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[-] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 60 points 6 days ago

China has higher per capita CO2 emissions than Europe, despite a lower per capita economic output. While there has been significant investment in renewable energy recently, there is still a large amount of coal power and China has been slow to phase out fossil fuels.

In terms of income inequality by Gini coefficient, China is estimated to be in the higher 30s, substantially worse than Canada, Australia, Japan and almost every European country. China has a minimum income guarantee (unlike the USA for example), but it is very low by European standards. In terms of the number of US$ billionaires, China ranks second globally behind the US, though in terms of billionaires as share of the population does not rank as high.

[-] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 36 points 5 days ago

So how does it look if we break down where the many products China produces for others are actually sold?

Many countries at the top of that list outsourced a lot of their manufacturing and production to China, meaning they no longer create the industrial pollution locally to make the products actually consume. So their pollution is artificially lowered by that outsourcing while China's is inflated.

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[-] Grimy@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Here is the Ginni link, it isn't updated often but China isn't exactly topping the list

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gini-coefficient-by-country

There are a lot of things China does badly but not the ones you mentioned.

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[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago

A lot of that pollution is Western pollution outsourced to China.

It's like how California has a water crisis because its agriculture is supporting half the country, making their per capita water usage insane.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 5 days ago

You mean these flattening emissions while manufacturing most of the worlds finished goods along with a lot of the inputs for our manufacturing?

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago

In terns of PPP, China's economic output eclipses Europe's tremendously, and Europe outsourced their emissions to China after using the spoils of centuries of colonialism and imperialism to build up their clean energy sectors. China started off well behind Europe, and despite taking on the tremendous task of producing the bulk of the world's goods, they are also taking on the tremendous task of making the world's production green.

Europe being green because they don't produce much and have more developed economies because of stealing from the global south for centuries is like a landlord suggesting that everyone become a landlord to lower working hours. It's farcical egotism.

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[-] Tiger@sh.itjust.works 25 points 6 days ago

They’ll absolutely disappear an oligarch without hesitating, fyi.

[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

Trading private oligarchs for a one-party authoritarian state isn't exactly a win though.

Especially when seeing what they've done to oppress Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong democratic protesters, etc.

It doesn't also change the fact that there are many very rich people in China, and they more behave like Russia where if you play ball with the mafia state you'll be rich; but if you don't, there's a window.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago

The one-party happens to be a working class party, though, and the democratic institutions in China ensure that decisions are made with popular input from the grassroots level. That's tremendously different from private capitalists dominating the economy and the state, and pretending they are the same is misleading at the absolute best. Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Hong Kongers aren't being oppressed by China either, this is a narrative presented by the west in order to destabilize China and prevent parties wanting to work with China to expand international trade agreements, import solar panels and cheap EVs, etc. from rising in the global south and global north.

[-] FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago

They don’t just disappear them, they hold trials and execute them for their crimes.

[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

They usually come back, though, suddenly enlightened by the right path.

[-] Jiggle_Physics@quokk.au 6 points 5 days ago

Yeah, Jack Ma is back, and is already up to his old ways

[-] CrimeIsLegalNow@ani.social 5 points 5 days ago

But this time remembering to never criticize the party.

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[-] UsefulInfoPlz@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago

And making it illegal to replace workers with ai…

[-] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Western countries, American in particular, are very short term minded. China knows not to aggravate the very same people that give them consent and social contract to be in power in the first place.

[-] UsefulInfoPlz@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

Absolutely. $ today, fuck tomorrow. I was around for the outsourcing crazy 20 years ago. Cheap code but unmaintainable. When the time came to fix or upgrade the code and mahogony row was told it would be cheaper to completely rewrite the shit code than fix it, they all wondered why. Sure ai can write code, but it’s shit. Jr level on a good day. Wait till it has to be maintained or upgraded. Of course they will probably just get ai to write new shit code. The “less for you is more for me” mentality of this country (US) just pisses me off no end. When the 2% has all the money and the rest of us are dead then they find out that money is worthless… maybe they’ll wake the fuck up…. But i doubt it.

[-] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 11 points 6 days ago

The meme in the cave where they're like, "Sure the world was destroyed but for a while we made great returns for shareholders."

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[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 points 4 days ago

Well, at least they don't have to worry about election cycles, I guess...

In the UK, if it takes longer than the current government will be in power for (four years normally), it just doesn't get done.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 days ago

They still have elections, and instead worry about things like Five Year Plans and what goes on those.

[-] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 10 points 5 days ago

China has a long past so they know a bit more than others about proceeding into the future. The newer nations are just trying to sell shit for cash. That's about as far as it goes.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 days ago

It's not just their long history, it's their present ideology of Marxism-Leninism.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 10 points 5 days ago

I'm gonna butcher this but I heard a quote once like "Countries think in decades, China thinks in centuries" and it feels true enough. China makes big plays that don't pay off for a long time but when they do....

[-] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Pretty easy to plan long-term when there's no opposition...

😐😐😐

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 days ago

Unironically correct. When the capitalist class is prevented from forming a coherent political bloc, the working class can democratically and scientifically plan their future. China's socialist construction proves this in practice.

[-] nibbler@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 3 days ago

So you think china is ruled by the working class? Interesting.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

Yes, the CPC is overwhelmingly proletarian, policy is driven by mass consensus building, and capitalists are barred from forming a cohesive political bloc that can oppose the system.

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[-] TheStaffmaster@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

When the socialism actually does work.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago

It always does.

[-] zoloftt@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago

You do know they don't give a shit about aggravating their people? Like, they do not support free speech...

Yes they do a lot, but it's toward a dictatorship, where they DO NOT have to care about buy-in before making decisions. Most of these decisions are GOOD FOR A DICTATORSHIP, because it's about staying in power. Billionaires are being taxed by a dictator...

[-] drkt@scribe.disroot.org 24 points 6 days ago

This is not a China-praise thread, but an America-hate thread. It is being done by pointing out that an objectively shitty empire is somehow managing to do the obviously correct thing where the entire western world seems to have chosen social suicide.

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[-] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago

I don't know if you're aware, but the Chinese have a leadership philosophy similar to the social contract called "mandate of heaven". It's been the cornerstone of Chinese leaders since the imperial dynastic days. A leader's authority is supreme but only if they could sustain the well being of the population. The subjects are willing to look over some of the personal liberty being infringed, if the overall well being of the population is well looked after. China's leading role in green energy did create jobs for many people. And not only that, it has a strategic purpose of weaning off of oil consumption for the country. The only reason that the global oil price did not shoot up to $200 as predicted this year is because China, the biggest oil importer, immediately stopped imports and their green energy kicked in to gear. Meanwhile, many countries are experiencing inflation and social unrest because they are too short sighted to have invested in renewable energy long ago.

Also weirdly enough, they are more capitalist than capitalist countries themselves. China do not bail out failed companies. Free market advocates will say if a company fails, it's their fault. And yet, the same free market advocates will demand government bail out. I'm pretty sure not bailing out companies is a popular sentiment for the public.

Lastly, they have extensive capital flight controls and rein their billionaires. Meanwhile, many countries are beholden and afraid to tax the wealthy for fear that "they will leave with their wealth and businesses" (it's not like the wealthy already did that when they offshored industries to poorer countries with very low worker rights and regulatory standards). Actually, I am more impressed with Vietnam because the government threatened to execute a billionaire who made money from defrauding clients, if that billionaire did not return half of the money. In the West, most only get a slap on the wrist with very lenient sentencing or no prosecution at all in the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis.

[-] zoloftt@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

I have studied China and am aware of all of this.

It has good results in some areas and has bad results in others.

Appreciate the extensive write up though!

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

Their politicians and media aren't prostitutes for israel, either

[-] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

... They are the #1 exporter to Israel and #1 supporter of Israel, they are just smart enough to shut their mouth. Everything Israel has done could be stopped by China in a day, but that doesnt make them profits. If China sanctions Israel, no more missiles fly, yet China doesn't? ... Why? Because it benefits them to allow the U.S. to show their true colors. So in truth, every life lost in Palestine is because China prefers the U.S. to look bad then keep kids alive.

[-] Rothe@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago

They are prostitutes for Russia though.

[-] PuddleOfKittens@sh.itjust.works 14 points 5 days ago

China clearly wears the pants in that relationship.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Russia is their main energy supplier. israel is a blackmailing, democracy destroying parasite

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[-] Arcanepotato@crazypeople.online 8 points 6 days ago

This is called 'critical support'.

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this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2026
337 points (96.2% liked)

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