Not so relevant but it reminded me of something.
I remember reading a Telegram or Signal thread where Ukrainian pilots trained to fly the F-1X planes preferred their old MiGs because they say Soviet/Russian weapons and vehicles of war are built for worst-case scenario combat (aka how actual wars of defense work) where you might have to use things mothballed in some warehouse or dirty, or amateurishly calibrated or used beyond their supposed parameters because that’s war and Moscow has to account for a scenario where they have to dig in and fight a bloody, miserable battle like Leningrad. Whereas American weapons and vehicles are made for best-case scenario combat because they’re designed for offensive war and lets be real are successful based on how well the weapons manufacturers present their offers to the DoD.
But because they simply need more planes, and obviously Russia won’t sell them new ones, they have to put on a show and suck the Americans dick for the F-16s because they don’t have much better options.
I’m a sinoboo but I’m willing to play Devil’s Advocate:
1 Urban versus rural divide is still harsh. The big cities look like they live in the future but a great deal of the nation still lives in underdeveloped areas in the countryside.
2 While a lot better than it used to be, air pollution can still be rather bad.
3 Population growth is still too low.
4 Too much of the new national wealth is tied up in real estate (which is a shitty industry for the health of a nation).
5 While it’s to prevent CIA led coups, separatist movements and/or color revolutions… the security state is rather stifling and civil rights are cast aside.
6 Poor soft power projection since the arts where largely abandoned by society with the Dengist government. They lack “anime”, or “Kpop” to push their narrative into the world. Lately the CPC has been promoting more domestically produced movies but they really need to step up their game.
7 Their LGBTQ+ rights are garbage, and honestly it’s inexcusable.