China is Drilling the World's Deepest Hole - Here's Why

It totally makes sense for China to display its technological progress in drilling deep down into the Earth's crust. They are doing it for research, but there are also commercial reasons for doing so as well. If they could find a way to make geothermal energy more affordable, it could revolutionize energy production. Heavy metals like iridium tend to sink down into the Earth's mantle and we are short critical raw materials needed for advanced technological uses.

China wants to be at the technological forefront, and you can't blame them. Every country seeks their self-interest and China is no different in that respect. They want to be #1 in everything. Their technological prowess has the potential to benefit them politically as developing countries will begin to turn to them for leadership (technological > economic > political) when they see China outpacing the West. I did not realize that China is now #1 in publishing scientific research articles... which is plausible considering that China graduates ~10X more engineers than the US every year.

America might have a solution to deep drilling that will decrease the cost and increase the speed of drilling. You'll just have to watch the video if you want to know more.