Is China today like Japan in the 1980s?

China has a lot more potential simply because of the vast size of their population. Most chinese now have simple jobs like farmers or factory workers. If they really wake up, and the country becomes as developed as the US is today, or even half as developed, their economy will be double the size of that of the US. They will be dominant. Whereas japan, is less than half the size of the US. Its a little scary to think about, but it is a very real possibility