You're just projecting here. If the standard of living of the regular people didn't matter to the party, then these sorts of things would not be happening in China today.

90% of families in the country own their home giving China one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. What’s more is that 80% of these homes are owned outright, without mortgages or any other leans. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/03/30/how-people-in-china-afford-their-outrageously-expensive-homes

The real (inflation-adjusted) incomes of the poorest half of the Chinese population increased by more than four hundred percent from 1978 to 2015, while real incomes of the poorest half of the US population actually declined during the same time period. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w23119/w23119.pdf

Real wage (i.e. the wage adjusted for the prices you pay) has gone up 4x in the past 25 years, more than any other country. This is staggering considering it’s the most populous country on the planet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw8SvK0E5dI

From 1978 to 2000, the number of people in China living on under $1/day fell by 300 million, reversing a global trend of rising poverty that had lasted half a century (i.e. if China were excluded, the world’s total poverty population would have risen) https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/China%E2%80%99s-Economic-Growth-and-Poverty-Reduction-Angang-Linlin/c883fc7496aa1b920b05dc2546b880f54b9c77a4

From 2010 to 2019 (the most recent period for which uninterrupted data is available), the income of the poorest 20% in China increased even as a share of total income. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.DST.FRST.20?end=2019&amp%3Blocations=CN&amp%3Bstart=2008

Chinese household savings hit another record high in 2024 https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-jones-bank-earnings-01-12-2024/card/chinese-household-savings-hit-another-record-high-xqyky00IsIe357rtJb4j

Student debt in China is virtually non-existent because education is not run for profit. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2016/08/29/why-china-doesnt-have-a-student-debt-problem/

The typical Chinese adult is now richer than the typical European adult https://www.businessinsider.com/typical-chinese-adult-now-richer-than-europeans-wealth-report-finds-2022-9

If you want to contrast with a country where the elites don't care about the people, then look no further than India. Both countries started roughly at the same level of development back in the 50s and the difference today could not be more stark.

Even from purely selfish perspective, it's obvious that social stability is what allows the elites to enjoy their life style. A social collapse would not be good for them. While the US is run by imbeciles without any vision, that doesn't mean China is. The reality is that despite that chart you linked, China is making by far the most progress of any country in transitioning of using fossil fuels.

China’s carbon emissions have been in a structural decline since 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/13/chinas-carbon-emissions-set-for-structural-decline-from-next-year

Clean energy was top driver of China’s economic growth in 2023 https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-was-top-driver-of-chinas-economic-growth-in-2023/

China installed more solar in 2025 than rest of the world combined https://electrek.co/2025/09/02/h1-2025-china-installs-more-solar-than-rest-of-the-world-combined/

China’s solar capacity surges; predicted to top 1 TW by 2026 https://www.rystadenergy.com/news/china-s-solar-capacity-surges-expected-to-top-1-tw-by-2026

China is also building out nuclear at a breakneck pace https://www.economist.com/china/2023/11/30/china-is-building-nuclear-reactors-faster-than-any-other-country

New energy vehicles account for 77.6% of China's public transport system https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2403089981/

Not only that, but they're also actively exporting tech like solar panels around the world. So, countries like Pakistan are now decarbonizing as well https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/climate/pakistan-solar-boom

We are headed for difficult times ahead, but some countries will face these challenges collectively and their societies will come together, meanwhile others will tear themselves apart.