

That’s not quite true, I’ve got Chinese friends who do/did 996 on entry-level grad jobs for very average salaries.
996 isn’t as prevalent as the West likes to paint it as, but it’s also not as uncommon as you’re saying.
Chinese people work hard, and I know loads of young people who are already burnt out and looking for some kind of escape. They’re not that different from us.
Labubu blew up because Lisa from Blackpink bought one yeah, but it’s not like there wasn’t already a culture of consumerism like everywhere else in the world.