Who gets chosen as “the well regarded artist” is also the work of political jockeying. Ai Wei Wei enjoyed rising popularity because of past criticism of China, but has received a hit to his reputation thinking that his criticism had weight beyond that, like when he lightly criticized america (i cant remember how, i just remember it happened).
The only reason anyone outside the west in art is ever spoken about is when it can be used for propaganda, the art world has already been irreversibly infiltrated by the state.