We're only going to know the answer to that question in the fullness of time. I do believe that free societies and free universities have an advantage with creativity. We see this especially in Chinese university-level social sciences, where they're hopelessly backward because of censorship. It's on the science side that they spend their money, and they've been leaping ahead.
Size has a quality of its own. If the Chinese now graduate eight times as many STEM graduates, that will accrue over time and be tremendously important. China's closing in on the United States for the largest economy. It's conceivable that by 2050, or even before, the Chinese economy could be twice the size.
That is a challenge to the west. Acting collectively, I think our free institutions could be their match. China will change over time, but we won't have a good answer to your question until we see the results, unfortunately.