The money for the aircraft carrier was probably some UN-EU-IMF grant that was fungibled over to reverse-engineering studies of megaships.
Judging from how the Soviets loved to "cook their books" when it came to economic data, I've a feeling the PRC isn't long from a reality check like Gorby got in 1989. Too bad that so many companies rushed into their pyramid scheme - when PRC's house of cards comes crashing down, it's going to pull a lot of international investors with it.
Plus, they've already done whatever reverse engineering they planned to do. The thing to be watching, is what gets built indigenously in Shanghai. Newsflash - I live near one of the highest volume bulk ports in the US. It was not always this way. The reason for this port's rise is that there is now a nearly endless stream of Russian and Chinese bulk freighters loading up with scrap metal, destination Shanghai.