If it is not clear, I'm comparing China today with C19th Britain. Britain's safety net back then was mostly driven by private and Church charity, and covered very basic health and education services and the existence of workhouses. Starvation was rare in mainland UK, but extreme malnutrition was common, and the military complained consistently about the dreadful health of recruits. China is far ahead of this.

China has inequality today, but it does not have a rentier class, which dominated C19th British politics.