Amy Hawkins and Jeffrey Wasserstrom of The Atlantic stated in 2019 that the book is widely available in Mainland China for several reasons: censors believe the general public is unlikely to read a highbrow book, because the elites who do read books feel connected to the ruling party anyway, and because the Communist Party sees being too aggressive in blocking cultural products as a liability.
ˈeɪmi hˈɔːkɪnz ænd dʒˈɛfɹi wˈɑːsɚstɹˌɑːm ʌvðɪ ɐtlˈæntɪk stˈeɪɾᵻd ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd nˈaɪntiːn ðætðə bˈʊk ɪz wˈaɪdli ɐvˈeɪləbəl ɪn mˈeɪnlənd tʃˈaɪnə fɔːɹ sˈɛvɹəl ɹˈiːzənz: sˈɛnsɚz bᵻlˈiːv ðə dʒˈɛnɚɹəl pˈʌblɪk ɪz ʌnlˈaɪkli tə ɹˈiːd ɐ hˈaɪbɹaʊ bˈʊk, bɪkˈʌz ðɪ ɪlˈiːts hˌuː dˈuː ɹˈiːd bˈʊks fˈiːl kənˈɛktᵻd tə ðə ɹˈuːlɪŋ pˈɑːɹɾi ˈɛnɪwˌeɪ, ænd bɪkˈʌz ðə kˈɑːmjuːnˌɪst pˈɑːɹɾi sˈiːz bˌiːɪŋ tˈuː ɐɡɹˈɛsɪv ɪn blˈɑːkɪŋ kˈʌltʃɚɹəl pɹˈɑːdʌkts æz ɐ lˌaɪəbˈɪlᵻɾi.