I do think the central planning does separate China from other countries that use market forces. It's not the only thing that separates them, but it is a line of demarcation. My point was more nuanced which was that things like product quality and prices couldn't be attributed to central planning directly because China is using markets to develop and coordinate those aspects of the economy. Without that direct attribution, we run the risk of saying "China product quality good and prices and low" and being met with libs saying "because market capitalism works".