Jingwei Li

1937

Sanshui, Shaanxi, China

He returned to Sanshui several years later, where he became head of a tiny print shop in 1957. A tall man, he played basketball and remained active in sports activities, becoming a deputy head of the Sanshui Sports Federation. Considered very sociable, he had a wide circle of friends, joined the Youth League and later became a member of the Communist Party. In 1973, Li went to work in a small beer factory in Sanshui as an ordinary worker, but gradually assumed managerial responsibility until he was appointed manager in the early 1980s. At the time the factory made about 3000 tons of beer a year and was losing money. In line with new efforts to make enterprises self-sufficient, Li Jingwei was expected to erase the deficit. Shortly after, Li and Jiang launched a promotion campaign. They gave free samples to many sports groups, including the national women’s volleyball team, whose members reportedly liked the new drink. In May 1984 Li found out through another of his contacts, the deputy director of the Provincial Sports Federation, that the Asian Soccer Federation were to hold a meeting at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. Li hastened to send 100 cartons of Jianlibao free of charge so that all delegates could sample it. With their help, Li was able to work through sports circles to get Jianlibao accepted as one of the drinks for the Los Angeles Olympics, along with drinks from Beijing, Liaoning, Hebei, and Sichuan. Thus, the Jianlibao brand was officially launched and was on a path for quick success. Shortly after, Li and Jianlibao pledged significant financial support to Tibetan mountaineers, the Chinese national women’s volleyball team, and a large donation to the Hope Project to provide education funding for children from low-income families. Under Li’s leadership, Jianlibao became one of the top-ten most recognized Chinese brands in the 1990s. However, beneath the glory of Li’s Jianlibao empire, lay China’s old state-owned enterprise system. Jianlibao, founded by Li Jingwei, who had also masterminded its growth, was under total ownership of the municipal government. When the first batch of state-owned enterprises were successfully converted to private companies, Li hoped to be able to gain ownership of Jianlibao. However, tensions had built up over the years between Li and the local government, and Sanshui County rejected his proposal to use private funds to purchase a controlling interest in the Jianlibao Group, as well as his recommendation for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the meantime, local officials openly sought a qualified private buyer for the Jianlibao Group so long as the buyer was not Li himself. On 15 January 2002, the Sanshui government signed an agreement to sell 75 percent of Jianlibao to Zhejiang International Trust & Investment Corp (ZITIC). Jianlibao, once a successful collective enterprise, became privatized, and Li stepped down as chairman of the company.

Jingwei Li

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经纬李

Businessman

Background

Li was born in 1937 in Sanshui County, Northwest Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

Education

Placed in an orphanage at age ten, he completed only four years of elementary school, and at 12 left to work in Guangzhou, first as a cook’s helper and then at various odd jobs.

Career

He returned to Sanshui several years later, where he became head of a tiny print shop in 1957. A tall man, he played basketball and remained active in sports activities, becoming a deputy head of the Sanshui Sports Federation. Considered very sociable, he had a wide circle of friends, joined the Youth League and later became a member of the Communist Party. In 1973, Li went to work in a small beer factory in Sanshui as an ordinary worker, but gradually assumed managerial responsibility until he was appointed manager in the early 1980s. At the time the factory made about 3000 tons of beer a year and was losing money. In line with new efforts to make enterprises self-sufficient, Li Jingwei was expected to erase the deficit.

Shortly after, Li and Jiang launched a promotion campaign. They gave free samples to many sports groups, including the national women’s volleyball team, whose members reportedly liked the new drink. In May 1984 Li found out through another of his contacts, the deputy director of the Provincial Sports Federation, that the Asian Soccer Federation were to hold a meeting at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. Li hastened to send 100 cartons of Jianlibao free of charge so that all delegates could sample it. With their help, Li was able to work through sports circles to get Jianlibao accepted as one of the drinks for the Los Angeles Olympics, along with drinks from Beijing, Liaoning, Hebei, and Sichuan. Thus, the Jianlibao brand was officially launched and was on a path for quick success. Shortly after, Li and Jianlibao pledged significant financial support to Tibetan mountaineers, the Chinese national women’s volleyball team, and a large donation to the Hope Project to provide education funding for children from low-income families. Under Li’s leadership, Jianlibao became one of the top-ten most recognized Chinese brands in the 1990s.

However, beneath the glory of Li’s Jianlibao empire, lay China’s old state-owned enterprise system. Jianlibao, founded by Li Jingwei, who had also masterminded its growth, was under total ownership of the municipal government. When the first batch of state-owned enterprises were successfully converted to private companies, Li hoped to be able to gain ownership of Jianlibao. However, tensions had built up over the years between Li and the local government, and Sanshui County rejected his proposal to use private funds to purchase a controlling interest in the Jianlibao Group, as well as his recommendation for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the meantime, local officials openly sought a qualified private buyer for the Jianlibao Group so long as the buyer was not Li himself. On 15 January 2002, the Sanshui government signed an agreement to sell 75 percent of Jianlibao to Zhejiang International Trust & Investment Corp (ZITIC). Jianlibao, once a successful collective enterprise, became privatized, and Li stepped down as chairman of the company.

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Jingwei Li

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1957

1990