He's simultaneously right and wrong. (Source: I live in China.)

Where he's right: there is a LOT more surveillance here than in the USA. When I walk the 9 minute walk from my home to the subway I've counted in the past 17 surveillance cameras out in the streets alone (not including the cameras in the subway station, in other words). I'm not sure that there's anything like that kind of density of government cameras anywhere in the USA other than, perhaps, Langley or the Pentagon or places like that.

Where he's wrong: the way the surveillance is used is very different. License readers, speed cameras, stop light cameras, etc. etc. etc. in the USA seem to be focused on finding people to punish and then punishing them with, usually, fines. It's a way of lining the pockets of police officials and contractors, in short. The vibe here is completely different. I don't know anybody who's received a fine by the mail. I don't know anybody who, in fact, has had any police problems that trace to surveilled actions. What I do know of is people who've been caught doing something the regular way (like, say, stirring up shit in a bar and then fleeing) who then get surveillance footage used as evidence against them.

Now of course this surveillance state is likely used to monitor and collect dissidents, but those are circles I don't hang out in, so I have zero information about it. (And anybody outside of China has even less.)