Countries that never got the chance to industrialize.

  Interesting, as I never knew that, about Chinese minds.  I do recall from Kennedy's Rise and Fall of the Great Powers that he puts the failure of a possible Chinese industrial revolution in I think it was the 10thC that the problem was that the merchants involved getting wealthy and hence influential was seen as a threat to the established elites in the government, clerics and military and hence were closed down.

  I  wonder if India might have been a better option?  If it was slightly better protected on the NW frontier so invasions from that region were less damaging you might have seen assorted kingdoms and states squabbling for power and hence interested in finding new ways to expand their power to keep up with rivals.  There was an important maritime region in the south which I think was responsible for the expansion of Hinduism to SE Asia and this might have developed further possibly with rivals developing in say Bengal and the east coast.  This could have seen a similar situation developing as to Europe ~1500 onward.  Although possibly Hinduism with its belief in kama and a rigid caste system would have been a serious issue as merchants have low status there and it would be more difficult for members of any caste to move into another one, restricting social minority.

  Actually I think I would have to disagree with that last bit.  More Britain was in the middle of the paths of Russia and Germany.  We weren't as savage as Russia, especially under the communists but did a lot worse than Germany prior to 1933.   That was the thing above all that started the curtailing of British power.