China was never going to top the Olympics medals table by winning at only table tennis and badminton so, when Beijing was awarded the games, the Chinese authorities set to work identifying five sports that were rich in gold: athletics, swimming, rowing, canoeing and sailing.

There were 119 medals up for grabs in these events so the Chinese launched the "119 project" aimed at developing champions in these sports. The methods have not been subtle. Tall people became rowers, fat people became shot putters and those with fins were thrown into the pool.

This is a typically bureaucratic way of finding talent and typical of all bureaucracies it has not been very successful. After all, despite having a population of over one billion people the authorities still have not found a Chinese Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.

On a positive note, at least the Chinese have decided to show off their cultural power by winning medals rather than following Russia's recent example and invading a neighbour.

However, Project 119 has thrown up awkward questions about how Chinese athletes of sometimes mediocre physical attributes have been turned into Olympians in just seven years.

Nobody likes a cheat and every Chinese victory in these Olympics is tainted by a perception that something unnatural has been responsible. In reality, the Chinese appear no more guilty of doping than any other nation, so why our uncharitable attitude?

Perhaps our suspicions about their sudden surge to the top of the medal table are linked to a deeper suspicion about China as a global power. Perhaps it is easier to think of the Chinese as cheats rather than simply better than us. A similarly uncharitable attitude can be found in the corporate world, where rapid growth is questioned and the cry of "cheat!" goes up from rivals. Take, for example, the complaints of airlines such as British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa who are crying foul at the fast-paced development of Middle Eastern rivals such as Emirates.

Stories are trotted out about subsidised fuel, cheap loans and sheikhs so rich they can afford to buy a fleet of new aircraft without missing the investment from their petty cash.

Until recently, airline executives in the Gulf have tended to shrug their shoulders and gracefully ignore the accusations but the complaints from Europe's airlines are now becoming a serious threat.

A number of European carriers have lobbied the Commission directly, seeking to block Emirates from gaining further access to markets across the continent. So far, the Commission has resisted. I understand that there are a number of reasons for this. The first is that the European Union is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the GCC and launching an investigation into one of the Gulf's highest-profile companies would almost certainly torpedo that effort.

Secondly, the governments of France and Germany are well aware that if it were not for aircraft orders from Middle Eastern carriers, Airbus would be in big trouble. The big three Gulf carriers account for 67 out of 192 A380 orders and 150 of 452 A350 orders (one third in both cases). Nobody is going to mess with purchasing power of that magnitude. But there are other ways for European carriers to fight back. I hear that pressure by a European flag carrier has resulted in daily safety inspections of a Gulf rival at a certain Mediterranean airport this summer.

Every day the inspectors would board the newly arrived plane and search for an excuse to ground the flight. After a month they found some loose rivets in the cargo hold and the airline is now on a watch list – the first step to being barred from flying that route.

These are pretty pathetic tactics deployed by desperate European carriers but they are also dangerous.

The Gulf airlines cannot afford to turn the other cheek because they are now taking delivery of so many aircraft that they must gain access to markets or risk under using expensive fleets. As a result, Emirates is cranking up its political influence in Europe and the fight back has begun, which should make for Olympic-quality sport.

Nobody likes a cheat but, as we have seen with both China's athletes and the Gulf's airlines, sometimes the accusations tell us more about the weakness of the accusers than the supposed perfidy of the newcomers.

David Robertson is the Business Correspondent of The Times of London