How the Party makes itself felt in the Chinese boardroom

With a legal basis in both Chinese company law and the constitution of the Communist Party of China, the role played by party organisations, or POs, remains murky to many foreign investors.

Still others don't even know that they exist.

That is the upshot of a report published on Tuesday by the Asian Corporate Governance Association ACGA, which showed fewer than 3% of 152 foreign investors surveyed felt POs had a clear and accountable role in listed companies.

Perhaps more worryingly, more than a fifth didn't even know that they existed.

Sitting above the Board of Directors, these POs...