World News

Yes, you are reading it correctly a 5% economic growth during a worldwide economic downturn and 8% during normal times is heroic considering that China's GDP per capita is over 12,000 USD. GDP growth percentage is something that is entirely dependent on the existing economy, and the bigger your per capita GDP is, the slower it has the potential to grow inherently.

Growth isn't something that happens in a vacuum. If it were, then America would be able to grow at 20% YoY which is complete nonsense at a cursory glance. It happens due to infrastructural development, technological advancements, and increasing education of the populace. There are limits to these factors which is why Marx (and Piketty more recently) mathematically showed the fundamental flaw in the capitalist system long-term.

The only misunderstanding is that China hasn't caught up to developed countries. It nearly has in tier 1 or even tier 2 cities in many respects, but China's development is uneven especially due to its speed of growth.