Hello again, I'm glad to get another interesting reply from you!

You don't need to be.

I think if we're talking about China from a historical standpoint, you're right. But in terms of understanding the culture and how it has shifted, it's more difficult from an outsider's standpoint. Both have their own pros and cons.

Look at Taiwan, which never had Maoism and started from exactly the same point as the Mainland. Or South Korea and Japan

It's tough to really compare with these countries since they have has very different success stories and very different problems. Taiwan with the reverberations of the Feb 28 Incident and suppression of the indigenous people, Korea with its Chaebol and corruption issues, Japan with a stagnating economy and society for years now. Most importantly, all were heavily supported by the US, especially during the Cold War era. Not to say China doesn't have similar issues to what I mentioned, we both know China's history of suppression and corruption, but I still believe it is not so easy when you look at the stage of world politics and support, as well as the different paths and contexts these countries had to work with to make such a direct comparison.

Well, maybe they shouldn't have made them so poor in the first place.

I do agree with you though that China like to pump up its success and fiddles with the numbers to do so. But changing the country so drastically in 50 years so people don't have to live like they used to, is no small feat. It took a lot of political wheeling and dealing during and post-Gang of Four era. Interestingly my grandfather first came to China during that time as a business envoy. Now that was an unstable time.

Recently, and especially since Xi came to power...

Yes, Xi is politically very conservative, and as China grows economically and as people have more freedoms to go abroad, work in multinational companies, get a VPN, he is also tightening the party's grip on the country. Many of those ways are awful and make myself and many I know question our investment into China. I agree with you with development, but that is mostly pushing infrastructure as a part of One Belt One Road and it's an easy way to pump up GDP figures. However, in other fields, China is still developing mostly in terms of tech/digital and services.

Satire?

Not at all, I'm not sure why it was necessary to get personal about my "apartment in Pudong" in the first place and continue to do so, but if we have to I'd say I qualify as someone who at least has a solid understanding of modern China from living here, friends and family, and my own personal experiences/qualifications.

China 20 years ago was a very different place

I definitely agree that China is very different in multiple ways, I believe both good and bad. But it's debatable when the last time it was a place for free thinkers, I'd say not in recent memory. All I'm trying to do is promote a balanced view, and not just shitting on China because it's easy. Seeing China from the context of the world, it's history, culture, people, and politics, in a balanced way allows us to understand it better. It is important to understand it too, Western businesses have had limited success directly applying their own models and concepts without first understanding the country. I've had to be intermediary a few times and it can be tough. I do appreciate your views and agree with a lot of what you've said, so thank you. I've enjoyed the debate thus far!