Thanks for sorting me out. Silly fool that I am- I thought the fact that China was a communist country had something to do with it.
well, you're partially correct, but communism's effect on China's economy is debatable at best -- you must remember that China was on an economic backslide right from the 18th century and this was exacerbated by murderous civil wars from the 1850s right up to 1949 and a genocidal enemy (Japan). Then, China had to recover. Mao's idiocy didn't help things at all. But the question remains -- how can an elephant dance like a 110 lb ballerina (Think Singapore or Hong Kong). Britain had 2 centuries of plundering from it's colonies + the gains of it's industrial revolution. Compare China or India to Britain of the early 1800s and you have the right comparison.