They went from 100% communism to 90% capitalism, then had exponential growth, and we are supposed to believe the growth was because of the residual 10% communism.
If you are of the opinion that the people in China are living a better life we can stop the conversation. In that case we don't have any common ground for a fruitful discussion.
What’s the excuse for not having the same GDP per capita 80 years later?
The curve became exponential way too late. And only after they (partially) opened up.