This study examines the Chinese Communist Party's increasing influence over businesses. First, it analyses how changes in Chinese laws, intra-Party regulations, and policies have created new means for the Party to exercise influence. Secondly, the study examines CCP influence in practice by analysing three dimensions: ownership, party organisation presence, and political signalling. Over the past 15 years, regulatory changes that initially targeted state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have also increasingly affected private-owned enterprises (POEs). Key reforms emphasise mixed ownership and reinforcing Party leadership in corporate governance, blurring the lines between state and private ownership. State ownership in POEs has given the CCP indirect influence, for example, through positions on company boards. There is also research showing that Party organisation presence sometimes affects corporate governance. Political signalling from the Party leadership, emphasising the CCP's leading role and the importance of loyalty to the CCP, pressures businesses to align with Party interests. Available information on foreign-owned companies (FOE), including interviews with Swedish company representatives, reveals a mixed picture. Party influence is less obvious in FOEs than in Chinese companies. Nevertheless, the consequences for foreign companies operating in China are significant, as political control introduces unpredictability, eroding investor confidence. For Chinese companies expanding internationally, the tension between CCP influence and global business norms is even greater