Modernization theory as applied to China was pretty well correct, as evidenced by the explosion of civil society, growth of liberal aspirations, and possibilities for political change visible in China through 2010, with this trajectory suggesting that political transformation was a genuine possibility before Xi's reversal.

Xi Jinping's concern about losing the younger generation to liberalization, as documented in Joseph Tignor's book on Xi Jangshun (Xi's father) and the party's priorities, suggests Xi sees generational vulnerability as requiring an active propaganda and mobilization campaign to retain the loyalty of young Chinese.

Shambaugh published an essay in the Wall Street Journal in 2015 whose misleading title caused him to be largely banned from substantive engagement in China for nine years thereafter

During the preface period, Shambaugh visited China at least once a year for professional purposes from 1979 to 2015 (36-37 years), traveled to 27 of China's 31 provinces, engaged party/government/military officials at multiple levels, lectured in Chinese and English to multiple audiences, and became one of the best-known American China scholars in China, also living off and on in China for a total of five years

Shambaugh argues that engagement was 'not naive' and 'not a mistake' but rather 'a gamble' and 'a bet' that 'could have gone either way'; if Chinese politics had gone a different direction (presumably toward greater liberalization), the bet might have worked out better; the failure was not inevitable but contingent on Chinese choices

Shambaugh's 2015 Wall Street Journal article had a misleading title that caused him to be largely banned from substantive engagement in China for nine years, suggesting that media representation of views can have significant consequences for scholarly access and engagement.

The concern that 'you cannot lose the younger generation' (referenced from Kingfisher's book about Xi's father) may explain Xi's propaganda and mobilization campaign for younger Chinese, with Xi essentially trying to hold back or reverse modernization theory by controlling the younger generation's exposure to liberal ideas and values.

Shambaugh visited China at least once a year for professional purposes for 35-36 years from 1979 to 2015, traveled to 27 of China's 31 provinces, lectured in Chinese and English to multiple audiences, engaged party, government, and military officials at multiple levels, and lived off and on in China for a total of five years, making him one of the best-known American scholars of China and the U.S.-China relationship within China.

PRC propaganda claims that the U.S. only cares about using Taiwan as a military platform to contain China and prevent China from ending a century of humiliation, and this narrative is gaining traction in Taiwan public opinion.