It is ironic that the Cultural revolution of 1966, which caused untold misery to millions, had some beneficial consequences. It enabled Deng Xiao Ping and Xi Jinping to experience first-hand the extreme poverty of rural China.
Deng was sent to Jiangxi to a tractor factory working in menial jobs. ( p 59 ). Xi was sent to Shaanxi in 1969 before returning to Beijing after 7 years. ( p 56-57)
Deng returned with a desire to raise China to a better economic level. He opened up the economy and launched China on the path to economic prosperity.
Many years later, Xi when appointed Secretary-General of the CCP in 2012 made it his mission to eradicate hardcore poverty by end of 2020. He succeeded.
This 2016 biography of Xi was an Economist book of the year and also the Financial Times book of the year 2016. It is the only decent one in English presently.