Published by ChinaMNC · Mei

What a Top-Level Communist Party Gathering Signals for Foreign Founders Setting Up in China

A high-profile commemoration in Beijing offers foreign founders a window into the themes Chinese leaders emphasize — unity, self-reliance, steady development and risk control — that shape the operating environment for registered companies in China.

A Beijing Ceremony, Read From a Founder's Desk

On 22 October, a major commemoration marking the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Red Army's Long March was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, state president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered the principal address. Senior leaders including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended, and Zhao Leji presided. Roughly 3,000 people took part, including representatives from central Party, state and military departments, Beijing municipal authorities, democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, military and armed police personnel, and residents of the capital.

For a foreign founder, a Party history ceremony may seem far from company registration and tax filings. Yet these events are useful reading. They set out the vocabulary senior officials use — about development, security, self-reliance and collective effort — and that vocabulary tends to surface in how policy is framed and implemented across the economy.

What Was Said, and Why It Matters to Operators

The arc of the Long March

Xi recounted that between October 1934 and October 1936, the Party led the Red Army's First, Second and Fourth Front Armies and the 25th Army on a march spanning more than ten provinces and some 25,000 li. He described the breaking of encirclement by vastly larger opposing forces, the failure of efforts to eliminate the Party and the Red Army, and the completion of a strategic transfer northward to resist Japanese aggression. He called the episode a turning point with lasting significance for the country and the nation's renewal.

Four sources of success

In Xi's account, the outcome rested on four foundations: correct Party leadership, including the确立 of Mao Zedong's core position; firm revolutionary conviction; independent, fact-based judgment — the idea that Marxist principles only work when bound to China's concrete conditions; and the support of ordinary people. That last point was framed as a permanent principle: an organization rooted in the public and in close contact with it, he said, will not fail.

The practical translation for a company leader is straightforward. Expect official communication to stress alignment with national priorities, local realities and social contribution — and expect those themes in how regulators and local governments describe expectations for firms.

The spirit as a resource

Xi described the Long March spirit as part of the Party's spiritual lineage and as a lasting source of motivation — pointing to loyalty, truth, justice and unity as forms of strength. He argued that reviewing history is about drawing wisdom and power for present work.

The Forward-Looking Section

Xi said the Long March continues. Since 1936, he noted, the Party has led successive national efforts across revolution, construction and reform. Since the 18th Party Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era; the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects was met on schedule, and the country is now working toward the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country and advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.

He set out five requirements for the road ahead:

• Hold to the Party's ideals, purpose and faith, apply the guiding thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, and rely on the people.
• Pursue high-quality development, meet rising public expectations, coordinate the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, seek both qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in the economy, and promote common prosperity.
• Conduct a great struggle with new historical features, better coordinate development and security, and tackle difficulties and risks with historical initiative.
• Build a world-class military under absolute Party leadership, meet the centenary military objective and modernize national defense.
• Uphold Party leadership and strengthen Party building, continuing full and rigorous self-governance.

Zhao Leji, presiding, described the speech as political, thoughtful and instructive, summarized its content as the "five musts," and called for study and implementation.

Reading the Signals for Your China Entity

Development plus security

The pairing of development and security is worth noting. For founders, this points to compliance discipline: accurate registration data, clear ownership structures, proper licensing and attention to data and export rules. Treat these as operating requirements rather than paperwork.

High-quality development

The emphasis on quality of growth alongside reasonable quantity suggests continued attention to industrial upgrading and to sectors officials regard as strategic. Founders in advanced manufacturing, technology and services tied to domestic needs may find their plans discussed in language that echoes these priorities.

Self-reliance and local fit

The stress on independent judgment and adapting principles to Chinese conditions is a reminder that localization matters — local partners, local hiring, local supply chains and locally informed legal advice. Imported playbooks rarely map cleanly onto Chinese practice.

Unity and long horizons

The ceremony's language of collective effort and endurance is a reminder that Chinese policy communication tends to emphasize continuity. Founders planning multi-year operations should build governance and reporting routines that hold up over time.

Practical Takeaways

• Track official speeches for the themes that later appear in regulation and local implementation — development, security, self-reliance and quality.
• Keep registration and licensing records accurate and current; compliance is framed as part of stability.
• Localize genuinely: adapt products, hiring and partnerships to Chinese conditions rather than importing templates.
• Plan for the long term, with governance that survives leadership and policy cycles.
• Use qualified local counsel for entity structuring, licensing and tax — a ceremony like this is context, not guidance.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.