“Doing so much better” is overstating it IMO. I believe that, the way things are going now, China’s space capabilities will overtake America’s sooner or later, but they’re still playing catch-up at the moment. The lunar sample return is a big win but the Americans got the first moon rocks in 1969 and since then multiple other space agencies have returned rocks from the moon and even some comets. Getting the first Mars sample return is possible, since both the Chinese and American plans for this are slated for the early 2030s, and IMO if achieved would signal China finally surpassing America’s capabilities.
“Doing so much better” is overstating it IMO. I believe that, the way things are going now, China’s space capabilities will overtake America’s sooner or later, but they’re still playing catch-up at the moment. The lunar sample return is a big win but the Americans got the first moon rocks in 1969 and since then multiple other space agencies have returned rocks from the moon and even some comets. Getting the first Mars sample return is possible, since both the Chinese and American plans for this are slated for the early 2030s, and IMO if achieved would signal China finally surpassing America’s capabilities.