China tells workplaces they must have Communist Party units

Chinese President Xi Jinping awaits the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry for a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has passed a regulation ensuring government organizations and private companies have Communist Party units so that party policy can be implemented across society, the People's Daily, the official party mouthpiece, said on Saturday. The regulation was passed on Friday at a meeting of the Politburo, one of the Communist Party's elite ruling bodies, with President Xi Jinping in attendance. It was unclear if the regulation, the latest in Xi's campaign aimed at strengthening party discipline, extended to foreign organizations operating in China. Party discipline is Communist Party jargon for efforts to fight corruption. A campaign against graft has formed the centerpiece of Xi's administration and the leadership has vowed to target both high- and low-level offenders. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Nick Macfie)