China, say, private place under leader of dictatorship (6,3)
I believe the answer is:
dinner set
'china' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'private place under leader of dictatorship' is the wordplay.
'private' becomes 'inner' (as in one's private or inner thoughts).
'place' becomes 'set' (setting is a kind of placing).
'under' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'leader of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'dictatorship' is 'd'.
'inner'+'set'='innerset'
'innerset' after 'd' is 'DINNER-SET'.
'say' is the link.
(Other definitions for dinner set that I've seen before include "crockery" , "Table service" , "China" , "Complete service of plates and dishes for a meal" , "might be taken out for a meal" .)