If it wasn't CCP, China can be much better now. Remember why China is poor back then? It's called culture revolution, 10 years.

Don't forget the Great Leap Forward(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward). Sure, it was 60 years ago, but 18-45 million people starved in the service of the same authoritarian regime in power today.

China continues to bully its regional neighbors like Vietnam over dubious claims to the regional seas.

Now, to be fair, I'm typing this on land formerly inhabited by American Indians, in a nation with a history of lying to start wars and exploiting foreign nations for gain. But at least I am able to discuss these issues and push for changes to keep those atrocities from happening again.

You're able to discuss the issues, but you are very much not able to push for changes.

Nobody has successfully pushed back on any aspect of the war on terror my entire life, including 2 different Presidents who came in saying it should be rolled back. The newest one doesn't even give it lip service.

That's a sad attempt at shifting goalposts. Even as an Indian, I can easily admit that China has done far better economically than my country. Their awful repressive policies and authoritarian government are bad, to be sure, but economically there is no reason to complain.

You currently have a nationalist authoritarian government that is bent on curbing civil rights and is economically incompetent. It's not hard to imagine why China is doing better economically.