Why not? China is ~200 years late in industrializing, mostly because of centuries of colonial plunder (And a few decades of communist misrule).
There's a very simple formula for getting your country caught up to the rest of the world. Steal as much as you can, until you pull yourself up to the level of your neighbours. Every developed nation has either done this, or piggy-backed off a bigger neighbour who has.
Just because we've already gone down this path, doesn't give us any moral high-ground for pulling the ladder up after us.
And it works, too. Look at the quality of life in China, compared to India... Or Vietnam.
There's a very simple formula for getting your country caught up to the rest of the world. Steal as much as you can, until you pull yourself up to the level of your neighbours. Every developed nation has either done this, or piggy-backed off a bigger neighbour who has.
Just because we've already gone down this path, doesn't give us any moral high-ground for pulling the ladder up after us.
And it works, too. Look at the quality of life in China, compared to India... Or Vietnam.