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HSBC Becomes the First Foreign Bank in China to Establish a Chinese Communist Party Branch

Lianhe Zaobao (United Morning Post), a Singapore based newspaper, reported that the financial institution, HSBC Qianhai Securities Co. Ltd., established a branch of the Communist Party of China, becoming the only bank among the seven foreign banks with an investment banking business in mainland China that has established a grassroots organization of the Communist Party in its subsidiaries.

China’s company law requires companies to set up grassroots Communist Party committees, but it does not mandate foreign financial institutions to do so. Foreign media previously reported that HSBC Qianhai Securities set up a party committee of the Communist Party of China, believing that the move might force other foreign banks to follow suit.

According to The Epoch Times, the establishment of the Communist Party branch of HSBC Qianhai Securities comes after its move in April  to raise its stake in the joint venture from 51 percent to 90 percent .

At first, in order to facilitate the introduction of foreign capital, they only established party branches in foreign companies secretly. Later it became a completely open requirement. Based on data released by the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, by the end of 2016, 70 percent of foreign-funded enterprises in China had established party branches or committees.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao; Epochtimes, July 22, 2022.
https://www.kzaobao.com/shiju/20220722/121498.html
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/7/22/n13787052.htm