction and tempo and both use the piano as the main musical instrument.

"Plagiarism, stealing, copying - that's the only thing China can do…this is China, from officials to the people, there's a culture of plagiarism, theft and copying," a YouTube user was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Domestic netizens also feel embarrassed by the song. One Weibo user quipped, "This is a loss of face on an international level!"

Nevertheless, listening carefully, you will find that the two pieces bear little similarity in lyrics and other musical elements except in tunes and beats.

It is fairer and more objective to say that celebrated pianist Zhao Zhao, composer of "The Snow and Ice Dance," has been inspired by the popular Disney ballad instead of ripping it off. But there is no denying it is not a brilliant way of doing things.

It is a little bit finicky to hurl such harsh accusations against one of the 10 official anthems for the 2022 Winter Olympics. This is not the first time for the West to level such copycat assertions against China.

Last month, the Chinese movie The Autobots was accused of being a carbon copy of Cars, a hit cartoon made by Disney's Pixar Studios in 2006, with similar posters and almost identical-looking protagonists. 

Reproach upon Chinese people's lack of creativity and innovation and favor for theft and plagiarism has been lingering in these years along with China's unprecedented rise. The White House has long been pressuring Beijing for failing to establish a robust intellectual property system.

As the US has traditional strengths in creating high-quality cultural products, its media take delight in finding fault with Chinese artists, which appears a vote for security because it caters to the political correctness of the West. "The Snow and Ice Dance" has just become another sacrifice against this background.

Since China adopted the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, we have learned from the industrial experience from Japan and Singapore and then referred to our Western counterparts in culture and arts. The process in still ongoing but is getting better. The most captivating culture and entertainment news this summer revolves around the performance of several domestic films that have smashed box office records.

This powerful momentum may well mean the "ripping off" episode has less significance and China's cultural industry will demonstrate its creativity and innovation in the near future.

Wang Xinke, a Beijing-based freelance writer