What are the conspiracy theories around COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a Chinese government scam to reduce state pension outgoings

Question: What are the conspiracy theories around COVID-19?
Position‹4 of 6›: COVID-19 is economically motivated
Argument‹3 of 3: COVID-19 is a Chinese government scam to reduce state pension outgoings

The Chinese government has already allowed certain SMEs to back out of established pension obligations and insurance fees to ease the virus' financial burden. Was it pre-empted?

The argument

China's social security and pension funds, even before the COVID-19 outbreak, were under constant strain, especially considering its aging population and the increased dependence upon governmental subsidies. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the value of China's pension fund would increase to 2027 then gradually run out by 2035, while the number of elderly Chinese citizens is expected to rise by 100 million by 2030. Now that China has officially allowed businesses and large corporations to lessen or even completely halt seniors' pension plans and securities, many have wondered whether the virus itself was created as an excuse for China to stop the pension plans for millions of people. The government, seeing that they would eventually run out of money for the state-backed securities, devised a global pandemic to forever deny its citizens the pensions they desire.

Context

(ALERT: Visit the WHO for accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic)

Premises

[P1]China's pension and social security funds were already strained by an ageing population, projected to run out around 2035. [P2] After the outbreak, China permitted businesses to reduce or halt seniors' pension contributions. [P3] Proponents of this theory infer from this timing that the government manufactured the pandemic as a pretext to escape its pension obligations. [C] Therefore, proponents claim, COVID-19 is a Chinese government scam to reduce state pension outgoings.

Counter-arguments

The disadvantages for China in devising such a devastating pandemic greatly outweigh the advantages of halting all pensions to elderly workers. There is no evidence to suggest that the pensions themselves posed such an economic and financial risk to the nation of China that they would create such an elaborate ruse to distract from their inability to pay social securities. If they would create such a deadly pandemic, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the process, then why would they not just outright tell the people they are stopping pensions for the elderly? If they care so little about their citizens to create such a huge problem for the world, why not blatantly come out and say what they truly wanted to? The lack of evidence and logical correlation between the two issues shows within this conspiracy theory.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] There is no evidence of any decision regarding Chinese pensions ever being made, and if there was a decision, it could have been made blatantly, without any need for distraction. [Rejecting P3] There is no proven correlation between COVID-19 and the Chinese pension system, and the arguments for such a connection are illogical.