what china achieved in spite o' its poverty is kinda amazing, but geography were the pivotal factor. a european population a fraction o' the size o' china, constant on the edge o' starvation, would be intractable and difficult to control, especially as the native european populations had developed independent. two valleys east or west in what is now germany or france mighta had a culture evolve with its own unique traditions and languages and even when those peoples eventual began to mix, they retained their tribal identities for many centuries.
china were different. two river valleys representing the near entirety o' the population, and in spite o' extremes o' poverty and starvation which woulda' driven people elsewheres to revolt (instability such as were the norm in european colonies) china had incredible cohesion over an inspiring span o' centuries. homogenous culture and a population limited to only two main waterways allowed for a bureaucracy to develop in ways not possible o' replication anywhere else on the planet save egypt which you already mentioned. unlike the tigris and euphrates, the nile flooded regularly and the flooding were instrumental in reinvigorating the rich soil which the egyptians farmed. explains why egypt enjoyed similar longevity, eh?
'course in spite o' homogenous populations and a concentrated population, poverty and starvation is ordinary disruptive to smooth running o' a government. eventual a bureaucracy will find it impossible to control a starving population... even with the benefit o' a state religion which convinces the population that suffering is natural and even godly... or somesuch. which is why chinese police power and force resources were constant directed inwards. colonization is unlikely if all efforts is focused on preventing internal strife and discord. current chinese authoritarianism and brutality is not shocking when one considers history. but again, is curious that success were exact what led to so much chinese suffering. 'cause o' the unique rivers, chinese homogenous populations grew beyond that which were achieved anywhere else. once populations grew too large to be sustainable by conventional farming, the bureaucracy were able to impose nationwide laws regarding cultivation which allowed the population to grow even further. success! 'course the success only magnified the future problem o' impossibility o' sustainability. in spite o' advantages o' geography leading to homogenous populations, china still required police power directed internal to maintain control as the chinese population suffered at levels which would (and did) drive european populations to rebellion.
in a land o' plenty, the chinese eventual produced arakis like scarcity. weren't lack o' water which led to suffering. were the excess o' people which were the problem, and the excess had only been possible 'cause o' unique circumstances o' geography and culture. is easy to dismiss chinese authoritarianism and brutality as inhumane, but for much o' chinese history, the bureaucracy were trying to stave off mass starvation (and enrich themselves while developing a tradition o' improbable cronyism, but prevent famines were also a major motivation). genuine fascinating if a bit horrifying as well.
HA! Good Fun!