An interview with Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha Group, the largest Chinese beverage producer (Video/Zhejiang News)

Upon the beginning of the Year of Rabbit, we interviewed a few entrepreneurs of Zhejiang for listening to their opinions and viewpoints towards China's economy and forecasts for the new year. In this article, we had an in-depth dialogue with Zong Qinghou, the chairman of Wahaha Group, the largest Chinese beverage producer. Here comes the interview transcript.

Does the rumour "the state advances, the private economy retreats" pose an impact on your confidence in your company's development? 

I think there are a lot of misconceptions in the whole society. It is true that some private enterprises have faced difficulties in recent years. Some turn to the government for help, and the government encourages state-owned enterprises to "help out" by taking equity stakes. However, some people misinterpreted it as "the state advances and the private economy retreats". In addition, some entrepreneurs have been dealt with for violating the law and discipline, but the specific problems have not been made public. Therefore, some people say that private enterprises had been cleaned up and rectified. However, for enterprises, it is normal for businesses to rise and fall.

Moreover, how can we crack down on such a large private economy? I never believe in the claim of "cracking down on private enterprises". No local government would do such a thing.

After so many years of development, what do you think was the most difficult period for Wahaha? How does that compare to the three years since the pandemic began?

Every enterprise will encounter difficulties in the process of development. In fact, if there is a problem, just solve it.

Wahaha has encountered three major difficulties in its development. The first difficulty was when I acquired the cannery. In the beginning, around 10 employees with a team of 100 were opposed to the idea of taking over the factory and paying the wages of retired workers. In the end, we bought the factory for 80 million yuan. This is the first step in our development. The second difficulty was the experience of a lawsuit against Danone in France. After two years, we finally won the lawsuit. The third difficulty is Internet rumours. Around 2012, our annual revenue was over 70 billion yuan. However, there was an online rumour saying that there was something wrong with our beverage, which had a negative impact on our revenue worth 20 billion yuan at that time. Three years after the epidemic, our company's supply chain was greatly affected, indeed. Some factories have been shut down, but now we have survived.

As entrepreneurs, we must have the determination and confidence to solve difficulties. In particular, we must follow our own path and not be defeated by various difficulties and rumours. Over the years, I have been firmly convinced of the country's determination to protect the position of the substantial economy. Even in the past three years, the company has maintained a steady momentum of development, cash flow is very abundant, and the foundation is very solid.

As a representative of Zhejiang private entrepreneurs, how do you view the relationship between the government and enterprises?

I think it's about maintaining a healthy relationship as close and clean as much and also without corruption, and also caring about the standard of that relationship. Now some government officials focus on "clean" rather than "close", and dare not approach entrepreneurs. In the early days of reform and opening up, without government support and encouragement, enterprises could not have developed. I am also hoping that leading officials at all levels will make more visits to enterprises to have a deeper understanding of their needs, solve practical problems and help enterprises develop better.

Collected by Wang Chao

Editor: Ye Ke