Jack Ma (File photo)

Party not meddling in running of firms: experts

The Communist Party of China (CPC) branches inside private companies help enhance corporate management and improve teamwork without meddling in decision-making processes, and concerns over any executive affiliated to the Party reflect a lack of knowledge about how the Party functions at the grass-roots level, experts said on Tuesday.

Jack Ma Yun, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, was identified as a Party member on Monday, which sparked heated discussions online. Some media reports said it was an example of how the Party penetrates into every aspect of Chinese business.

This is actually not the first time it has been revealed that Ma is a Party member, media reports said. When the Zhejiang Merchants Association was first established in October 2015, Ma was appointed as the first head of the organization and introduced as a Party member.

Those who are worried that growing Party branches and committees inside private companies might jeopardize the interests of shareholders or affect decision-making have no basic knowledge about how grass-roots Party cells operate and what their roles really are, Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Before the CPC implemented the 'Three Represents' and allowed private entrepreneurs who had met the requirements to join the Party back in 2001, the number of private businessmen who were Party members accounted for a large proportion of the total number of private entrepreneurs. And many had already become Party members even before they started their own business," Su said.

It is unknown whether Ma joined the Party before he started Alibaba. The e-commerce firm was contacted by the Global Times but did not comment on this matter by press time on Tuesday.

Membership of the Party and corporate management are two unrelated things, Su noted. "The board of shareholders is in charge of decision-making and daily operations, while Party cells are set up to make sure the company's operations are in line with the principles and policies of the CPC," he said.

China recently released a trial regulation for Party branches stating that Party cells inside private firms can help guide and supervise enterprises to follow the country's laws and regulations and safeguard the legitimate interests of all parties, according to a document released on Sunday.

The cells will also contribute to team building inside companies and boost corporate development, the document showed.

"It's crystal clear what role Party branches play in private companies," Su said, noting that Party cells are not established with the aim of replacing management teams or meddling in decision-making processes.

Party benefits

Alibaba established its Party branch in 2000 and upgraded it to a Party committee in 2008 due to the company's growing number of Party members, according to media reports. Alibaba now has nearly 200 Party branches and about 7,000 Party members. Ma highlighted the importance of Party construction work with younger generations, pledging to explore Party building inside high-tech firms in the new era.

Over the past few years, more and more private companies, especially tech start-ups, have set up Party branches and committees to improve management and enhance team building. Some entrepreneurs also admitted that Party members, who are usually hardworking employees, have become role models at workplaces.

"We hire graduates every year and some of them are Party members, who usually work hard and are eager to learn, creating a positive work environment," Liu Ren, vice general manager of Dailywin Watch Group, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Tech firms such as iFlytek and smartphone maker Xiaomi have been strengthening their Party construction work. "The rapid development of iFlytek is thanks to the correct guidance of the CPC and the hard work of Party comrades, who are also the backbone of our management team," Wu Dehai, Party chief of the CPC committee of the company, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

The trial regulation for Party branches said that if there are at least three Party members in an organization, it should set up a Party branch.

The private sector is a key part of China's reform and opening-up, and it has been developing with Chinese characteristics, Su noted.

"The interests of shareholders of listed private companies do not contradict the core interests of the CPC, as the Party also wants to pursue opening-up and economic growth," he said.