Published by ChinaMNC · Anyuan

What a High-Level Beijing Commemoration Signals for Foreign Founders Building in China

A 90th-anniversary commemoration of the Long March offers foreign founders a window into how Chinese leaders frame resilience, long-term planning, and state priorities — context worth reading alongside your China market-entry checklist.

A high-level meeting, and why founders outside China should notice

On 22 October, a commemorative gathering marking the 90th anniversary of the Chinese 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 the principal address. Senior leaders including Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended; Zhao Leji presided. About 3,000 people took part, including central and local officials, representatives of non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, non-party figures, veteran representatives, military personnel and residents of the capital.

This is not a business-policy announcement. It contains no new rules on foreign investment, company registration or taxation. For foreign founders, its value is different: it is a clear, senior-level articulation of how the leadership describes endurance, discipline and long-horizon planning — themes that recur in how Chinese institutions talk about development and reform.

What was said

The historical account

Xi described the Long March as running from October 1934 to October 1936, when the Party led the Red Army's First, Second and Fourth Front Armies and the 25th Army across more than ten provinces over roughly 25,000 li. He said the march broke through encirclement by more than a million enemy troops, defeated attempts to eliminate the Party and the Red Army, achieved a strategic shift northward to resist Japanese aggression, and opened a new phase of the Chinese revolution. He called the episode significant in the history of the Party, the state and the military, with a lasting influence on the national rejuvenation process.

The stated sources of success

Xi attributed the outcome to four factors: correct Party leadership, including the establishment of Mao Zedong's core position, which he called decisive; firm revolutionary will and belief; independent, fact-based judgment, arguing that Marxist principles only work in China when closely combined with Chinese realities; and support from the broad population, which he described as the enduring source of strength for the Party and the military.

Continuity into the present

He said the Long March's history has not receded and its path keeps extending. Since 1936, he said, the Party has led a series of new "long marches" through revolution, construction and reform. Since the 18th Party Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era; the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects was met on schedule, and the country is now working toward the second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country, advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.

Five requirements for the "new long march"

Xi set out five "musts" for carrying forward the Long March spirit:

• Hold to the Party's ideals, beliefs and purpose, implement the guiding thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, remember the original mission, and rely on the people to create new achievements.
• Advance high-quality development and meet the people's growing needs for a better life; coordinate the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy; pursue both qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in the economy; promote common prosperity.
• Conduct the great struggle with many new historical characteristics, better coordinate development and security, and tackle difficulties, risks and challenges with a sense of historical initiative.
• Speed up building the People's Liberation Army into a world-class military, uphold absolute Party leadership over the military, meet the centenary goal of military building on schedule, and advance high-quality national defense and military modernization.
• Uphold Party leadership and strengthen Party building, persist in full and rigorous Party self-governance, and ensure the Party remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Zhao Leji, who presided, said the speech reviewed the Long March, summarized its significance, explained the sources of success, and set out the five requirements, describing it as politically, ideologically and practically instructive and calling for its study and implementation.

Reading this as a founder

What it does not change

Nothing in the text alters registration procedures, capital rules, sector permissions or tax obligations. Founders should treat it as context, not compliance guidance, and rely on official regulators and professional advisers for operational requirements.

What it does signal

Several phrases are worth noting for medium-term planning. The emphasis on coordinating development and security recurs across Chinese policy language and is relevant to how data, supply chains and cross-border flows are treated. The pairing of qualitative improvement with reasonable quantitative growth suggests continued attention to growth quality rather than speed alone. Common prosperity and domestic demand appear as priorities, which matters for consumer-facing ventures. And the stress on independent, fact-based judgment is consistent with a policy environment that adapts rules to local conditions — reason to build regulatory monitoring into your China operating plan.

Practical takeaways

• Plan in multi-year horizons rather than quarters; the rhetoric here is explicitly long-term.
• Build local relationships, including with the people and partners your business touches; the speech repeatedly credits broad support as a source of strength.
• Keep compliance and risk management in view alongside growth, reflecting the development-security framing.
• Track official channels for actual rule changes; commemorative speeches are not policy documents.

Bottom line

For foreign founders, this event is best read as a statement of governing philosophy rather than a business bulletin. It confirms continuity in leadership priorities — long-term planning, development balanced with security, and reliance on public support — while leaving the concrete rules of registering and running a company in China to the agencies that publish them. Founders who understand the framing can plan with fewer surprises, provided they verify every operational step against current official guidance.

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