China ascribes to its own form of communism, Maoism (as opposed to the Soviet Marxist model). It also has many characteristics that distinguish it from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and make any sort of economic comparison difficult, to say the least. As much as the socialist economic model remained similar between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, there were key economic and political differences that make any analysis of relationships between Chinese communism and Soviet communism difficult.
             A socialist economy has many failings, and both China and the Soviet Union emphasized these. There was no incentive to work hard, or even to work at all. Indeed, there was a saying in Russia (loosely translated) "We pretend to work, and they'll pretend to pay us." An economy planned by economists would not have succeeded, but if you consider that a communist economy is planned by politicians with ulterior motives and hidden agendas, the problem amplifies. At a time when being a member of The Party was the only route to success in Russia, those same people were called stukach by their fellow Russians, informers. Indeed, a communist society is often forced to rule by terror. In Russia, the Red Army and the KGB kept the citizens in line. Everyone feared the KGB, and people who decried the government had a nasty habit of disappearing. In China, there are events that parallel to those in Russia. No one is allowed to speak out against the party, and most would recall the events surrounding the Tiananmen Square incident. China's communist policies were no better than the USSRs, just slightly different.
             As identified in the article, after the initial communist revolution in the 50s, China stagnated. Their rural populations continued to live in squalid conditions, despite the economic model "for the people". Unfortunately, Robert J. Barro's analysis of increasing GDPs is misleading. While he makes it seem tha...