Mao's policies including the persecution of intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution killed millions and set China back by decades.
Yes, that happened. It's also undeniable that since then, they've massively improved the lifestyle of 1.4B people.
I'm not sure if they get to where they are today - without going through the Maoist stage.
> they've massively improved the lifestyle of 1.4B people.
Because they gave up on the command economy idea and embraced markets and education. When they persecuted the geniuses everything went to shit and when they stopped things quickly improved. Really makes you think.