I think it's dumb too to build up China like we are but in the long run it may turn them into a democracy.
I agree its dumb to build China but they have 1 billion consumers.Like turning a battleship its very slow and it will take some time. The more the people become addicted to money and personal goods they will make the final plunge to become a democracy. Hong Kong is a huge thorn in their side because the amount of trade that goes on.
China has only just started embracing capitalism and market-based economics, it's definitely too early to call quits and believe that China's political system will not change. It's a huge country, the effects of capitalism will trickle down slowly and occassionally it may still hiccup, but it's naive to say that capitalism since the 80s has not transformed China. In the span of a mere decade, there is already more than just a Hong Kong being the thorn now, Mainland Chinese cities like Shanghai are also becoming as capitalistic and open as ever.
See this set of recent photos of Shanghai: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=85517