China's tech companies are making waves with their recent achievements, including a "trifold" phone from Huawei and the revolutionary AI reasoning model from DeepSeek. Much discussion has centered on the founders of these companies and their ability to gain an edge on American rivals. But what is less appreciated or understood among foreign analysts of China’s tech giants is the role that innovation and transformation in corporate governance and organizational structure has played in these companies’ successes. Moreover, there are unique aspects of these companies from a corporate governance perspective that are not commonly seen in tech companies in other parts of the world or even within China itself. For instance, Huawei is 99% employee owned, while Alibaba is primarily governed by an "Alibaba Partnership." These unique corporate structures have arisen due to several factors, including the rapid changes to China’s regulatory landscape over the past three decades, distinct characteristics of Chinese business culture, geopolitical tensions and preoccupations with national security, and the “socialism with Chinese characteristics” model. In this article I overview some of the more distinctive corporate governance mechanisms of four Chinese tech companies: Huawei, Alibaba, Bytedance, and DeepSeek, and explain why these structures were adopted.

In the era of digital economy, although the production (labor) tools of enterprises are digitalized, intelligent, and networked, and new characteristics and scenarios have emerged in enterprise operation and labor methods, the human capital possessed by workers has become the driving force for the sustainable development of entrepreneurial enterprises. Workers who master digital technology play a decisive role in the sustainable and healthy development of entrepreneurial enterprises. The article points out that in the era of digital economy, human capital is a key factor for economic growth and development. In the fields of mixed ownership and private economy, the employment system will gradually "retire", and modern partnership systems will prevail; The modern partnership system can motivate partners to collaborate and innovate, which is an upgrade of the manager system; The article briefly introduces the advantages and disadvantages of the dual ownership structure and the dynamic equity distribution mechanism of start-up companies; And the achievements made by Xiaomi Group, Huawei Company, and Midea Group in implementing a business partnership system.

The rapid development of the digital economy is driving profound changes in production methods, lifestyles, and corporate governance. Human society has entered a new era where digital technology is rapidly advancing and playing an important role. In the era of digital economy, although the production (labor) tools of enterprises are digitized, intelligent, and networked, and new characteristics and scenarios have emerged in the operation and labor methods of enterprises, the human capital possessed by workers has become the driving force for the sustainable development of entrepreneurial enterprises. Workers who master digital technology play a decisive role in the sustainable and healthy development of entrepreneurial enterprises. The article briefly introduces the establishment and development of human capital theory, pointing out that in the digital economy era, human capital has greater potential for appreciation, and its marginal returns show a trend of increasing; Human capital is a key factor in economic growth and development. The surplus of producers in an enterprise refers to the income that producers receive in excess of their production costs. The owners of human resources should receive a portion of the investment return that should belong to human capital from the enterprise in the form of "producer equity", "labor stock", or equity incentives in proportion. Equity incentives have become an important corporate governance mechanism in the capital market. The article also elaborates on the modern partnership system, which can motivate partners to collaborate and innovate, and is an upgrade of the manager system; Briefly introduced the achievements made by Xiaomi Group and Huawei in implementing the business partner system.