Private companies benefit from closer bonds with government

The Party committee at Meituan Dianping, an internet services company in Shanghai, celebrates the anniversary of its establishment. Gao Erliang/China Daily

A growing number of private businesses have come to realize the importance of Party building, which can strengthen communications between employees and improve productivity.

Meituan Dianping, an internet services company in Shanghai, established a Party committee 12 months ago. Young employees account for most of the company's staff members and they work in a number of different locations in the city.

In response, the company developed a smartphone application that carries a number of Party building courses. Party members at the company can participate in a range of Party building activities online and watch videos or text broadcasts of Party meetings.

The company has also established an online database to collect and check information relating to its 575 Party members. According to Ding Zhixiong, Party secretary at Meituan Dianping, the database was set up to oversee Party building work precisely and effectively.

"Most of our employees were born in the 1980s and '90s, so they are very tech savvy," he said. "Therefore we have moved some of the offline Party building activities online so that they can access the courses and activities at any time."

Li Minjun, director of the company's government affairs department, said one of the most important things for Party members at internet companies is to take care of every detail concerning the offline business sector.

"For an internet company like Meituan Dianping, it is crucial for the products to be improved and upgraded," he said. "That idea can also be applied to Party building, so we can come up with new and better ways of communicating Party theories."

The effort that Meituan Dianping has put into Party building activities has paid off. Both the China Research Institute of Enterprise Culture and the administration of Changning district where the company is located, have rewarded the company's achievements in Party building.

More important, the Party building activities allow the company's Party members to better understand their responsibilities.

"As a Party member, it is my responsibility to work as a pioneer within the company," said Li Yang, a senior engineer in the infrastructure department. "I have taken part in many Party activities and published a number of works that elaborate my understanding. I consider it my duty to make some contribution to bond the Party and the general public."

During a forum on Party building, Xu Weixin, a former vice-president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Party building is an important force for the development of private companies.

"Private companies which are active in Party building activities usually come up with better operational results," she said.

The Hodo Group in Wuxi, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. According to Zhou Haijiang, the CEO, the garment manufacturer has closely followed the CPC's policies during its six decades, helping it to grow from a small workshop to an industry leader with annual sales revenue of 3 billion yuan ($456 million).

As Zhou explained, private companies usually meet three major challenges: misjudging opportunity in the market, insufficient supply of talent and loose bonding between employees.

"Party building is the most effective way of addressing these challenges," he said.

For private businesses, the Party's latest policies offer the biggest opportunities, he added, with the best example being the reform and opening-up policies which helped the company's owners to innovate.

"Party building activities will help to develop an advanced corporate culture and so the employees will be nurtured. In this way, companies need not worry so much about the shortage of talent," he said.

According to Zhou, Party building activities help private companies to realize their corporate social responsibilities.

"The companies' relationships with the government, society, shareholders, employees, partners, and customers will become smoother as a result of Party building activities. Plus the bonds between the employees will have also become closer," he said.