But is this a function of the government being more accountable to the citizenry or is it just a phase where the government's highest interest is in building up a flourishing middle class? At any point if the government changed direction what recourse do the citizenry have over it?

I've been reading some threads you're in and everyone keeps asking the same question but you have yet to answer it.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 years ago

The answer is that only time will tell. Nobody has a crystal ball to tell them what the future will be, we have to base our assessments on what we can observe and measure. Using these criteria Chinese government is acting in the interest of the public, and has been doing so since its inception. That seems like a pretty good track record to me.