[Arn_Thor]

We can argue about the exact economic significance—my interpretationof the facts you listed is much less severe—but whatever the cost, the CCP seems willing to pay it gladly. If that means running the economy into the ground as the alarmists warn will inevitably happen, then they're still powering on ahead undeterred. The takeaway for critics of China must inevitably be, then, that whatever the cost is it's not high enough to force the CCP to change course.

[ls65536]

I wonder also if perhaps avoiding a change of course, despite the costs of not doing so, in the interest of "saving face" might also be playing a role here. As I understand it (and at some risk of overgeneralizing here), this is a big cultural concept that I think might be underestimated by a lot of people in "the West" as a factor here.