I've wondered about this, and in recent days it came up again due to the refugees on XHS running with Maoism ironically or otherwise: how come western Marxists have this weird relationship with CPC. They don't necessarily always straight up say CPC is revisionist but also don't praise Socialism with Chinese Characteristics either despite the clear success it's having. So I went into those communities and sure enough they are also talking about it in light of recent events. They generally give pretty honest answers like:
1. They're not comfortable with the degree that CPC is embracing capitalism at this stage in development, some doubt there really is a big plan with communism at the end (the 'state capitalist' angle')
2. Western Marxism mainly concerns itself with equal distribution of resources in society, or how to evenly cut the cake. This is probably because their society started with a high baseline. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics is mainly concerned with growing resources, or how to make the cake bigger, probably because of the lower starting baseline in China (the Marxism vs Maoism angle)
3. They don't see eye to eye with CPC because Marxism in the west is mainly an academic exercise, so purity of ideology is important, in an almost religious holy text sort of way. CPC actually has to get its hands dirty running a country under socialist principles and CPC is famously pragmatic which Western Marxist see as unclean (the ivory tower vs barefoot doctor angle)
4. They think China is just straight up authoritarian and just using socialism as window dressing, ruining the good name of socialism. These lot get a lot more push back now from their peers saying they've fallen for the same propaganda that their government use to make China look bad because surprise surprise they live in capitalist countries.
But I think someone made the best comment that it can be summed up in a much simpler way: during the Sino-Soviet Split majority if not all of Western Marxist are on the Soviet side. Seen as Soviet Union failed and PRC is going strong if they embraced Socialism with Chinese Characteristics they will have to admit they were wrong, and people hate to admit they were wrong.
That's why socialist movement in the west is in such a strange state. Due to history they are unable to embrace the one big actual working example of their theory in action. I frankly think an easy mental gymnastic way out for them has already handed to them on a silver platter: just do the Deng thing and say doesn't matter if it's black cat of white cat, if it can catch mouse it's a good cat and be done with all that historical baggage.
