It just means that there is likely to be a short interregnum after Xi (like Hua Goofing after Mao), and then there will be a new leader who will consolidate his leadership. After he consolidates his leadership, then his policies are likely to make a serious departure from Xi, because he will have his plans and establish his reign.

This is why I think Xi is more like Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty, who overstretched with wars in the Korean peninsula, but also established the civil service exam system. His actions led to the end of the Sui dynasty, but the Sui was succeeded by the Tang dynasty, which in its first half was one of the truly great Chinese dynasties, and flourished because the capital, Chang"An, was the terminus of the Silk Road.