Which helped china industrialize and develop nukes... The primary concern for china at that time was being invaded and/or nuked by the US and/or the Soviet Union. Also, it's silly to blame or praise Mao or Kissinger or anyone for the success or failure of a major country. Mao nor Nixon nor Xi nor Putin nor Trump are "gods". They are ultimately figureheads of the state/elites. You can easily tell what is propaganda by the way any media focuses on an individual rather than a system, elites, etc. Ever notice how it's always the singular Putin or Xi or Trump or Biden who is the "bad" guy in propaganda?
Also, if the great leap forward and the cultural revolution were as bad as the propaganda says it was, china wouldn't have been able to industrialize. China would have crumbled and become a vassal of the US or the Soviet Union.
Also, if the great leap forward and the cultural revolution were as bad as the propaganda says it was, china wouldn't have been able to industrialize. China would have crumbled and become a vassal of the US or the Soviet Union.