Wrenching change ??

"It used to be a platitude of Western—and Marxist—analysis of China that wrenching economic change would
demand political reform. Yet China’s economy boomed with little sign of any serious political liberalisation to
match the economic free-for-all. The cliché fell into disuse. Indeed, many, even in democratic bastions such as
India, began to fall for the Chinese Communist Party’s argument that dictatorship was good for growth,
whereas Indian democracy was a luxury paid for by the poor, in the indefinite extension of their poverty."

This excerpt is from The Economist, December 13th, 2008 issue.

I am confused in the use of "wrenching".
What does it mean in this context?

I looked up in the dictionary but couldn't get a sense if it.
Does it mean "painful" change?

Please help me with this word.