India is probably the best comparison to China due to their similar population and level of development post independence in 1950. It's also used on Chinese forums as an example of why China dodged a bullet with democracy.

With democracies i feel its mainly a long game instead of a short term one. I also think under an authoritarian regime u can get everything done forcefully, whereas under a democracy coz u need to get everyone board which may be slow or sometimes impossible and everything becomes political and progress slows down.