Local government in several Chinese provinces have revealed the huge sums that have been allocated to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

A previous state media report said rising costs were the reason the country abandoned its "zero COVID" policy.

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Guangdong, the country's top province in economic output, has spent a total of 146.8 billion yuan ($22 billion) on pandemic prevention and control since 2020, according to a budget report released on Friday.

This money was spent on testing, vaccination and a number of other measures, reports Nova TV. 

Over the past three years, costs related to the pandemic have increased by about 50% each year.

In 2022, they reach their peak of 71.1 billion yuan ($10.6 billion).

This figure equates to 35% of the province's spending on research and development.

The peak of the COVID wave in China is expected to last two to three months

It is also larger than the amount invested in the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the "Grand Fund", which was established in 2014 with an initial investment of 138.7 billion yuan ($21 billion). .

It is key to Beijing's ambitions to compete with the US in key technologies.

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic