> They are catching up to status quo Yes they are catching up. Three quarters of the countries in the world are catching up -- or trying to -- the most advance

> They are catching up to status quo Yes they are catching up. Three quarters of the countries in the world are catching up -- or trying to -- the most advanced countries, and that's been roughly the situation since the industrial revolution. The difference is that China has been more successful than anyone else at catching up; to the best of my knowledge no other country has ever managed as good a performance (except for poor countries that discover oil, which doesn't really count).