fairchijisback:

"It is very likely in my opinion that the $5 million final payment was held back as a bargaining chip"

Some interesting notes from on article about the Chinese view of "Contracts":

"The Chinese have a reputation for “not abiding by the contract" or for changing contractual terms after they have been agreed.

Chinese people tend to think (and feel) that a contract merely sets out the basis of the business relationship. Therefore, they do not focus as much in setting and regulating all the details in the contract as a westerner would do.

Additionally, Chinese parties believe that as the relationship develops and grows, the agreement will also unfold and make things easier in all respects. This would give the relationship a “flexible framework” instead of a rigid one.

The standard Western contract templates not necessarily work in China.

The western party should be ready to study new proposals from the Chinese party –that involve a change in the agreement-. These proposals could eventually become new business opportunities. They could make the contract work better."

See the original article:  https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/contracts-the-chinese-perspective-china-7494

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One of the comments from a Chinese Business Review article illuminates negotiations between Chinese and Western partners:

"Deeper investigation into a partner’s capabilities can reduce the risk of concluding a deal that must be completely re-negotiated and restructured later."

The link the entire article: https://www.chinabusinessreview.com/negotiations-chinese-style/ 

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A 2008 article "7 Deadly Perceptions About Doing Business in China" included the following statements:

"The Chinese are neither transaction-oriented nor project-oriented. They are relationship-oriented.

Chinese only use the people they know, like, and respect. To them, a transaction is not really business. This is part of the reason we have quality problems. To them, shipping a container of widgets for a letter of credit is not a relationship, even if you’ve been doing it for 16 years.

Before they do a transaction or project with you, they want to know who you are. They have to figure out whether they respect you and like you before starting. They’re not comfortable doing a project or transaction first."

https://www.businesspundit.com/7-deadly-perceptions-about-doing-business-with-china/

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Another interesting insight on how Contracts are viewed in China comes from this 2013 article:  https://www.chinalawblog.com/2013/04/the-three-rules-for-your-china-contract.html