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It may very well be, that China has a different approach than "just in time" only.

We know this from the building construction sector. A great number of vast buildings was unoccupied at first and western media was "reporting" on this "problem" and used it as prediction for coming collapse and for failure in planning. But nothing bad happened. Slowly at first and then ever faster the buildings where occupied. This desert turned into another oasis. The "reports" about that success where not written in the West.

Now, as everybody knows, there is a chip-war going on between the West and China. It is getting harder and nastier by the day. The USA knows no limits here. Wouldn't it be prudent to have some resources in reserve, to prepare for the expectable? To have some seemingly "dead capital" standing around is a bit unpleasant. But to have no reserves when the next big blow in the chip war is being dealt, is much more than unpleasant, it can proof to be disastrous.

China knows pretty well, that the West is everything but reliable and responsible.

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"Best Investigative Stories about China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, from.. Global Investigative Journalism Network”.

Kidding, right?

The article you cite begins thus, "The year 2023 was another challenging one for investigative journalism in China. In this year’s World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, China ranked second to last among 180 countries, just ahead of North Korea. The level of information censorship and manipulation by the Chinese authorities has reached a highly sophisticated level".

Both "The World Press Freedom Index" and RSF are funded by the APA, the American Publishers Association which, among other discoveries, found that only 6% of Americans trust their media.

Clearly, 'freedom' in this context means 'freedom to lie".

Meanwhile, 82% of Chinese trust their government media. The highest on earth.

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