Unless you haven't noticed, China's economy is BOOMING right now. Just pick up something around your house and look on the bottom of it, chances are it says "Made in China". The Chinese GNP is over 2 Trillion dollars a year and is growing at a rate of 8-10% a year. Their country's infrastructure is being built up at an incredible rate. The Three Gorges Dam is a true marvel. The acquisition of Hong Kong in 1999 has pumped tens of billions of dollars annually into their coffers. So even if a lunar base did cost them $10+ Billion, it's a very tiny part of their over all economy.

The same applies to the U.S. space program. We could easily afford a space program of $100+ Billion a year. The problem isn't the cost, but the lack of will and interest to do it.