If you look at the list of winners. Many of them come from authoritarian countries. I have no doubt that the Chinese government actively aids its competitors with great incentives and probably a few questionable practices.
I'm just saying the Chinese care way more about their image than Americans. So it should come as no surprise when they are more aggressive towards winning these awards. The American government has better ways to spend taxpayer money.
Why is winning the math olympiad "about their image" and not about academic excellence or even just the spirit of competition? And how is buying tanks the military tells congress they don't need really a better use of money than helping children excel in math?