Are used to and 以往 really the same? I have this question:

中国经济以往都是什么样的发展模式?

I would like to translate it: China's economy used to use what kind of expansion method?

以 can be 'use' and '往‘ can be 'to' in English, so that ‘used to' and '以往’ seem to be one and the same expression. 

Or is the Chinese sense of '以往‘ more just 'use(d) in the past', '往‘ having the meaning 'past', not 'to' and 'used to' just fits conveniently?
以 here means 


  用在方位词前，表明时间、方位、方向或数量的界限：以前。以内。（from 在线新华字典）


In a way it is similar to -wards suffix, as in backwards, in English.

往 means past.

以往 literally means before this point of time, 'past-wards'.