People are most productive when they have something to gain from it.
The Chinese firms I've worked with are plenty motivated by monetary gain. The workers I've worked with leave positions to find better paying ones.
The Chinese economy is not communist any longer. This isn't the USSR of 1974. There's plenty of central planning that happens still in terms of infrastructure and direct investment from the state but there's a ton of competition and fighting for economic advantage. There's also a ton of competition among the people to show off their wealth, get their kids into good schools, and get ahead.
What I don't see is a lot of cultural knowledge outside of Chinese history / society. To be fair, Chinese history is long and complex, so there's plenty there. But all too often the people don't really have an understanding of the world outside China, or they think it's beneath them.