"I would also question how efficient China's government is given the high level of corruption"

That's an important point. I think India's greater press freedom and thus greater transparency is to its long-term advantage. Free and fair elections that can turn out the ruling party keep politicians somewhat more honest.

Here's a question for readers of HN who live in China or have recently traveled there: when you are out at night looking at new high-rise buildings, how occupied do they look? Do most windows show lights, or are most units in the buildings presumably unoccupied? I ask this to check a statement I read from a recent visitor to one city in China.