It absolutely was: https://davidoks.blog/p/why-china-got-rich-and-india-didnt (“In 1987, median purchasing-power adjusted income in China was $1.88 per day, compared to $2.94 per day in India. Chinese median wages surpassed Indian ones in the early 2000s.”). Also: https://mgmresearch.com/china-vs-india-gdp-comparison/ (“During 1990, China GDP per capita was 0.9-times of India.”).