Unsurprisingly, The Economist’s article peddles a false narrative. Livestreamers and video games are merely the surface of a deeper phenomenon. TikTok and Xiaohongshu thrive only because China’s middle class isn’t impoverished. What makes these platforms persuasive is that they undercut Western myths by contrasting middle-class life in China vs the US.

China has a positive image in the world because it's leading in sustainability, building world-class infrastructure, pioneering tech in emerging fields, and maintaining safe, clean cities at scale. Its foreign policy, while not flawless, is far more benign than the America's. No constant wars. A major ally for developing nations. Growing global brands. Standing firm against a bully in the tariff dispute. Meanwhile, tourists who document their visits, are dismantling claims of a police state or genocide.

https://archive.ph/nWvgg

The United States has the largest economy in the world, by traditional GDP measures.

But when adjustments are made to account for Purchase Price Parity, and the cost differences for similar products, it is China with the largest economy.

The United States has a giant services sector, and includes careers that have no equivalent in other countries. The massive legal, finance, insurance, real estate brokerage, and lobbying industries are far larger in the US than in any other country.

When economists remove those sectors from the calculation of GDP, the result is "Productive GDP", and involves accounting only for the production of tangible products in the economy.

https://archive.ph/trWoe

https://archive.ph/EV5CL

Kinda sucks that this stuff still hasn’t been addressed.

I’ve personally known people that have been told that they are “too old” for things like jobs or uni admissions in China. I’ve seen the job postings that recruiters put on apps like wechat as well and some of them will even say things like “female wanted” or “female European only.”

The vid also mentions 996, which is technically illegal but it happens all the time. Know a few ppl who used to work this schedule.

I think in terms of things like infrastructure (e.g. high speed rail, etc.) China is doing pretty well. But when it comes to things like ageism, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination they still have quite a way to go.

https://archive.ph/6C9Zs

China has developed the world's first emergency medical rescue drone to bridge critical gaps in disaster response in extreme environments. It is equipped with advanced medical functions and a 300 kg payload. It offers respiratory support, intravenous infusion, vital signs monitoring, defibrillation and remote real-time video monitoring. It can operate in challenging environments, such as turbulent areas, places with extreme temperatures of -25C to 46C and altitudes of 5,000 meters.