There is a difference between a nation state and a collection of selfish individuals.
A nation has pride in itself. A collection of selfish individuals do not have any pride. They just want more money for themselves.
A nation is free even if its people are called on to fight for its freedom. A collection of selfish individuals look for opportunities to backstab each other and join other countries.
A nation's strength come from its unity -- you can snap a chopstick in half, but try doing that with a bundle of chopsticks. A collection of selfish individuals, no matter how much money it spends buying the best weapons in the world, will simply collapse when faced with resistance.
A nation is a master of itself. A collection of selfish individuals will always be slaves.
Today's China is not held together by a common religion or culture as traditional folk culture is on the wane. It's only held together by vague historical bonds, common language (even if dialectical) and the Han Chinese bloodline.
Historically, pure Han Chinese dynasties tend to be isolationist and detest miscegony while the Yuan (a barbarian dynasty) and the Qing (a semi-barbarian dynasty) are more open to interaction with foreign cultures and people. Han Chinese's historical tradition of keeping our bloodline pure is what makes us a relatively homogenous race even after thousands of years. We can thank our ancestors for not turning us into another india.
If we could split China into two groups -- 50% more nationalist and 50% less nationalist -- and then expel the 50% less nationalist group from the country, we would have a much more powerful country. Exclusiveness, high standards and purity is what makes a nation strong. The purer the steel, the stronger the blade!
China can learn a lot from Prussian Empire and Japanese Empire circa 1900. Smaller.... finer quality.... unified and cohesive.... boldly nationalistic.... that is a powerful combination!