Soil erosion is impacted by climate and land use changes which need to be quantified to assess future risks and to design efficient soil conservation measures. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations have provided the basis for most such assessments and yet are being gradually superseded by more recent simulations from Phase 6 (CMIP6). The High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) experiment in CMIP6 adds value over the downscaled CMIP5 simulations by improving process representation in the global climate system. Our study investigates and compares high-resolution model simulations from CMIP6 against CMIP5. Model evaluation for the reference period (1986–2005) indicates that the CMIP6 model outperforms the regional climate models (RCM) from CMIP5 for better circulation simulations, but both overestimate soil erosion in China. The average projected soil erosion increases by 27.85 from CMIP5 and 20.03 t·hm-2·a-1 from the CMIP6 model with remarkable geographical heterogeneity. Soil erosion is projected to decrease in black soil regions, purple soil regions, and karst regions from CMIP6 results, which is opposite to the increasing trend found in those regions from CMIP5. Land use and climatic changes contributed 51.68% and -5.92% respectively from CMIP5 simulations while 35.74% and -13.77% from CMIP6 to the increased soil erosion rate. The negative contribution of land use change is gradually intensified with the CMIP6 model representing finer-scale processes of converting land-use type into cropland, pasture, and urban land. Overall, the CMIP6 projections provide a less severe soil erosion situation while addressing the need to pursue soil conservation more.