You cannot assumed your line of argument that if not for opium trade ... china will still be Qing and backward today.
Under Qing China will learn to progress, with a healthy bank accounts, with no poverty stage, at their own pace.
Many angmoh inventions takes time to learn and adopt the technologies to fit Chinese cultures.
Give and take 20 years to fully developed into a 20th century China takes time.
Not with drug trade at china doorsteps with vengences to destroy Chinese wealth and standard of living falling to below poverty level.
This was evil white bastards plan to make China broke and ultimately invasion of China, by the french.
Look at what they did to Syria now and the 7 States in ME today. U witness this in you life time the whites destroyed ME systematically.
Starting w faking their 911 bombing to 杀鸡敬猴 their own American people to justify go destroy ME.
The Brits are paying back dearly for their past "misdeeds." Look at how the Pakis and Indians are doing in Leeds and Birmingham streets. (We don't see the Chinese doing the same!) As for China, she was a weak nation at that time in history. Every foreign country who waged war with China whacked her jialat jialat. Mostly the Nips. That was a lesson the Chinks learnt a great deal and needed to strenghten herself, which she is doing. If not for the brutal lessons learnt, China would still be living in a dreamworld built by dynastic idealism of Confucianism and Taoism. It was necessary that the Imperial Heathens of the Middle Kingdom got whacked and kicked into the twentieth century or they be stuck in the Medieval Middle Ages where they found comfort and good life. It was time for change. And the chinks can well be thankful to the Brits for the Opium War which propelled her to the inevitable social changes (to become a Republic). It all turned out good for the middle-kingdom.
Cheers!