For several decades, Western politicians considered lack of democracy to be the main problem with China. However, when the global economic crisis struck they realized that the rest of the world is more dependent on the China's economy than its democracy. This was highly symbolic for the era of globalization and an extremely timely shift of priorities.

Nevertheless, the rest of the world is still discussing the Chinese political system, especially with the 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China round the corner.

For many Western specialists, the level of a country's development is directly connected to its state of democracy. But China's success and the economic crisis in Europe and the United States shook the faith in this belief. But the question remains: Will China be able to endure the difficulties and prove the advantages of its development model in new conditions?