1st LD Writethru-China Focus: Xi stresses CPC leadership of state-owned enterprises

President Xi Jinping stressed the Communist Party of China's (CPC) unswerving leadership over state-owned enterprises (SOEs) during a national meeting on building the role of the Party within SOEs held here from Monday to Tuesday.

Efforts should be made to strengthen and improve Party leadership, as well as to build the role of the Party in SOEs to make them the most trustworthy and reliable forces of the CPC and the state, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

SOEs should also become important forces to implement decisions of the CPC Central Committee, the new development concept, deepened reform, major strategies such as the "going out" strategies and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as to enhance overall national power, economic and social development and people's wellbeing, Xi added.

The president urged deepening the reform of SOEs, improving management and stepping up supervision of state assets to make SOEs stronger, bigger and better.

Describing SOEs as an important material and political basis for socialism with Chinese characteristics and an important pillar and reliable force for the CPC's governance of the country, Xi said Party leadership and building the role of the Party are "the root and soul" for SOEs.

Progress in SOE reform and development should be the criteria for assessing performance of Party organizations in SOEs, Xi said, stressing they should aim to improve corporate profitability, competitiveness and preserve or increase the value of state assets.

While ordering strengthened grassroots Party organs in SOEs, the president warned that the leading role of Party organizations in SOE personnel selection must not change and efforts should be made to cultivate a number of quality corporate executives.

Noting that the CPC's leadership in SOEs is a "major political principle," Xi said this principle must be insisted on. Reform to establish a modern enterprise system within SOEs should be adhered to as well, Xi said.

The CPC organization should be an inbuilt part of the corporate governance structure and the legal status of the CPC organization in SOEs should be clear and properly observed.

Xi said the Party should lead SOEs in political, ideological and organizational aspects and Party organizations in SOEs should take charge of the direction and general aspects of SOEs' development and the implementation of policies.

The Party's power and responsibilities in SOE decision-making, implementation and supervision processes should be clearly defined, Xi said, calling on Party organizations and other corporate governance bodies of enterprises to properly perform their respective duties.

Supervision over officials in key positions needs to be intensified, he said.

Xi stressed the importance of protecting SOE workers' rights to know, participate, express and supervise within the SOEs, urging improvement of the democratic management system with the workers' congress as its basic form.

Important matters concerning the immediate interests of workers must be submitted to workers' congresses for deliberation, and the system to ensure workers' representation as the directors and supervisors of SOEs should also be improved, Xi said.

Party committees at local levels should incorporate SOE party building into their overall work plans, Xi said, also ordering greater efforts to fight corruption, extravagance, embezzlement of state assets and other malpractice in SOEs.

Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting.

Liu said efforts should be made to integrate party building with business operations to transform the fruits of party building into competitive edges for the enterprises.

Representatives from SOEs such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation also gave speeches at the meeting. Endi