Of course they're not Communist, but they retain a lot of vestigial elements, namely the social-control, widespread social programs, extremely centralized govt, and the suppression of free speech/gun rights/individual rights in general in the name of the collective good, as determined by the central govt. It's a philosophical position - that values the community over the individual - that the Left in the West shares with them.

It's also a matter of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Trump hates China. China released a pandemic on the world. Defending China, esp. their response to the outbreak and shifting blame to the West, then becomes a way of attacking Trump.

MSM and corporate America (and corporations across the West), though, are just driven by money. Doubt they care about "the collective good."