>>151375275
It starts with the culture. I've seen people say that in China, football is seen as a sport for wealthy people.

More importantly, though
>Japan started taking the sport more seriously in the 90s, with the J.League being formed
>China was only decent in like, the 80s, and generally were shit if you compared them to any decent team
Then, you have the failed attempt to rise from China in the 2010s, which...it's a long story, but if you're curious, here:
https://archive.4plebs.org/sp/thread/150874460/#150897590