Okay then, for the sake of the comparison's relevancy to this post, is China the pristine cathedral to the US's bazaar?
If you're going to complain that China doesn't have stained glass windows and isn't a building made out of blocks of granite, then you've missed the point.
* Strong disagreement and polarization on a lot of important issues
* Constant arguing about the best way forward argue on how best to fix economic issues
* Many important problems are ignored, seemingly forever
Believing otherwise is vain provincial exceptionalism. The original comparison is superficial and bankrupt.