> Eh, quality of life has gone to the moon in China in living memory. Not nearly as much a positive delta here in the US.

The Chinese rural population still isn't eligible for local equivalent of social security in their old age (that's only for city folks), and IIRC there was a huge unwillingness to provide financial assistance to individuals during COVID.

Sure, and also quality of life has gone to the moon in China in living memory.

A few hundred million of that rural population have become city folk.

> A few hundred million of that rural population have become city folk.

Not legally, IIRC China has an internal passport system, and workers who migrate to the city from the countryside typically remain must registered in the countryside (and are therefore denied access to city benefits).

hukou has changed a lot, particularly since 2014 and you'll find that it exist in its strictest form only for cities > 5 million inhabitants. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou