China cracks down on ‘themed towns’ in a bid to stop local governments wasting coronavirus stimulus funds

Local Chinese governments will no longer be able to build the extravagant and controversial “themed towns” that popped up around the country after Beijing’s post-global financial crisis infrastructure splurge, the country’s state planner has announced.Instead, the government is demanding a return to “rationality” after a number of high profile failures added to concerns over regional economies wasting central government stimulus funds.The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said…