Beijing: China will press to have a Communist party branch in place inside all foreign companies and joint ventures as part of its "new era" of Chinese socialism.

Vice minister of the party's organisation department, Qi Yu, says it is "a priority" to build the communist party within all companies, because the private sector employs 140 million working class Chinese.

Qi Yu, Vice Minister of Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, wants Communist Party units in all foreign companies. Credit:Sanghee Liu

By the end of last year, 71 per cent of foreign joint ventures in China had a communist party unit, compared to 93 per cent of state-owned companies.

The new push for more party involvement in foreign companies is part of Chinese president Xi Jinping's ideological push for a wave of "party building" to accompany a "new era" of Chinese socialism.