[_zamorano_]

It's about the execution. The plan is just the first step.

Basically, China is centralized politically and decentraliced economically. The soviet centralized everything... even meat prices, a recipe for disaster.

They plan the outcome, but let the governing to the different provinces and the implementation to the (mostly) private sector. These actors are forced to compete, among other things, via export discipline that cannot be faked.

And somehow, despite facing the same corruption and cronyism problems we do in the west, they seem to get better results.

[treis]

It's much more just population. Rapid population growth and then a one child policy has left China with a population bulge. Right now that bulge is 25-60ish which gives China a large amount of workers compared to children and the elderly. In 20-30 years that's going to switch and they will have a large amount of retirees supported by a relatively small amount of workers.