> And India's progress is not a forced one like China's (which is "unstable" in an equilibrium way).
Other Asian countries whose economies grew rapidly under non-democratic governments, like Taiwan and South Korea, moved to democracies after the populace had attained a certain level of wealth and education. I would guess that China is headed down that same path. To put it figuratively, rather than being surpassed by the tortoise in the long run, the hare turned into a tortoise after it had sprinted ahead, allowing it to have the best of both worlds.
Other Asian countries whose economies grew rapidly under non-democratic governments, like Taiwan and South Korea, moved to democracies after the populace had attained a certain level of wealth and education. I would guess that China is headed down that same path. To put it figuratively, rather than being surpassed by the tortoise in the long run, the hare turned into a tortoise after it had sprinted ahead, allowing it to have the best of both worlds.