Why do you deserve level playing field? The rules always favor locals. No foreigner can just come to the US to work or try to make a fortune from scratch. You need to bring something special: capital or knowledge/skills. Why do you expect China to be different? You need to give them what they want if you want to prosper there.

> No foreigner can just come to the US to work or try to make a fortune from scratch.

plenty of politicians love to tell everyone ad nauseam about someone who came to the US and "found the American Dream". America is the freest, most open society in the world. it's what makes us different from other countries. blah blah blah. you hear this kind of idealism all the time. some people would say it's a foundational, fundamental feature of America. (Others would not.)

does anyone say that in China?

> You need to bring something special: capital or knowledge/skills.

Unfortunately that is not really true. But it’s certainly a good idea!

The other thing to note when doing a compare and contrast is that China is a high savings country with no shortage of capital. Maybe in the very beginning of the reform and opening era they did but it hasn't been the case for over two decades. US on the other hand is the largest importer of capital in the world. So it can be expected that China with its thirsts for know-how and market access but not capital will behave very differently from the US, all else being equal. This is generally true for other East Asian countries as well.

Not sure what your anger is aimed at. In the US as a foreigner you can not work without a work visa. Employment opportunities are reserved for US residents first. To start a business you need a business visa https://business-law.freeadvice.com/business-law/starting_a_... requiring you to have substantial resources in the first place. I believe these all to be reasonable and it is great that US treat those who are allowed to legally work and invest here mostly equitably. But it does not mean any foreigner in the US can just demand a level playing field, say one who comes on a tourist visa or a student visa or who doesn't have legal status at all. Not to mention those who want to come but are blocked at the border. In general it is much harder for someone from China to get a visa to the US in the first place than the other way around. It is also not unreasonable: traditionally the immigration is one way from China to the US and to gain a non-immigration visa one needs to first convince the consular officer of no intention to immigrate.

I am not complaining about any of this just pointing out that foreigners always need to play by the hosts' rules if they want to be welcome.

Even an unlevel playing field would be fine — if it were stable and not subject to the arbitrary whims of the CCP. Predictability and consistency are paramount.

You only get to the level playing field when you join the Old Boys’ Network.

On the other hand, if you have a light complexion, you can easily get a well paying English tutoring job. It often pays higher than what an engineering grad would make!