Ok, so, suppose that sometime in the 19th Century, perhaps as a result of some alternate Taiping Rebellion being successful, or because of some change in monarchs or something, through different leadership, China manages to drag itself to modernity, something akin to what Japan did. Think crash modernization and industrialization, introduction of a modern political system, and generally emulating Europe. In any case, a China that is rapidly industrializing and developing, not after Europe and the US, but in the mid-late 19th Century.
Such a China would exponentially grow in power and economic size, right? What would be the effects on Europe and the Americas? Would the world as a whole be richer? Would Europe try and integrate, band up against the Eastern challenger? Would it be easy for China to gain a colonial empire in Asia, like Japan did? Where would it set its sights on? How would Europeans react? How would European governments react? Would the colonial system have been viable in such a scenario? Would there have been European, or American governments willing to ally with the rising star or would racism have been an issue? What impact would an earlier Chinese ascendancy have on the world?
Such a China would exponentially grow in power and economic size, right? What would be the effects on Europe and the Americas? Would the world as a whole be richer? Would Europe try and integrate, band up against the Eastern challenger? Would it be easy for China to gain a colonial empire in Asia, like Japan did? Where would it set its sights on? How would Europeans react? How would European governments react? Would the colonial system have been viable in such a scenario? Would there have been European, or American governments willing to ally with the rising star or would racism have been an issue? What impact would an earlier Chinese ascendancy have on the world?