And here is an example of possible confusion....

When using an eSIM (or other foreign SIM) with roaming in China already unblocks your access to the internet - your internet connection is tunnelled back to the home network of the SIM/eSIM you are using and you are no longer restricted by the great firewall. You can access Google services and anything else normally restricted.

You don't need a VPN as well as roaming SIM/eSIM unless you need a VPN for other purposes.

I maintain that with the advent of eSIMs it's very much easier for occasional travellers to China to use these. It's not expensive for short term trips and is set and forget.

For ongoing more permanent life in China prolonged use of an eSIM with a need for decent amount of data to access your favourite media and stream may become less cost optimised and a VPN may be worth considering.