[gherkin0]

What do you mean by "first world country?" The terms first/second/third world were originally names used to distinguish countries aligned either with the capitalist west, communist east, or neither (which typically were less developed). Now it's used more as a synonym for "developed country," which is a category that certainly included the Soviet Union (there wasn't a lot of free speech there, to say the least).

I don't think the Chinese government cares about western political values, and it'll probably be satisfied with whatever economic development it can get without them.

[FussyZeus]

I was referring to development, I actually had no idea those terms were originally political. Today I Learned.