From Asia Times:

China’s burgeoning and at times free-wheeling economy is officially described as “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. One could just as well call it “capitalism with Chinese characteristics”.

In the same vein, a recent white paper describes China as having a “socialist democracy”, that is, “democracy with Chinese characteristics”.

The precise nature of these “characteristics”, though, is at the center of ongoing debate within the country’s leadership, which faces its greatest and most tantalizing dilemma: just as it embraced capitalism, which is anathema to communism, it can stay in power by embracing democracy (in some form) , even though this goes against its core principles.