After living in China for the last few years, I feel that China is a very unique country. For example, the language is different, food is different, the whole culture is different. In fact, there are several aspects where China is doing better than the West.
#1. Cost of living is an important parameter for most of us. You can spend one month in Shanghai, one of the most expensive cities in China, for RMB 5,000/month/person. You gonna be poor in Seattle/California, even if you earn US $5,000/month (US $1= RMB 7).
#2. Safety. When was the last mass shooting in China? Last terror attack? Illegal immigrants? Well, in terms of safety, as the western countries are becoming less and less safe, China is getting safer and safer. You just won't be allowed to disturb the social harmony.
#3 Food: China offers a huge variety of traditional cuisine. Each province, and most of the cities, have their own distinguished food. You can grab a filling meal for RMB 20. I mean just compare with western pizza and burger, full of carbs, and ultimately the source of numerous diseases, obesity and diabetes.
#4 How many western countries have the fast bullet trains? I can't believe Australian trains are so slow.
#5 One language: one of the advantages of learning Mandarin Chinese is that you can use it almost everywhere in China. Everyone over here understands Mandarin. Imagine over 1.4bn people speaking the same language?
#6 Dating and relationship: most of my expat friends in China have long forgotten western girls.
#7 Cashless payments: in China, we generally don't carry paper money. Just bring your phone and scan the QR codes. In fact, now the facial recognition system is replacing the QR code system. No need to bring even the phone.
#8 Travelling: China offers wonderful historical sites. There are over 50 UNESCO world heritage sites in China, the highest in the world.
#9 China is a peace-loving country. It doesn't go out to capture Vietnam and the Korean peninsula. When was the last time China fought a war? The US is still messing up in Iraq and Afghanistan. In January, Iran war looked almost a certainty (when General Qasem Soleimani was gone). Maybe Covid-19 avoided Iran fiasco.
#10 When the western countries are losing past glories, China is a rising star. About 40 years ago, the Chinese economy was struggling and the US was the superpower. Now the story is quite different. China is driving the world economy, and the US has lost its political hegemony, especially under Trump administration.
#11 China has controlled Covid-19 pandemic in a much better way than the West.
China has seen tremendous social issues in its 5000 years long history. Gone are the days! Time has changed…
No nation can bully China!
I look forward to a more balanced global power structure.