China Outlines its Lunar Ambitions.

Well, I say: more power to them. We need genuine competition in space. Not the kind that fueled our first race to the Moon, of course, but an ongoing rivalry that will motivate our side to get serious about developing and settling space. If the promise of making a buck isn't enough in itself, perhaps the thought that someone else might be making a buck off of space will be.

And if this article is any indication, the Chinese seem to "get it" when it comes from space (probably having learned the lessons our own space agency has yet to learn from its own mistakes):

In the larger lunar picture, Luan said that returning to the Moon and building permanent bases "is a vitally important first step in human development of outer space resources and expansion of living space."

Human beings, Luan said, must learn how to 'leave the earth homeland', establish permanent study stations [such as those in Antarctica], develop products and industries in the space outside the earth, and set up self-sufficient extraterrestrial homeland."

The prospect for developing and possibly using lunar minerals and energy resources for the sustainable development of human society, "is the most important driving force for return to the Moon," Luan concluded.

But then, perhaps not:

China's multi-phase Moon program is to follow the principle of "achieving faster, better and more economical results", Luan said...

Hmm. Is that a back-translation of "Faster, Better, Cheaper"?