Top 10 Chinese Business Entrepreneurs

The former PLA engineer founded Huawei in 1987 with $5,000 and grew it into the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, surviving years of intense US government pressure.

The Shenzhen native who founded Tencent in 1998 at age 26 created WeChat, the super-app that has made his company a major investor in hundreds of the world's most valuable technology companies.

The Fujian-born programmer who launched ByteDance in 2012 created TikTok's parent company and arguably the world's most powerful content algorithm from a small Beijing apartment.

The Wuhan-born entrepreneur and Xiaomi's founder disrupted the smartphone market by selling premium-spec phones at near-cost prices and has now made the same bet on electric vehicles.

The Yangquan-born engineer who studied in the US returned to China in 2000 to found Baidu, which became the world's second-largest search engine and is now China's leading AI company.

The chemist from rural Anhui founded BYD in 1995 to make rechargeable batteries and grew it into the world's best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer, surpassing Tesla in global volume in 2023.

The Jiangsu entrepreneur who started selling CD-ROMs from a market stall in 1998 built JD.com into China's most trusted e-commerce brand, distinguished by its proprietary delivery network.

The Ningbo engineer who founded NetEase in 1997 grew it into a gaming and internet giant, then controversially pivoted into sustainable pig farming — and made that a success too.

The Stanford-educated engineer launched Pinduoduo in 2015 with a social group-buying model that disrupted Alibaba domestically, then unleashed Temu on Western markets to devastating commercial effect.

The former PLA engineer founded Huawei in 1987 with $5,000 and grew it into the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, surviving years of intense US government pressure.

The Shenzhen native who founded Tencent in 1998 at age 26 created WeChat, the super-app that has made his company a major investor in hundreds of the world's most valuable technology companies.

The Fujian-born programmer who launched ByteDance in 2012 created TikTok's parent company and arguably the world's most powerful content algorithm from a small Beijing apartment.

The Wuhan-born entrepreneur and Xiaomi's founder disrupted the smartphone market by selling premium-spec phones at near-cost prices and has now made the same bet on electric vehicles.

The Yangquan-born engineer who studied in the US returned to China in 2000 to found Baidu, which became the world's second-largest search engine and is now China's leading AI company.

The chemist from rural Anhui founded BYD in 1995 to make rechargeable batteries and grew it into the world's best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer, surpassing Tesla in global volume in 2023.

The Jiangsu entrepreneur who started selling CD-ROMs from a market stall in 1998 built JD.com into China's most trusted e-commerce brand, distinguished by its proprietary delivery network.

The Ningbo engineer who founded NetEase in 1997 grew it into a gaming and internet giant, then controversially pivoted into sustainable pig farming — and made that a success too.

The Stanford-educated engineer launched Pinduoduo in 2015 with a social group-buying model that disrupted Alibaba domestically, then unleashed Temu on Western markets to devastating commercial effect.