14 Facts About Wang Guangying

Wang Guangying was a Chinese entrepreneur and politician.

Wang Guangying was one of the most prominent "red capitalists", a title bestowed on him by Premier Zhou Enlai.

Wang Guangying founded Modern Chemical Works in the 1940s and served as Founding Chairman of China Everbright Group in the 1980s.

Wang Guangying was born August 1919 into a family of officials in Beijing, Republic of China.

Wang Guangying was the sixth of 11 children, two years older than Wang Guangmei.

Wang Guangying studied at the Department of Chemistry of Fu Jen Catholic University of Beijing and graduated in 1943.

Machinery and materials were hard to come by, and Wang Guangying had to improvise and innovate to keep the factory running.

Wang Guangying was cooperative in the process and remained manager of his factories, which were now owned by the state.

In 1957, Wang Guangying was invited to a banquet Premier Zhou Enlai held for the Soviet leader Kliment Voroshilov, at which Zhou introduced Wang Guangying to Voroshilov as a "red capitalist", likely the first time the term was used in public.

Wang Guangying was politically rehabilitated after the Cultural Revolution and was appointed Vice Mayor of Tianjin in 1979, serving until 1982.

Wang Guangying served as Chairman of Everbright from 1983 to 1989, during which he played a significant economic role as well as a major diplomatic role as an intermediary between China and the West.

Wang Guangying invited many foreign dignitaries to visit Everbright, including American leaders Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Walter Mondale, Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, and Indonesian President Suharto.

From 1983 to 1993, Wang Guangying served two terms as Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Wang Guangying died in Beijing on 29 October 2018, at the age of 99.