The reason China was able to develop so quickly after Deng Xiaoping was because they didn't do it earlier. The same rapid development happened in Taiwan, HK, and SK decades earlier because they didn't have to deal with Mao and his sycophants who kept throwing wrenches in the gears.
Xi is more in the Mao class of leaders than his predecessors (both are uneducated populists who are not interested in developing strong institutions). I wouldn't count on China continuing to do well until they find a way to smoothly and consistently replace non-totalitarian leaders, which I think is related to free press/speech, as leaders want to set precedents so they aren't persecuted by the next guy.
Xi is more in the Mao class of leaders than his predecessors (both are uneducated populists who are not interested in developing strong institutions). I wouldn't count on China continuing to do well until they find a way to smoothly and consistently replace non-totalitarian leaders, which I think is related to free press/speech, as leaders want to set precedents so they aren't persecuted by the next guy.