That's what modern Chinese politics expert call "the mandate from the heavens". As long as the average (Han) Chinese gets richer, they won't mind the oppressive regime and the collectivist nature of the CCP (welding doors shut for COVID, workers as replaceable cogs).

But should the prosperity slow or stop, the CCP knows it'll lose the "mandate". That's why the Evergrande collapse was such a big deal [0], and the reason the Yuan will never replace the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. The Chinese regime has to "save face" and show progress at all costs. All while having a negative brain drain, gender imbalance and worsening demography.

[0] https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/24/investing/china-evergrande-gr...