All the government promises have faded.
The people refuse to spend money now which means the Chinese economy is not
sustainable. Foreign investment is running away and even if the foreign
money was there, it is not enough to keep the Chinese economy going.
People are still afraid. I have a Chinese friend, moved here to the US
recently. He is afraid to return to China, he knows he will be "detained." He has
spoken out against Chinese repression. He left China with the clothes on his back.
With the recent fall of the economy due to government mismanagement, the Chinese
people have lost their savings, are quite insecure and uncertain. The government could
help boost confidence with more secure employment, benefits, retirement.
But the government doesn't want to do that. Instead it pumps $billions into
worthless projects.
One of the things the government is doing to tamp down dissent is to make the US
its sworn enemy. Causing fear among the Chinese that western democracies want to destroy them.
This is to boost Chinese nationalism and reliance on the government for protection.
It is to the point that Americans living in China are leaving. Students are not
going there to study.
So the autocratic governments find a way to curb dissent and re-focus the people.
The Chinese government has always been afraid of having a 1.4 billion population who might
rebel. That is why they had to start feeding the people. And why they now have the world's
largest military. They want to be a superpower of course so need the military power.
But also they have the military resources now to stop a rebellion.