In extreme poverty, people will even limit survival to that of their own person.

This has been reported, for example, from DPRK prison camps with family members turning on each other to survive.

In today's China you cannot make this comparison to DPRK, but China's history has left its marks in people's behavior today.

The staff of the school, from the top to the janitor, was trying to increase their profits by not implementing proper storage for the sleeping mattresses.

If I interpret Mike correctly, he is referring to general attitude of average Chinese person toward other human beings, nature, and generally everything other than himself and his immediate family.

For long time China was poor country, and it still reflects in many parts of the society. One is, that average Chinese will always put his own survival and benefit first.