There are some big companies that have loyalty rewards programs and some assign numbers to it, but it’s generally like it is here in the west. It’s not a government thing.

The government thing is basically just intense accounting. They keep very close track of financial stuff and though it’s mostly aimed at businesses, they also note when individuals take out loans or credit cards and that can impact a person’s life if they default. People and companies can also be blacklisted for stuff like fraud. But again, that’s pretty much the same in the west too.

It’s true that there is less anonymity in China though because people have to use their real names for everything. Like on social media, even if a user has a screen name, their legal name is still tied to their account through their phone number or internet connection or associated bank account (you can do online shopping through basically every Chinese app) or all of the above. Westerners nominally have more privacy in that regard but let’s be real, if a western government wanted to know who’s behind an “anonymous” internet post, they would know.