[bigyabai]

Well, now you're moving the goalpost. I think China has every right to be proud of developing economically beyond what the Soviets were capable of.

Characterizing that success is easy, looking at the economy; China has tons of raw and manufactured resources, with a weak financial sector. That's the exact opposite of what you see in developed economies in America and Europe, and the service industries will reflect that. Oftentimes, a weak finance sector is reflected in a surplus of poor people (which can be confirmed looking at China's GDP/capita).

What you're describing in all of your anecdotes are not the nascent signs of superiority. It's cheap concrete and poor people who will do jobs that other people consider insulting. There are absolutely domains where China has met or exceeded the global watermark in various areas (HGVs, BVR missiles, expendable AESA/GAN radar, speaking as an aviation nerd) but much of that stems from the aforementioned surplus. The Soviets also had wonderful trinkets that the western world couldn't copy, but it didn't save them when they needed money and foreign support.