UC’s are very GPA focused, so GPA/test scores/HS course rigor and essays are considered the most important in the application review. Like I stated above, if your GPA is 40% and the top students at your school are at 99%, not knowing how exactly how your GPA scale works, it looks like your GPA is very low. On a US scale, 40% would be failing.
As an International student, you need to be at the top of your class to get into most of the schools on your list.