Retailing giant Carrefour has established a Party branch in its Beijing operation, a move seen as the company's stepped up efforts to localize and improve management in one of the fastest growing markets.

Since Carrefour entered the Chinese market in 1995, it has "gradually become aware of the significance of establishing Communist Party of China (CPC) branches in nurturing corporate culture, cementing employees' relations and developing the enterprise," a spokesperson said.

The French hypermarket has been under fire in China since last year over a series of food scandals, pricing manipulation and refusing to hike wages, drawing itself fines and closure of a number of its stores across the country.

The cases may indicate the level of competition in the booming retail industry in China, where foreign competitors are pushed into such misconduct in their bids to grab larger market shares, according to industry analysts.

The Party and labor expansion campaigns were ordered in 2006 by Hu Jintao, the general secretary of the CPC.
 
"Do a better job of building party organizations and trade unions in foreigninvested enterprises," the order said, according to the Beijing News.

"It's a wise move for the retailer as the Party branches will be helpful for reinforcing the cohesiveness of the company," Lin Zhe, a professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, told the Global Times Wednesday.

According to the Constitution of Communist Party of China, "any enterprises, villages, agencies, schools, research institutions, communities, companies of the People's Liberation Army and other primarylevel departments which hold more than three Party members should establish primarylevel organizations of the Party."