This is why US establishment has so much fear and loathing towards China.
Imagine if Americans say, “Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! The Chinese retire at 54?”
“What’s going on here in the capitalist paradise where 70-year-olds are forced to work at Walmart?”
The major urban centres that have all the cutting edge infrastructure and ‘treats’ aren’t in actuality much better than major Western cities when it comes to cost of living, there isn’t an enormous gap in any direction (positive or negative) when it comes to living in Shenzhen vs Seoul or even NYC. (I think, I haven’t actually been to major American cities.) The majority of these improvements when it comes to affordability, home ownership, poverty alleviation etc. are mostly happening in ‘Tier 2’ cities which are still big by western standards but don’t really have the same amenities. I’d say it’s worth it, and in general yes China is making more progress than the West but it’s important to understand where specifically and for which demographics these improvements are actually occurring for.
Source: Some of my family are Chinese.
re: poverty alleviation
a lot of it is still happening out in the boonies but it’s been slow going since local governments are still trying to pick the low hanging fruit and de-povertize ie their extended family members to satisfy quotas because actually alleviating poverty is extremely difficult. a lot of the stay-behinds don’t trust the government to not just take their land after they leave (for good reason) and housing/facilities for people willing to move are expensive. add to it that these areas were poor to begin with (obviously) and have fewer job opportunities and lower ability to attract investment and it becomes a negative feedback loop that requires a shitload of money to break. they’ve been doing decent work out there and there are a lot of policies in place to attract capital, but like with all things it’s been a real mixed bag.
That more or less aligns with what I’ve heard about rural areas.