Painther--I'm not sure what we disagree on. What you have written doesn't clash with what I am saying. I would just add that China's current wealth is heavily dependent on cheap labor. Innovation, education, etc. are limited as a portion of its GDP. My argument is that demographics will stunt Chinese growth and accelerate unnaturally to the shift to India, preventing China from reaching its full potential.

PS Most of Europe's "innovations" of the period you site came from adapting Indian and Chinese labor techniques and technology.