华润 began in 1938 as
联和行, a CCP-run front company in Hong Kong that funnelled supplies to the Communist base areas during the anti-Japanese war. Renamed
华润公司 in 1948, it became a central state-owned enterprise under SASAC. Today its retail arm
华润万家 (CR Vanguard), beer brand
雪花 (Snow), and
华润电力 operate across mainland China and Hong Kong.
