But so does Africa, and lots of other poor places. Millions of consumers who want a better life, plenty of pent up desire and demand. And it has been so for generations. But (virtually) nobody thinks Africa will have a huge burst of economic growth anytime soon, because African nations generally have 2 things: lack of protections for private property and high levels of corruption. That's enough, despite having lots of natural resources and human potential, to hold them back from achieving material wealth similar to the developed economies. While I'm not saying the PRC has these problems to the same degree as the least developed nations, they are serious problems and there's significant question as to whether they can be solved as China continues to transition from a centrally-planned economy to a market economy. It's not a clear road, as any Russian citizen would tell us. There was lots of optimism there, too--for awhile.
The difference is that the Chinese consumers have money to spend !
It won't be smooth but as has happened during the past 25 years, China is and will continue to emerge.
So will certain countries in Africa by the way.
It will be different development from that seen my western countries - but then it's not west, now is it....
One can't bury their head In the sand and ignore China Or discount China.
Even with economic transition issues, the economy is growing at 3 to 4 times that of the USA. Even cutting their current estimates in half ... Since no one believes the official numbers Still they are more than triple usa's GDP growth - and that's in a "slow period" - they are the #2 economy in the world.
Your example of Russia is not even in the same ballpark. Ussr broke up. Couldn't hold it together. And Russia never ever ever came close to #2 ...I think they made the top 5 only recently. Apples and oranges.
The number of companies that benefit from emerging China is tremendous. China consumers are a growing force, income is rising , the rule of law is steadily improving. China will find her path forward.
Having lived and worked there for the past 8 yrs I can tell you first hand that I would not bet against China in the long run.
Short term pains, yes without question but over the next 5 years. 10 years 20 years...
If multinationals companies don't have a proper China consumption strategy being implemented, they're gonna be
F$&:ed....