There were many things which brought an end to lunar exploration in the 1970s. The war, the public will, being the first to land a human on the moon, and the refocus of the Soviet government away from the moon to LEO with a space station are ones which come to mind.
While I realize you're being facetious, China has no need to fake anything, as they're not in competition with anyone. Even if someone else were trying to get to the Moon, they wouldn't care or worry that any setbacks will hamper their timetable.
Schmitt argued for a far side landing on Apollo 17, but it was a non-starter, as it would have needed another Saturn launch for the satellite.
Unlike Nixon, Agnew at least was a pro-Space politico. Had something happened to "poor Richard" he might have kept the Saturns alive.