Some scholars think that the term postcommunism is now useless because the outcomes of transition in the former state-socialist European countries have been consolidated. However, ongoing transformation in China, particularly the recent return of the influence of the state in both economic and social welfare domains, makes this country a specific model of “transition” that negates the end-ofpostcommunism thesis. I argue that even after more than two decades of moving away from the classical socialist system, postcommunism is not a redundant concept. Instead, for comparative research on EastAsia and Central and Eastern Europe, recognizing the past of actually existing socialism as well as its legacies would considerably contribute to our understanding of countries’ diverse trajectories and performances