In one corner a country were dissent is stomped out with extreme prejudice and political decisions are pushed through speedily and without fuzz regardless of the quality of the idea.

In the other corner a country in the middle the most politically turbulent period of the last 100 years. Where every attempt at pushing any legislation or decision through is met with intense pushback and stalling measures.

Another important aspect here is that progress is alot easier when you're one step behind and have someone to blaze the trail and give inspiration. It will be interesting to see if China can actually drive technology forward and be the trailblazers once they're fully caught up in the coming years which they're on target for.