I've been listening to "Blackshirts and Reds" on recommendation, but Parenti's view on China seems far more critical than I expected. What is the general opinion on China's post 1978 reforms?

I feel like I don't hear much internal critique about China from the ML side of things - is this more of a 'critical support' posture or are people just generally more optimistic about long-term socialization of their market?

edit: if there are more reading materials that discuss this topic in-depth, I am very interested in recommendations