To expand on my economic improvement theory from above, I think what will break the Chinese people is the race to be successful and how expensive it is. It's starts with the one-child policy. If you have one child, you're going to pour all your resources into that one child. From Bankai's story above, I'm guessing his wife is an only child and his mother-in-law pour every dollar to allow his wife to study abroad, at triple the tuition.When China relaxed the one-child policy a couple of years ago, the first cry was, thanks but no one can afford a second kid!
Education is valued so highly it's a race to get to the top. Even if you don't agree with this method, you still get caught in it. If your child is 6 and half his/her class are hiring tutors, you're going to have to hire a tutor. If they give teachers presents, you have to give teachers presents.
To give or not to give? Chinese parents struggle with Teacher’s Day gift etiquette
If you're in a small town, each year your town may only be allocated one or two admissions to the best city university, and the kids in the city, have their own race to win the seats to to study abroad. So there's a race for everything and pressure on the kids that I think in the long run will collapse the system. I mean you thought the college degree market was saturated in the US, only 40% of Americans graduate with a 4-year degree. In China it's 90%!
The Problem With Chinese Universities? Not Enough Dropouts