Other opinions:
They are not communist. Communism does not have a centralized government. They are closer to socialism than communism. I would say a mixture of totalitarian and socialism.
China was never Communist, it was Socialist, but now it's basically a single party, part socialist, part capitalist, authoritarian/ totalitarian oligarchy with figurehead leaders.
Functionally, it is a highly bureaucratic, multi-level, single-party republic. Starting at the very lowest levels, the Chinese elect a representative to serve on a local council. These councils elect a representative to the city council, which elects a member to a regional council, etc. The current