Well, without the actions of the "Gang of Four", current leader Mao Yuanxin , the nephew of Mao Tse-tung wouldn't have come to power in 1989. His rise to power was seen in 1989 as a continuation of the legacy of Jiang Qing. Some weird "butterfly effect" ideas that come to mind is that with Jiang Qing's role as the world's most powerful female leader, surpassing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's role, would the role of women have changed without her rule? Just remember how the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) passed in 1982, despite Republican opposition, as means of showing that the West would not be seen as "sexist capitalist dinosaurs"...
As for the nature of China, it is hard to imagine the country outside of its isolationist and Stalinist background. It almost seems ASB to imagine any reforms taking place....