During an event in the city of Wuxi to mark its 30th anniversary in China, AstraZeneca Plcs AZN China’s President Wang Lei said the company will strive to be a patriotic company in China that “loves the Communist Party.”

Wang, who also holds the position of global executive vice president, commented on the event, Reuters reported quote shared a person familiar with the matter and photos.

Also read: One More leaves US pharmaceutical lobby group: AstraZeneca follows in the footsteps of Teva and AbbVie.

Although it is now common for local companies to publicly ally themselves with the ruling Chinese Communist Party, this is less common for foreign companies. AstraZeneca declined to comment further on the matter.

AstraZeneca’s recent efforts in China include a $450 million investment to build a factory to manufacture inhalers. In 2022, China accounted for 13% of that total turnover of the company.

Since China lifted its three-year zero-COVID policy and began reopening its borders earlier this year, numerous foreign business leaders, including AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot and Apple’s Tim Cook, have visited the country to show their commitment for China to emphasize.

However, a recent crackdown on consulting and due diligence firms by Chinese authorities has raised concerns among foreign companies, who have relied on them for market research and potential business ventures.

Price promotion: AZN shares are up 0.53% to $74.60 during the premarket session of last check on Friday.