Yeah it has always been Propaganda that their unchecked power "helps the trains run on time". Even naively it is clear that there is a subset of power needed to actually make the trains run on time is vastly smaller than absolute power - it just wouldn't be exploitable which is what they actually want. They will complain about all limitations and scheme to seize it. The actual solution is to evaluate their claims in and refute them in detail and summary and fire the power hungry bastards out. Sadly this option is seldom taken or else we would have an Intelligence Aparatus which understands why trying to limit encryption when your international economy depends upon it both directly and indirectly is a moronic idea.
I know of no political will to restructure government to better handle a small pox attack. People vote on other topics.
I'm also a bit skeptical about the theory that China's "upside" isn't simply bypassing the media, ethical and other concerns noted in the article by simply controlling the media, information, and not dealing with ethical concerns.
I'm also a bit skeptical about what if any "upside" they have considering their controls on information.
I'm not sure you want that....