The article is heavily biased imho.
Domestically, it doubles as an insurance policy, securing water, food, and energy on China’s terms before scarcity and climate shocks arrive.
This is exactly what China doesn't do imho (and what many experts say). In the short term, it looks like that, but if we look the long-term we see a different picture. China’s economic development has been greatly built on accelerated devastation of the country's land and resources, with policies that had exacerbated the problem food and water security, especially when the climate change will take its toll.
For example, China is the world’s largest source of CO2 emissions as its new technology drive has been relying heavily on coal (the country is by far the largest coal consumer, and it is still increasing its coal consumption). The air quality in many Chinese cities fails to meet international health standards.North of the Huai River, for example, life expectancy is more than 5 years lower than in the south due to air pollution. For decades, severe water contamination and scarcity have been compounded land deterioration.
China seeks solutions in infrastructure project that doesn't promise long-term solutions either, like a new dam in Tibet that threatens the environment in a large area in Asia, and is causing political tensions with its neighbours like India and others.
But economic growth already wanes in China, the Chinese Communist Party appears even more determined to institute changes to stem further degradation.