China possess incredible economic power in that it can impose sanctions simply by denying access to its market1. This soft power is important because it sucks southeast asian countries into its orbit, Japan and South Korea are likely to follow1.
Lee Kuan Yew has theorized that China will catch the U.S. GDP production but possibly not match U.S. creativity due to the difficulty of learning Chinese and a cultural heritage that does not encourage free exchange and contest of ideas1. Yew also offers that the difficulty of Chinese as a language to learn holds China back from attracting foreign talent.
China will not become a democracy, this runs counter to their deep history and culture1.
1. Allison, G., Blackwill, R. D., Wyne, A. & Kissinger, H. A. Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Masterâs Insights on China, the United States, and the World. (The MIT Press, 2013).