[ethbro]

Well, I see it as the typical (and smart) Chinese straddling of control and efficiency.

The government would like the capability to render the internet more favorable to their interests.

The government also recognizes that a modern economy cannot run at competitive efficiencies with incomplete/mis- information.

Ergo, it'd be perfect if you had a propaganda switch you could throw to influence the chokepoints (search engines) only when you needed to. Economy keeps humming along with mostly full internet during status quo: when dissent breaks out, you restrict information and take the hit to economy efficiency in favor of order and security.

Pretty evil genius, actually...