Let's just say, given the number of harmful and non-environmentally friendly industries that were in China, if investors brought harmful industries there, they did not affect the overall, already formed picture of environmental pollution.
But what exactly the investors brought was TECHNOLOGIES. Due to which China has become what it is now! Without technology, China would still be a third world country with bleak prospects ...
Being a regular visitor to India, I always compare China to India. You can also compare China to some of the other more populous Asian nations, such as Indonesia or Pakistan. None of these countries have witnessed the same level of economic growth as China. And regarding India, I would say that they wasted a perfect opportunity. If the corruption, bureaucracy and red tape was not there, then India would have emerged as the most preferred destination instead of China. They had the perfect conditions, such as large English speaking population, low wages, and moderate climate.
China attracted investment, because they could do away with the regulations and make it easier for the investors to set up factories. As you have mentioned, these investors brought new technology, and this enabled ordinary Chinese to setup worldclass technological startups.
I agree that China, against the background of Indonesia or Pakistan, or many other countries in the region, looks the most developed. But let's see what changes will take place on the world stage in the next 5-10 years.
About India is a mystery to me in general, why India, having gained independence in the middle of the century, and having enormous potential in many areas, did not become a regional leader ?! After all, India has everything to achieve this goal! Corruption and bureaucracy exist in many highly developed countries, this is bad, but it should not be a "stumbling block"! But it seems to me that India can, and most likely should, change the situation and take its dignified position!
what goes up will also come down. just like china, india was once a super power of this world. is also crash down just as china was. both this country had the chance to conquer just like rome, spain, vikings and US. its money that causes an empire to fall apart.
since india had gone from that level also, many have been forseeing them to rise up again. we are gradually seeing it already.
but for now its china's time to shine. they have have the technology and countries had been adopting these technology. we from a democratic country may even adopt their surveillance system to achieve what they have done.