Good points, the other issue that I rarely see discussed is the fact that the communist party in china is not some monolithic entity that all try to carry out the orders of Xi.

Xi has tried very hard to stamp out any dissent via his "anti-corruption drive", but it still exists. There are various factions vying for power behind the scenes, some ally themselves with Xi, and some do not and are simply biding their time & waiting for Xi to screw up and "lose face".