10K with 1K each is only 10M. Not big money. Even if 10K each it is only 100M. The journalist did not think things out, which is not surprising if the person is a journalist unless the journalist is a chinese who wanted to have something about china appear in new york times. Chinese are known for boasting. They are not alone though. South Koreans made too much noise about doing the exercises, but ultimately they silenced themselves.
The only difference between American Capitalism and Chinese Capitalism is Human Rights. American Capitalism - Human Rights = Chinese Capitalism