, reinforcing a previous state media report suggesting that mounting costs were a key reason why the country abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy. On January 8, when China reopened its borders and formally downgraded its management of Covid as a serious infectious disease, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency published an article disclosing the main reasons behind the leadership’s change of thinking on their Covid policy.
The China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the “Big Fund,” was set up in 2014 with an initial investment of $138.7 billion yuan It’s key to Beijing’s ambitions to boost its domestic chip industry and compete with the United States in key technologies. Short on cash China’s local governments are facing a shortfall of cash, as three years of the zero-Covid policy placed extraordinary pressure on their finances, while a slump in the housing market cut into their funding.
The priority of saving lives over money is definitely higher in China.