9 Europe vs China Differences In The 19th vs 21st Centuries

The following 8 memes look at how Europe and China’s roles have flip flopped from the 19th to the 21st centuries in a variety of ways from economic growth to city sizes and even their role in Africa.

They are not meant to be taken too seriously, but would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section at the end.

1. Economic Growth

A little more about this.

• 19th century Europe led industrialisation, with rapid GDP and productivity growth driven by steam power, railways, and colonial trade.
• China experienced relative stagnation, weakened by Qing decline, internal rebellions, and forced integration into global markets.
• Europe’s per capita income rose steadily, widening the “Great Divergence” with East Asia.
• 21st century China achieved extraordinary growth, becoming a manufacturing and technology powerhouse through state-led reforms and export orientation.
• Europe grew more slowly, focusing on services, high-value manufacturing, and social welfare stability.
• China’s urbanisation and infrastructure investment far outpaced Europe’s.
• That said, Europe maintains higher average incomes (for now) and stronger regulatory standards.

2. Views on Technology

More on this:

• 19th century Europe broadly embraced technology as progress, associating it with industrial power, science, and modernity.
• Technological innovation was culturally celebrated and tied to national prestige and empire-building.
• 19th century China viewed Western technology more cautiously, often as practical tools rather than symbols of societal transformation.
• The Qing pursued “self-strengthening” while preserving Confucian traditions and social order.
• 21st century China views technology as central to national rejuvenation, economic power, and global competitiveness.
• Strong state support drives AI, digital infrastructure, and green tech development.
• 21st century Europe promotes innovation but balances it with ethics, regulation, and social impact concerns.
• European discourse stresses sustainability, privacy, and responsible technological governance.

3. Role In Africa

More on this:

• 19th century Europe exercised direct political control through colonial rule, formal empires, and territorial administration.
• The “Scramble for Africa” imposed European legal systems, borders, and governance structures.
• Control was enforced by military power and justified through civilising and economic extraction narratives.
• African autonomy was largely suppressed under European imperial dominance.
• 21st century China exerts influence primarily through economic control rather than formal political rule.
• Investment in infrastructure, mining, energy, and transport expands Chinese leverage across African states.
• Loans and development projects deepen dependency but avoid overt colonial governance.
• Europe now operates mainly through diplomacy, aid, and cooperative institutions, with limited direct control.

4. Biggest Cities In The World

Ok so this one might controversial.

But, according to various sources these were the biggest cities in the world in 1900 (bold for European cities):

1. London (6.5 million)
2. New York (4.0 million)
3. Paris (3.0 million)
4. Berlin (2.7 million)
5. Chicago (1.7 million)
6. Vienna (1.7 million)
7. Tokyo (1.5 million)
8. St. Petersburg (1.4 million)
9. Manchester (1.4 million)
10. Philadelphia (1.4 million)

Although, I’m not sure how they measured city size.

As for the 21st century if we use city proper (rather than Urban/Metropolitan area) we get the following list (bold for China):

1. Chongqing (32.1 million)
2. Shanghai (24.9 million)
3. Beijing (21.9 million)
4. Delhi (16.8 milllion)
5. Chengdu (16.0 million)
6. Istanbul (15.5 million)
7. Karachi (14.9 million)
8. Guangzhou (14.5 million)
9. Tianjin (13.9 million)
10. Tokyo (13.5 million)

However, in China, a “city” often includes vast rural and suburban areas. A prefecture-level city can cover the size of a small country, so population figures reflect entire regions, not just dense urban cores.

E.g Chongqing covers includes an area of 82,403 km2 (31,816 sq mi) which is slightly larger than the entire Czech Republic.

But its built up area is just 5,472.8 km2 (2,113.1 sq mi) or around 3.5 Greater Londons.

Using the Urban area definition, the number would fall to just 2 of the top 10 in China, and still none for Europe.

5. Building Stuff vs Bureaucracy

More on this:

• 19th century Europe prioritised building industrial infrastructure, valuing legal-rational administration and parliamentary oversight.
• Bureaucracy expanded to manage taxation, empire, and industrial regulation, but governments generally remained relatively small.
•  Physical construction (railways, canals, factories) was driven largely by private enterprise and capital markets.
• 19th century China emphasised bureaucratic governance over physical transformation, with the Confucian scholar-official system prioritising administrative order and social stability.
• Large-scale building was less central to state identity than maintaining moral and political harmony.
• 21st century China strongly prioritises “building stuff” as a symbol of progress and legitimacy.
• Mega-projects (high-speed rail, megacities, dams) demonstrate state capacity and speed.
• Bureaucracy exists but is often subordinated to performance metrics tied to construction and GDP growth.
• 21st century Europe places greater emphasis on process, regulation, and consultation.
• Bureaucracy, environmental review, and legal oversight heavily shape what gets built and how fast.
• Construction is constrained by public participation, sustainability rules, and institutional complexity.

6. Role of Communism

More about what happened:

• Communism emerged in 19th-century Europe as a reaction to industrial capitalism and worker exploitation.
• Rapid factory growth created harsh living conditions, inequality, and social unrest.
• Thinkers like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argued society was divided between owners and workers.
• They predicted a proletarian revolution would overthrow capitalist systems.
• The Communist Manifesto (1848) spread these ideas across Europe.
• In the 20th century, communism was first implemented in Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
• The Soviet Union created a one-party state with a centrally planned economy.
• After World War II, Eastern Europe adopted communism under Soviet influence.
• Governments controlled industry, land, media, and political expression.
• Western Europe rejected communism but adopted socialist policies like welfare states and labour protections.
• In China, the Communist Party took power in 1949 under Mao Zedong.
• The state collectivised agriculture and nationalised industry.
• Campaigns like the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution caused massive disruption and suffering.
• Political loyalty was prioritised over economic efficiency.
• The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, communism collapsed across Eastern Europe.
• Former communist countries shifted toward democracy and market economies.
• The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, marking the end of communism in Europe.
• But China followed a different path.
• The Communist Party kept political control but introduced market reforms.
• This created a hybrid system: authoritarian politics with capitalist-style economics.
• The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) now has over 100 million members, which means it has more members than the population of any European country besides Russia.

7. Economic Systems

 

• 19th century Europe operated under industrial capitalism, with private ownership, “free” markets (often forced on others), and profit-driven factory production.
• Economic growth was powered by mechanisation, banking systems, railway expansion, and colonial trade networks.
• Wealth concentrated in industrial elites, while a wage-based working class expanded rapidly.
• 19th century China remained predominantly agrarian, focused on small-scale peasant farming and traditional local markets.
• The Qing state prioritised stability over industrial transformation, limiting capitalist development.
• This meant they were unable to stop European powers from forcing them to sign Unequal treaties, which forced China into “free” trade arrangements with European powers.
• 21st century Europe uses mixed economies combining market capitalism with strong welfare systems and regulatory oversight.
• Growth is driven by services, finance, technology, and high-value manufacturing.
• Sustainability and social protection heavily shape policy.
• 21st century China operates a state-guided market economy.
• Strategic sectors are controlled by the state, while private enterprise and exports drive rapid growth.

However, according to the IMF, China’s Government expenditure as % of GDP is around 33%, while all major European countries are well above this level e.g. France 57%, Italy 54%, Germany 48%, UK 44%, etc.

8. Power Projection

• 19th century European great powers pursued aggressive imperial expansion to secure territory, resources, and strategic dominance.
• Power was expressed through direct colonial rule, military conquest, and formal empires.
• Diplomacy was based on balance-of-power politics and shifting alliances between rival states.
• Gunboat diplomacy and coercive treaties were common tools of influence.
• Overseas control was tied to prestige, nationalism, and economic extraction.
• 21st century China pursues global influence through economic and strategic integration rather than formal empire.
• Power is exercised via infrastructure investment, trade agreements, and global supply chains.
• The Belt and Road Initiative extends Chinese influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
• Military expansion exists but focuses on regional dominance and deterrence, especially in the South China Sea.
• Diplomacy emphasises sovereignty, non-interference rhetoric, and multipolar global order promotion.
• Europe’s 19th-century power was territorial and coercive; China’s 21st-century power is network-based, economic, and institutional.
• Both seek strategic security, status, and access to resources, but use contrasting methods shaped by their historical contexts.

9. Population Trends

In the 19th century Europe’s population more than doubled from just under 200 million to just over 400 million people. China in contrast grew by only 66 million people and was actually slightly smaller than Europe’s combined population in 1900.

However, today both Europe and China’s populations are now shrinking.

China’s population peaked in 2020 at 1.426 billion and has now shrunk by over 11 million people, an average annual decline of 0.23%.

Europe’s population also peaked in 2020 at 750 million people, but since then has only shrunk by around 6 million, and is currently declining by around 0.09% per year.

By the end of the 21st century China is estimated to have as few as 633 million people, while Europe will decline to 592 million.

Which one do think is the most accurate? Any you think are unfair?