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China has state-coordinated schemes to both suppress its own internal population (which may not concern you if you aren't Chinese and never go to China) and to manipulate people globally (which everyone should be concerned about).
While it's true that all countries collect data for the purposes of propaganda, China does so at a scale and with a level of precision and control that pretty much no other country can reach.
You should be trying to limit the amount of data that ANY group gets about you, but some groups will do more nefarious things with it than others. Google for example just wants to advertise to you. Which is bad, I'm not trying to downplay that, just contextualize it. China wants to control every aspect of everything you do. China's capacity to control people outside its own borders is limited, but growing. The more data China gets, the more leverage it has to manipulate, coerce, and control.
Like, I go to a website and research clown outfits or biscuit preparation, what the hell is China going to do with this information? Banking info I would be concerned. Any more specific examples of foul play come hitherdom? The question really isn’t being answered.
If they control the browser they can potentially intercept everything you see and do. Banking info, whether you looked up Tianmen square, who you talk to, who you trust... They can also infer personality from your browsing history. Looked at clown outfits just before watching porn? Maybe you'll get a letter blackmailing you or else they'll divulge your fetish to your family and loved ones. This is not fiction - China has been caught doing this to political personalities, and those are only the ones that failed.
The browser can also serve as a gateway for them to install persistent monitoring software on your OS, or turning your machine into part of a botnet.