Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that foreign companies in China are now facing a new challenge. More and more Communist Party branches have been established and are growing. In some cases, with the pressure from the Chinese government, these Communist Party branches are interfering with management activities. For example, when a U.S. engine manufacturer Cummins, headquartered in Indiana, decided to assign a manager for a project in China, the Communists disagreed. Small Communist Party groups have existed in Chinese branches of foreign companies for many years. However, they never got involved actively in management activities. In the past several months, many of the Chinese partners of these joint ventures have asked for a “consulting role” for the Communist Party group before the board makes any decision. James Zimmerman, a lawyer operating in Beijing serves many U.S. international firms. Zimmerman said that quite a large number of his clients have received clear requests from the Communists. Most of the companies declined to comment on this matter to the reporters.
Source: LTN, April 17, 2018
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2398300