I think China was looking at an existential threat to the government, and so made a calculation to trade a recession for survival. Their response was unpreceden

I think China was looking at an existential threat to the government, and so made a calculation to trade a recession for survival. Their response was unprecedented, brutal and effective. I think it goes beyond face - lying at this stage would just lead to more Wuhans and eventually collapse. At least that’s my current thinking - I was in your camp until a week ago or so.