Published by ChinaMNC · Pingqiao

What a Major National Anniversary Meeting in Beijing Signals for Foreign Founders Building Companies in China

A practical reading of the October 22 commemorative meeting at the Great Hall of the People, and why foreign founders registering or operating a company in China should track the policy language it reinforces.

A high-level meeting with a practical read-through for founders

On October 22, a commemorative meeting marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' 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 an important speech. Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended; Zhao Leji presided. The source reports roughly 3,000 participants, including central and Beijing officials, representatives of democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and non-party figures, veteran comrades, military personnel and capital residents.

For foreign founders, a meeting of this kind is not a business regulation announcement. Nothing in the source changes registration rules, foreign investment rules or tax rules. Its value is different: it shows the political themes senior leadership is emphasizing, and those themes often shape how policy is framed and communicated in the period that follows. Founders should read it as context, not as an instruction manual.

What the speech actually covered

The historical account

Xi described the Long March as running from October 1934 to October 1936, carried out by the First, Second and Fourth Front Armies and the Twenty-Fifth Army under Party leadership. He said the Red Army crossed more than ten provinces, covered 25,000 li, broke through encirclement and interception by more than a million enemy troops, defeated the Kuomintang's aim of eliminating the Party and the Red Army, completed a strategic transfer north to resist Japanese aggression, and opened a new situation for the Chinese revolution. He offered respects to older-generation revolutionaries including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, to Red Army commanders and fighters, to the people who supported the march, and to surviving veterans, and asked attendees to stand in silence for those who died.

Why the victory was possible, in the speaker's framing

Xi identified four sources of the victory: correct Party leadership, with the establishment of Mao's core position described as decisive; firm revolutionary will and conviction; independence and self-reliance combined with seeking truth from facts, including adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China's concrete reality; and the support of the broad masses, described as the source of strength and the firm backing of the Party and the military.

The present-day framing

Xi said the Long March is not distant history and that its path continues. He noted that since the victory 90 years earlier the Party has led successive "long marches" across revolutionary, construction and reform periods. Since the 18th Party Congress, he said, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era; the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects was achieved on schedule; and the country is now working on the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country, advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.

He set out "five musts" for carrying forward the Long March spirit: uphold the Party's ideals, convictions and purpose and implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; pursue high-quality development, coordinate the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, seek qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in the economy, and promote common prosperity; carry out a great struggle with many new historical features, better coordinate development and security, and overcome difficulties and risks with historical initiative; accelerate building the military into a world-class force under absolute Party leadership, meet the centenary goal of the armed forces, and modernize national defense and the military; and uphold Party leadership, strengthen Party building and continue full and rigorous Party self-governance.

Why a founder should care about the wording

Two elements of the speech map onto issues foreign founders encounter when they register and operate a company in China.

• "High-quality development" and "reasonable growth" are the same terms used in economic policy discussions. The source does not connect them to any measure affecting foreign companies, but the vocabulary tells you what official economic messaging prioritizes: quality, coordination and balance rather than simple speed.
• "Better coordinate development and security" is a framing that recurs in regulatory discussion. The source offers no details on implementation, and founders should not infer specific compliance requirements from it. It does, however, reinforce that risk management and security review language will remain part of the policy conversation.

Zhao Leji, who presided, described the speech as politically, ideologically and practically instructive, and called for it to be studied and implemented. He referenced the "two establishments," the "four consciousnesses," the "four confidences" and the "two upholds," and repeated the goal of advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.

How to use this as a founder

Treat this article as a signal, not a source of operational rules. If you are registering a company or planning an expansion, the practical steps remain unchanged: confirm your sector against the applicable foreign investment framework, verify local registration requirements with the competent market regulation authority where you intend to incorporate, and get qualified local advice on tax and employment. What this meeting indicates is the tone of the surrounding policy environment: continuity of leadership, emphasis on development quality, and attention to security alongside growth. Those themes may appear in how new measures are introduced and explained, so following official releases remains worthwhile.

Note also what the source does not say. It contains no statements about foreign investment, market access, company law, visas or taxation. Any article claiming otherwise is adding content that is not in the source.

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