That's because its main philosophy of Confucianism stems not from the typical philosophy where people tend to over think and over write.  Rather the philosophy of Confucianism is the philosophy of the family unit.  Obviously the hierarchy is self evident and meant to preserve the harmonious gathering of many people living within close quarters.    Coupled with the fact that the country of China is bound to overtake every other country in terms of its economic enterprise where it not only grows dramatically by the business that it does with other countries but also the fact that it uses its own money to invest liberally in other countries when those countries require it.

China becomes culturally hegemonic due to the presence of its practical ideas spawned off of a land which has always been fought for over the use of resources, which is in essence a common denominator of all humans.  China is therefore right to say it is a democratic republic, because it practices and demonstrates a fundamental commitment to the equality of humans based on the consideration of finite resources since even before communism.  I think China was only communist by name because it wanted to side with the Soviets but actually it had always remained Confucian.