Mao wasn’t a true believer in Marxism. He thought it was great for China because he could use it to replace the thousand various religions that dominated the country...and thereby give his dictatorship greater control.
Mao was basically “shock therapy” for China.
Most modern Chinese are glad for what Mao did, but equally glad they weren’t the ones who had to live through it.
It’s the same with Stalin. Most Russians would say Stalin was necessary to bring Russia from feudalism to a Superpower, but again, they were just glad they weren’t the ones who had to live through those times.
This is how they keep making the argument the true communism has never been tried. Another example is North Korea. It’s not communist according to Marx. They claim their leaders are literally divine, actual gods. Go down the list of other communist countries, every one in its own unique way is not “truly communist.”
It’s an interesting parlor game, but in reality, you either cherish and champion freedom, or you hate it. To me this kind of thing is discussing the relative merits among different Mexican drug cartels, or different street gangs in Los Angeles.
People said the same thing about Stalin. But it's not true. Stalin and Mao definitely sought power for themselves, but they were also convinced believers in Marxism-Leninism (though Mao's understanding may have been more fragmentary or less orthodox than Stalin's). You don't become a dictator without wanting power for yourself -- Lenin certainly did -- but that doesn't mean that the ideology was just a sham.