[quote=@Vilageidiotx]
<Snipped quote by Mihndar>

Like said, Japan had a larger economy because of US intervention. Also, Hou isn't necessarily Mao so Deng's reforms might not have happened simply because they were never necessary.
[/quote]

But they also wouldn't have been devastated during World War 2, so to some degree those would have canceled out. And it seems a bit dubious to me that China could have industrialized several times faster in order to match.