I’d say holding 60% of the places is more than "an edge ". Or 90% of the places, as it’s unclear where the 30% “holistic” admits come in. (Edited to add - or actually, 93.5% of the places as that is what the government proposed that the parents are protesting against - giving kids from other provinces 6.5% of places.)
I also understand - someone correct me if I’m wrong - that the difference in career prospects between the tippy top schools and the rest is massive in China compared to the US. Which is why so many Chinese students who don’t make it to those but have financial resources come here. A student our family hosted from a nearby college was one.
I’d have thought it would be all one test, I wonder why it isn’t?