Why was Liu Shaoqi labeled China’s Khrushchev in 1968?

In October 1968, Liu Shaoqi was stripped of his party positions and labeled "China’s Khrushchev" during the Cultural Revolution because he was perceived by Mao Zedong and his supporters as a leading "capitalist roader" who was steering China toward modern revisionism.12

Following the failure of the Great Leap Forward, Liu and Deng Xiaoping implemented pragmatic economic policies to revive the country, such as introducing material incentives and allowing individual farming in rural areas. Mao viewed these techniques as a betrayal of revolutionary tradition and a mirror of the policies he associated with the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin.234

Mao became convinced that Liu and other party leaders were attempting to restore capitalism from within the party hierarchy. By 1964, Mao concluded that the principal enemy was located within the Chinese Communist Party itself, leading to his decision that Liu had to be removed from power.132