Published by ChinaMNC · Jurong

What China's Long March 90th Anniversary Means for Foreign Founders: A Guide to Navigating Policy and Regulation

China marks the 90th anniversary of the Long March, highlighting themes of leadership, reform, and modernization. For foreign founders, these principles offer a lens to understand China's policy environment and business climate. This article extracts practical insights from the official commemoration, focusing on how political continuity and reform affect company registration and operations.

Understanding China's Policy Direction Through the Long March Anniversary

On the 90th anniversary of the Long March, Chinese official media emphasized the historic significance of the Communist Party of China's leadership and the nation's ongoing journey toward rejuvenation. While the commemoration is a domestic political event, foreign founders operating in China can glean useful context about the policy environment and the direction of reforms that impact business.

The source text underscores the Long March as a turning point that enabled the Party and the revolutionary cause to move from setbacks to victory. It also highlights the "two establishments" as a major political achievement in the new era, ensuring the irreversible trend of national rejuvenation. For foreign investors, such language signals a commitment to stability and centralized leadership, which can translate into predictable policy implementation—though it also means that businesses must stay attuned to political priorities.

Leadership and Decision-Making: The Zunyi Conference Model

The article recounts how the Zunyi Conference established Mao Zedong's leadership and corrected erroneous strategies, leading to renewed momentum in the Long March. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that the conference's distinctive feature was adhering to truth, correcting mistakes, and creatively formulating strategies suited to China's revolutionary context. For foreign founders, this emphasis on adaptive leadership and correcting course offers a parallel to China's approach to economic policy: pragmatic adjustments within a centralized framework.

In practice, this means that while China's regulatory environment can evolve, the central leadership plays a decisive role in setting direction. Foreign founders should monitor high-level meetings, such as the upcoming Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee in late October, which will study major issues on advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance. Such meetings often precede policy shifts that affect business regulations.

Discipline and Unity: Lessons for Corporate Compliance

The Long March spirit includes "bearing the overall situation in mind, strictly observing discipline, and maintaining close unity." The source illustrates this with Deng Xiaoping's simple answer when asked about his role in the Long March: "Follow and walk." This meant following the Party, the correct line, and ideals. During the War of Resistance and Liberation War, orders from the Party Central Committee were executed unconditionally.

For foreign founders, this underscores the importance of aligning with local regulations and maintaining rigorous compliance. China's business environment rewards those who understand and respect the hierarchy of rules—from national laws to local implementation. Building a culture of discipline within your China operations can help mitigate risks and foster smoother interactions with authorities.

Reform and Opening Up: The 2018 Institutional Reform Example

The article cites the 2018 reform of Party and state institutions, which was noted by foreign media for its unprecedented scale and depth. Within three months, 25 new or reorganized departments were unveiled, achieving a systematic and holistic restructuring of institutional functions. This example demonstrates China's capacity for rapid, large-scale administrative reorganization when the central leadership deems it necessary.

Foreign founders should be aware that similar reforms can occur in business-related areas, such as market regulation, tax administration, or foreign investment approval processes. Staying informed through official channels and engaging local experts can help navigate such changes. The current era of comprehensive deepening reform is described as one of the most magnificent chapters in China's reform and opening-up history, with further reforms aimed at opening broad prospects for Chinese-style modernization.

High-Quality Development and New Productive Forces

The source highlights Guizhou Province's focus on the real economy, innovation-driven development, and the digital and new energy industries. It also introduces General Secretary Xi's theory of "new productive forces," which guides high-quality development and Chinese-style modernization. For foreign founders, this signals opportunities in sectors such as digital economy, new energy, and advanced manufacturing, where policy support and market demand are aligned.

Moreover, the article stresses common prosperity, balancing material and spiritual enrichment, and the importance of both making the "cake" bigger and dividing it fairly. While these are domestic social goals, they influence consumer markets and labor policies. Foreign companies may find incentives for investments that contribute to regional development, innovation, and sustainable growth.

Cultural Confidence and Adapting to Chinese Characteristics

The article references Xi's remarks at the Zhuxi Garden in Wuyishan, Fujian: without China's 5,000-year civilization, there would be no Chinese characteristics, and without Chinese characteristics, there would be no successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This cultural confidence shapes policy approaches that may differ from Western norms.

For foreign founders, adapting to Chinese characteristics means understanding local business culture, relationship-building, and regulatory expectations. It also means recognizing that China's development path is distinct and that successful strategies often involve localizing products, management, and compliance practices.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

• Monitor political calendars: Key Party meetings, like the Fifth Plenary Session, can signal policy directions affecting business.
• Embrace compliance discipline: Strict adherence to laws and regulations, and alignment with broader policy goals, reduces operational risks.
• Leverage reform opportunities: Administrative reforms can streamline processes but may also bring transitional uncertainties; engage local advisors.
• Target priority sectors: High-quality development and new productive forces indicate government support for innovation, digital economy, and green energy.
• Respect cultural context: Understanding China's unique historical and cultural background helps in navigating business norms and building trust.

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

For assistance with registering and operating a company in China, foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.