>>714312023>China is 3rd world?China has first world cities, which places it above America. But outside of Shenzen and Beijing, China looks like a mix of American no-go zones and tribal villages. You have to remember that their medieval era ended in ~1940 with an abrupt and violent transition into Communism. So in one country you've got the world's bleeding edge fusion energy research (they've started construction on a 1GW commercial reactor), a maglev train, the most advanced space station (And soon the only space station), the world's largest surface fleet and air force, half of humanity's industrial capacity, the world's most successful bioweapon program, and a massive corps of Master Tradesmen.
You might remember that there was a lockdown in 2020 due to the aforementioned bioweapons program. There were many pictures from that period of scouts being sent out to villages accessible only on horseback to spread the word about the lockdown. There was also a funny picture of a man in fullplate with a falchion standing guard at the entrance to his village so the virus wouldn't get in. That armor and weapon probably saw use in a formation within the last 100 years.
China is often referred to as a developing nation, because there are a lot of inhaited places in China that have no infrastructure or education, despite the industrialized parts being at the peak of humanity for multiple decades.