I think you're severely underestimating how safe China has become. Nowadays people don't even lock their motorbikes, and can leave their laptops in coffeeshops unattended for half an hour. You definitely can't do either of that in Netherlands. Maybe in some small village where everybody knows everybody else it's still possible.

That is the baseline that Chinese are comparing to nowadays. That's why even many what we call safe places feel unsafe to them.

Also consider that just 15 years ago, China was definitely way unsafer than many European countries. China upgraded from a low public trust to high public trust society in front of people's living memories. This is what you have to consider when considering why Chinese people are happy with their government. All this voting stuff is just theoretical benefit. In Netherlands, our politics have been a mess for more than a decade. Voting certainly didn't solve the problems.

I actually forgot to mention something related to my travels. When I was in the UAE, I suddenly realized I had lost my keys. I called several hotels, but they all said they hadn’t found them. It was a difficult situation because I had to figure out a way to get a spare key from my company or have a new one made. The company has strict access control, so I couldn’t be 100% sure I’d be able to get in. In the end, after quite a bit of hassle, I managed to get the spare key from the company. When I finally got home, I found that my original keys had been hanging on my door—for eight full days. Countless delivery drivers, couriers, and possibly other people had passed through the building and seen it, but no one stole anything.

What you said is absolutely right. We’ve gotten used to this kind of society, so our expectations for safety when traveling are much higher than those of people from other countries. Credit cards are, of course, convenient, but in China we’re used to going out with just a phone—no wallet, no cards. No risk of fraud, no risk of robbery, convenient, fast, and safe.