The anonymous athlete adorned with the Chinese flag represents the Chinese state; this is a common visual cue in political cartoons. The artist could have used

The anonymous athlete adorned with the Chinese flag represents the Chinese state; this is a common visual cue in political cartoons. The artist could have used a less subtle design choice like a panda in a tracksuit (similar to how the US can be represented by Uncle Sam), but it would make the posters comical and it would detract from the chosen art style and references to the historic style of poster design these hint at as well as the message behind the posters.