I am very careful in classifying countries as dictatorships as I believe every country has their history, society, culture, etc...I believe as well, that every country has a suitable way to be ruled because of their idiosyncrasy and their moment in their own history and that western democracy can't be exported. Sometimes I can't help it and the word dictatorship slip my mouth maybe because I associate it to what the media tells me and biased personal believes. That is why I classify China authoritarian, as I do in other countries considered democratic as authoritarian is a broad term depending on personal perceptions and believes.
But do you think that a government that does what allegedly China does to for example more than 1 million of Uighur in concentration camps (or "reeducation") and imprison political dissidents should not be considered a dictatorship?
I am genuinely asking to you and to the people that lived and has strong ties with China and referring to Mainland China, not Hong Kong
You may or may not believe me, but I grow up thinking the US as the good guys and how the Chinese are the communist. Our country (Indonesia) has a very muddled past with a "G30SPKI" Movement, where overnight the Indonesian Communist Party was accused of abducting, torturing, and killing 7 highest ranking general of Indonesian army, and there's a nationwide crackdown (cough.. killing) of all ICP members. Recently the US has declassified the CIA documents that acknowledges and actually proof beyond reasonable doubt that the CIA was to the very least involved in the tragedy. My ancestor ends up in Indonesia because they flee the cultural revolution under Mao, so it's not like I owe them anything to lick their arse clean, suffice to say we're refugees ourselves.
But,
As I grow older, I see and experience first hand the slow flow of history and see what the USA are capable of
As I grow older, visited US and China and Hongkong
As I grow older, I lived through 9/11
As I grow older, I understand what happened at Vietnam, Korea, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, and many other place of conflicts
As of now I see Trump and the Republicans and their shenanigans
As of now I see in fresh memory the whole Iran Debacle and how unjust they're being treated
The Trade deals and how Trump "abducted" the daughter of Huawei owner and blackmail China in the trade negotiations
The Bay of pigs and the invasion of Cuba
The Iran Contra
The rise of ISIS
while all of the above doesn't actually involved China, but looking at the above, seeing first hand how lives is in China, seeing first hand how lives is in Europe, UK, Australia, Singapore, Hongkong, I can draw a safe conclusions that most of the western portrayal of China is rubbish and pure propaganda.