I've been studying Chinese for years and I've visited for a while too.

China is mid. It's impressive how they've advanced so quickly, but their working class is still under a lot of stress and the wealth disparity is grotesque like many countries. They've exchanged the freedom to criticize the powers that be for safety and security.

I think they've gotten relatively lucky with Xi Jinping. He's clever and I think generally tries to do the right thing, but when he's gone I think China is likely to suffer under whoever replaces him.

It's just that compared to the US even the slimiest turd looks like gold at the moment.