The recent murder of a steel plant manager by workers in China has lessons for both American businesspeople and Chinese officials.

The killing, according to The Wall Street Journal, occurred when employees at Tonghua Iron & Steel feared their jobs were in jeopardy. A group of the workers apparently beat Chen Guojun to death in an office.

Chen worked for a privately owned company promising to modernize Tonghua Iron & Steel. The company had just come to an agreement to take control of Tonghua Iron & Steel from the government, the Journal story indicated.

The idea of workers and management at odds over jobs and restructuring plans isn’t new to Western businesspeople. What may be surprising, though, is the Chinese reaction to the tragedy. According to the Journal, the official Xinhua News Agency criticized local government officials, asking: “Wasn’t the Tonghua incident really a matter of failing to consider the interests of workers during the restructuring process?”

And in response to the plant protest, with Chen missing and feared injured, the government said the deal for Chen’s firm to take over the plant was off.

In the U.S., the Xinhua statement comes across as excusing murderers. And the axing of the takeover plan seems like capitulation to thuggery.

What those reactions miss, though, is the deep-seated collectivism in China. While Americans are prone to focus on the individual act or acts of violence, Chinese are more likely to see the role of the wider social context. The restructuring of state-owned industries in China has been proceeding for years, often with little regard for workers who lose their jobs.

The Journal quotes Li Xinchuang, vice chairman of China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, a state think tank that helped draft the government’s policy for the steel industry. Prior to the Tonghua riot, restructurings “were concerned only with benefits of local governments and companies,” Li says. “But the interests of employees should draw a lot more attention.”

I observed this contextual, social sensibility during a reporting trip to China a few years ago. It’s something Western firms must be aware of if they are to succeed in China. And I think it is something American business leaders—often obsessed with individual pay-for-performance schemes—would do well to learn from.

But there’s also a lesson for Chinese officials in the murder of Chen Guojun. Protests not all that different from the one at the steel plant have become commonplace in China this decade. Public demonstrations are among the only ways average citizens can fight back against perceived injustices, given the lack of meaningful democracy in China.

I hope Chen’s death helps Chinese leaders see how vital more democracy is.