Turns out a fully state controlled economy can’t sustain growth long term. Who knew?
Discussion
I wouldn't call it fully state controlled. The companies have a large degree of autonomy... Until they fuck up, of course, at which point people start to disappear.
Don’t they choose which industries/projects will get funding in the first place?
Keep in mind two things:
1) the scale is not an absolute, but the percentage comparison to the GDP size of the US.
2) the break during covid shows that China is facing internal turmoil, possibly even internal pandemic problems or the aftershock from it. Judging from the carnage in Hong Kong when "Omicron" broke through there, this may very well be the case.