Yes. They are shortsighted cronyists that beg at the table for China's favor. I am saying, the fact that even in a controlled, KYC'd, regulated environment, they would rather mine Bitcoin than miss out on the opportunity. Smart people don't dox themselves. (Least of which to governments like China)
Discussion
ASIC mining is the only way Bitcoin Mining is even remotely feasible for people now, and even then it's not profitable.
You need at least 5 to 10 to even break even.
I am sure there's people China mining Bitcoin underground without kyc but I imagine it's a few people, Monero would be more friendly in this regard.
Look into Bitaxe and home solo mining. The hashrates there are actually quite surprising. Running a few Bitaxes in your home would decentralize the mining space quite a bit. I myself run a few miners just for heat during the winter.
Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on Bitaxe, they seem interesting.