[Humjob]

I've read much the same - it seems to me that the West's current political ethos is largely a reaction to the racial idealism propagated by the Nazis in WW 2, which was used as an ideological justification for the Holocaust. Consequently, any discussion or idea which even tangentially broaches the topic of eugenics/dysgenics is a massive hot potato.

China doesn't have that kind of baggage associated with its history and on top of that it's ambitious to establish itself as a superpower. Thus, Chinese people are far more welcoming of genetic engineering and it won't surprise me at all if China is the first country to implement it on a widescale basis. Then, like you said, competitive pressures will virtually guarantee that the rest of the world will follow its lead.