TLDR: to look for resources, and for science. Or for the flex. Maybe a little bit of everything.
In the end it seems like they’re not 100% sure what they’ll get out of it, which is kind of cool in a way.
The Great Hole of China.
To make America mad so that we will try to dig a deeper hole first and end up accidentally drilling right into hell.
Digging to the center of the earth(or at least the mantle) has been a huge potential flex for over a century now
presumably it’s not seismically active there, but it would be interesting to see what happened if a deep bore hole hit magma (DIY volcano)
To see if they can drill any deeper than your mom.
Not digging to China obviously.
I wonder if they’re trying to get a leg up on natural resources to corner more markets. They’re already an economic powerhouse when it comes to rare earth elements. They also have a pretty strong presence in the natural gas markets (by way of Hong Kong). I don’t know how they’re set for oil or mainland natural gas, though.