Is China still really communist? The banks give preference to state owned businesses in lending, but are these private banks, or state owned banks?
And how does a communist society tolerate underground banks or gangsters or loan sharks? Just asking the question. It seems that China has some combination of communism with unregulated free markets. And some of those free markets are outside any government control. Which seems a contradiction, in that under communism, theoretically every activity is under state control.
RE: Is China still really communist?
If we have RINO’s, they have CINO’s.
China is run by a Leninist oligarchy. Apart from that, it's a capitalist country with substantial state-owned assets. The only difference between state-owned companies and privately-owned companies is that state-owned companies have a harder time laying people off (even though they do carry out layoffs) and much have easier access to loans. China is essentially Taiwan before the latter adopted democracy. State-owned firms do not have centrally-planned production targets - they are managed like private companies, meaning that they are in business to maximize profit, even when that means laying off workers.
So what exactly is a Leninist oligarchy? It’s a hereditary aristocracy that employs Leninist organizational methods - including state terror and periodic massacres - to maintain its hold on power.