I'd encourage you to study Mandarin for a year or so and look into what the non-influencer set is saying about China. My first trip to China was in 1999 and my last in 2019. That was a time of amazing freedom and growth. Beijing went from bicycles to cars to subways and everything was growing. It's not like that now, youth unemployment is very high, foreigners are not welcome, and you really can't imagine the political and economic situation you're walking into. One simply does not publicly discuss problems there without considering the consequences.
Columbine was 1999. I think he'll be more surprised by the level of political division and general impoliteness there is in the US.
This goes way further than most to explain "Chinese characteristics" (my term usage not link's).
China is very complex and belies any simple summary. I definitely think it's a vastly smarter state than Russia... who by comparison it must now regard as a baby sitting project.
Columbine was 1999. I think he'll be more surprised by the level of political division and general impoliteness there is in the US.