The thing is that Superman doesn't GET protrayed as the embodiment of the government of the US in that same way, in which case you'd probably have him be portrayed as doing some pretty unheroic stuff as well.
Not that China is the country that makes the less sense as having heroes that are the embodiment of the government/party, so I'm not saying that to 100% get behind the original comment.
Superman does get a very different, much more flattering relationship to/with his home nation, but that's not just in relation to these guys.