There officially recognized branch of the Catholic church in China has to acknowledge the authority of the Party above the Pope. Chinese Catholics have a long history, but have faced some real pressures in recent years. Religion has a long history of being a means of organizing rebellions against the Chinese state (think back to the Boxers), and so the Party regards religious hierarchies as a potential threat to power. This is why, for example, they get so over the top with Falun Gong. The Party doesn’t want any organization with power that they cannot control.
The way Christianity is practiced in China is not a “kid’s version.” It’s a reflection on the fact that China has basically no history of hierarchal, universalist, all-or-nothing religions. The concept of religion in China is not exclusive and organized as it is here. It’s inclusive, pluralistic, and diffuse. A “religion” is nothing more or less than how people practice it, and that is how it is practiced there.