Neither China nor any other country was ever communist according to what the actual definition of communism is (=self-rule of workers and farmers, overthrowing the ruling class). A dictatorship with a state-controlled economy isn’t communism. What China changed is to move from a centralized state-controlled economy to capitalism with privately owned enterprises with a right to veto for the government.
China was communist when they went to a one-party system. Once you’re a one-party system, you’re whatever the one party wants you to be.
Considering how the one party became the one and only party, this isn’t really true. It wasn’t exactly “communal”, and Mao was no communist.
Neither China nor any other country was ever communist according to what the actual definition of communism is (=self-rule of workers and farmers, overthrowing the ruling class). A dictatorship with a state-controlled economy isn’t communism. What China changed is to move from a centralized state-controlled economy to capitalism with privately owned enterprises with a right to veto for the government.