The recent itinerary of BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu has been nothing short of a whirlwind. On the first day of July, he met with Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Sichuan Province, and even stepped into the role of a top salesperson, personally delivering vehicles to customers in Chengdu.
Just days earlier, his presence was noted at a symposium hosted by Zhao Yide, Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, and Governor Zhao Gang, where discussions centered on the implementation of BYD's flash-charging technology.
Media reports indicate that since March, Wang Chuanfu has engaged with the top leadership of six provinces, making the "competition for Wang Chuanfu" a new topic in inter-city rivalry.
In reality, provincial and municipal leaders are vying for more than just Wang Chuanfu. An analysis of prominent entrepreneurs frequently met by these top officials over the past several months, from late last year to the present, reveals six key figures and yields two intriguing observations.
The focus is not merely on whoever is currently trending. Among these six entrepreneurs, aside from the rising star in robotics, Wang Xingxing, the officials are frequently meeting established industry leaders like Wang Chuanfu, Liu Qiangdong, and Zeng Yuqun.
The guest list in these high-level meetings is not monolithic but diverse. Alongside domestic Chinese enterprises, it includes foreign corporations, such as Dhanin Chearavanont, Senior Chairman of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group, and Zhu Xiaojing, CEO of Walmart China.
The individuals are the "public face," but the underlying "substance" is the role of industry leaders in driving industrial upgrading. These top officials not only need these anchor enterprises but also hope these "honored guests" will help cities address gaps in their industrial chains or facilitate upgrades, constituting a strategic move in urban industrial development.
While many entrepreneurs are currently in the spotlight, very few become regular fixtures in the meeting rooms of provincial and municipal leaders within a mere six months. Essential criteria for becoming a "regular" include not only being an industry leader but also serving as a "chain master" with the responsibility of pulling industrial advancement.
Beyond being a "chain master," a sense of mission—embodied in a long-termist entrepreneurial spirit—is also required. This is a common trait shared by these six entrepreneurs.
Firstly, they represent three distinct types of sectors and corresponding chain leaders. The first category comprises stabilizing forces in traditional sectors undergoing transformation. BYD and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) are both chain leaders in the new energy industry, where their strategic, technological, and ecosystem moves influence the sector's future.
The Charoen Pokphand Group is a chain leader in agriculture and animal husbandry. As the first foreign-invested enterprise in China after the reform and opening-up, CP Group reported global sales of $111.4 billion last year, with the China region contributing nearly 30% of that revenue.
The second category consists of vital stimulants in the broad consumer sector: JD.com and Walmart China. Walmart China CEO Zhu Xiaojing, dubbed the "Queen of Sam's Club," has visited Jiangsu, Guangdong, Liaoning, and Shandong. JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong has also made appearances in provinces like Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Fujian, and Jiangsu.
Why are JD.com and Walmart China so welcomed by major consumer provinces? The reason is straightforward. These companies are not merely retailers; they represent new commercial infrastructure enabling consumption upgrades, supply chain innovation, and digital-intelligent transformation.
Sam's Club, a staple for the middle class that thrives wherever it opens, and the rapidly expanding JD MALL are not just urban commercial landmarks but symbols of a city's consumption vitality.
The third category is represented by Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, who holds a ticket to the future of embodied hard technology. In October last year, he returned to his hometown of Ningbo, Zhejiang, to establish an intelligent emergency robot industrial park.
Two months later, he appeared in Heilongjiang to discuss embodied intelligence layout in Northeast China. In March this year, Wang met with the Chongqing Municipal Party Secretary, and in May, he appeared at a symposium in Xiong'an. As the figure behind the "first humanoid robotics stock," his frequent engagements with multiple top leaders indicate a multi-pronged expansion strategy.
Amid this fierce competition from various regions, these enterprises are not just chain leaders; their top executives largely embody an entrepreneurial spirit. Regarding the traits of this spirit, business schools and management scholars generally agree on two points: those who possess it are, first, deeply committed and aware of their origins, and second, highly driven with a clear long-term vision.
Some demonstrate deep commitment. Wang Chuanfu, who hails from Wuwei County in Anhui, had a key meeting with Anhui's leaders in April this year. A pivotal point was 2025, when Anhui's new energy vehicle output reached 1.7941 million units, topping the national rankings for the first time—an achievement closely tied to BYD's continued heavy investment in the province.
Wang Xingxing, born in Yuyao, Ningbo, has not forgotten his roots. In late 2025, he established an intelligent emergency robot industrial park in Ningbo with a total investment exceeding 1.2 billion yuan. In June this year, he also signed an agreement with NingboTech University to jointly establish the "NingboTech University Unitree Robotics Industry College," moving from industrial implementation to talent cultivation.
Some set "benefiting the nation and its people" as their goal early on. Dhanin Chearavanont once stated, "The Charoen Pokphand Group is a dragon, and the dragon's head is in China." From obtaining Shenzhen's "No. 0001" foreign business license to generating one-third of its revenue from China, CP has established nearly 700 enterprises in China with over 80,000 employees, building a complete industrial chain from farm to table.
Now nearly ninety, Chearavanont remains active on the front lines, having strategically invested in Muyuan Foods and leading teams to study Pang Donglai's retail model, showing mutual admiration with Yu Donglai.
Three types of sectors, three types of chain leaders, and a long-termist entrepreneurial spirit—these are the fundamental reasons these six entrepreneurs have garnered such favor. These high-level meetings are not merely about inviting entrepreneurs to develop locally.
The leaders clearly have greater ambitions, expecting these "honored guests" to help address industrial shortcomings and even secure the region's industrial development for the next decade.
Which Regions Are Competing and What Are Their Strategies?
The most intense competition is undoubtedly among the determined central provinces. This is evident in the rivalry between Anhui, Hunan, and Henan for Wang Chuanfu's attention. Transitioning from traditional "automotive capitals" that reaped early benefits to "new energy challengers," these regions aim to preserve their automotive industrial foundation while leveraging new energy for an upgrade and resurgence.
Central provinces like Anhui, Hunan, and Henan already have a high dependence on BYD. They not only hope BYD continues to expand production capacity locally but also expect it to optimize the entire industrial chain layout, introduce high-end manufacturing and R&D segments, and move up the value chain.
This explains why flash-charging technology was a common topic in these meetings. In the near term, this technology represents new orders and production capacity for BYD's second-generation blade battery and flash-charging models, beneficial for updating production lines and increasing output value in local new energy industries.
Simultaneously, BYD's "Flash-Charging China" strategy involves building flash-charging stations in cities, representing new infrastructure. Looking further ahead, with BYD's battery technology breakthroughs and the continuous improvement of its charging network, cities are essentially competing for a new strategic position as a BYD new energy power hub.
Western Provinces Seeking Innovation
While central provinces are determined, western provinces are striving for innovation. Due to differences in resource endowments and industrial starting points, industrial development in western regions has a characteristic: adapting to local conditions and developing distinct strengths.
Although Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan are all resource-rich provinces, their paths diverge. As a major coal province, Shaanxi has recently deepened its layout in energy chemical industries and advanced manufacturing, strengthening Xi'an's advantages in science and education and Yulin's energy transition.
This is a key reason Xi'an is competing for further BYD investments, with discussions specifically mentioning hopes for BYD to "increase its layout in areas like vehicle production, high-end manufacturing, and technological R&D."
Sichuan and Yunnan are leveraging their resource advantages, partnering with chain leaders to transform cost advantages into innovation momentum. A common feature of both provinces is low-cost green electricity.
Sichuan is rich in lithium resources, ranking first in Asia and controlling 11% of global lithium resources. Yibin in Sichuan is known as the "power battery capital." This resource advantage can provide more cost-effective energy support for the large-scale implementation of technologies like BYD's flash-charging and energy storage.
Yunnan is also a major energy resource province, with green power installed capacity exceeding 90%. The provincial capital, Kunming, is focusing on building a new energy battery industry cluster. In January this year, Zeng Yuqun signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with the Yunnan provincial government.
He stated that deepening cooperation with Yunnan in new energy batteries, "zero-carbon" industrial parks, transportation, and other fields would transform Yunnan's mineral and other resources into high-value products.
Unlike peers directly playing the resource card, although lacking major mineral resources, Chongqing's foundation lies in its hidden strength as an industrial powerhouse and its open, inclusive urban character—leveraging manufacturing capabilities and scenario advantages, Chongqing has successfully attracted significant investment from both Zeng Yuqun and Wang Xingxing.
In January this year, when Chongqing leaders met Zeng Yuqun, they positioned the city as follows: "Chongqing is a mega-city where national major strategies converge, with outstanding geographical advantages, a solid industrial base, rich scientific and educational resources, a good ecological environment, and broad prospects for future development."
Two months later, meeting Wang Xingxing, they said: "Chongqing is an open city, the largest riverside city in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, possessing comparative advantages and late-development potential in national strategy overlap, city scale, industrial foundation, transportation hub, and humanistic ecology, with vast development space."
It is evident that Chongqing is competing not just on resources but on systemic advantages.
The Northeast Duo Seeking a Breakthrough
Among the regions competing for entrepreneurs, the "Northeast Duo"—Heilongjiang and Liaoning—stand out. From the new star Wang Xingxing to Liu Qiangdong and Zhu Xiaojing, it is clear that these two provinces, seeking to break the ice, are eager to move beyond the "old industrial base" role and build a "consumption + tech new infrastructure."
The dual-track approach for securing strategic positions is clear. One track is "stimulating consumption." The popularity of "Northeast Super" is just one aspect. Liaoning Provincial Party Secretary Xu Kunlin's meeting with "Sam's Queen" Zhu Xiaojing aimed not only at opening more stores in Liaoning but, more importantly, at connecting supply and demand, streamlining the supply chain, and incorporating high-quality Liaoning products into Walmart's procurement system.
Liu Qiangdong's "Northeast tour" also covered Heilongjiang and Liaoning. He set a development KPI for Liaoning: striving to double business scale in the province within three years, from the current 50 billion yuan to 100 billion yuan.
This means JD.com's inherent digital-intelligent supply chain capabilities, smart logistics, instant retail, and other strengths will feed back into Northeast China, constructing a new type of tech-consumption infrastructure.
The other track is "capturing new sectors." Unitree's robots not only wore traditional Northeast floral-patterned jackets at the Spring Festival Gala, but Wang Xingxing has already targeted Heilongjiang's "computing power collaboration + AI," which aligns with the Northeast's advantage in deploying cutting-edge tech: abundant industrial application scenarios and land resources.
The Affluent Eastern Region
Unlike the central and western regions, the affluent eastern developed provinces and regions have a completely different industrial logic for attracting entrepreneurs. With inherent industrial foundations and resource aggregation advantages, they do not need to address basic gaps but require further precise positioning to solidify industrial superiority.
Similar to companies competing to be the "first stock" in a sector, eastern regions are competing for the "first mindshare" as industrial highlands. Taking Jiangsu and Shandong as examples—both traditional manufacturing and consumption powerhouses—they have coincidentally targeted two opportunities: quality consumption upgrade and smart manufacturing upgrade.
The opportunity for quality consumption upgrade is reflected in Walmart China's focus on these two provinces. CEO Zhu Xiaojing is from Suzhou. At the beginning of this year, she spent two months visiting the top leaders of three cities in Jiangsu. Sam's Club also achieved its first-ever "dual-store opening" in Shandong in its thirty-year history in the Chinese market.
Walmart's significant attention to these two provinces follows an underlying theme: the consumption strength of Jiangsu and Shandong. In 2025, Jiangsu's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.63942 trillion yuan, surpassing Guangdong to rank first nationally.
Shandong won in growth rate, with its total retail sales growth at 5.1%, the highest among all major economic provinces. Looking at the first quarter of this year, both Jiangsu and Shandong have already exceeded one trillion yuan in retail sales scale.
Detailed analysis has been conducted on why the "Queen of Sam's" intensively visited the top leaders of three of Jiangsu's strongest prefecture-level cities. Jiangsu's consumption volume and vitality support Sam's future county-level expansion.
Shandong, aiming to become a northern consumption highland, focuses on service consumption upgrades. Compared to Jiangsu, it lacks high-net-worth individual consumption expenditure, an area where Sam's Club can help address the gap.
Beyond quality consumption, both provinces are strategically positioning themselves in emerging industry layouts. The frequent meetings of Shandong's leaders with Wang Chuanfu and Zeng Yuqul are just one side of the coin.
The other side is Shandong's province-wide effort to build a complete new energy industrial chain. During Liu Qiangdong's visit to Suzhou, the municipal Party Secretary mentioned a key point: Suzhou is accelerating the construction of an "AI+" city and an internationally competitive "smart manufacturing city," which aligns deeply with JD.com's development direction, indicating broad cooperation space.
Thus, while the four major regions appear to be competing for the same group of individuals, they have differentiated development roadmaps. These astute cities attract talent not by luck but through years of accumulated developmental strength.
The competition for the six most sought-after entrepreneurs across four regions is an open game. We can also clearly see that the way they play their cards has changed.
First, the model of investment attraction has changed. Previously, in meetings, leaders loved to discuss policy incentives and development opportunities, and companies focused on the benefits of locating there. Now, the conversation centers on regional positioning and developmental capacity, with companies focusing on the strategic uniqueness a location offers.
Taking the competition for BYD as an example, besides discussing production expansion, provincial and municipal leaders talk about flash-charging technology and the complete industrial chain. This signifies that regional competition for BYD has shifted from "grabbing production capacity" to "securing quality," corresponding to a shift towards industrial chain investment attraction and scenario-based investment attraction.
Second, the drivers of industrial growth have changed. An observable trend is that while stimulating consumption and manufacturing upgrades remain main themes in urban development, more regions are transitioning from past "single-pole dependence" to "multi-polar ecosystems."
Judging from the enterprises being attracted, tech newcomers, leading foreign firms, and traditional chain leaders are all indispensable. This indicates that an increasing number of provinces and cities are doing two things: first, using new production factors to perfect what they excel at, such as upgrades in manufacturing and consumption powerhouses; second, strategically positioning themselves in emerging sectors to bet on the future, as seen in the competition for Wang Xingxing.
Third, the mode of collaboration has changed. While provinces and cities appear to be competing for the same industries and the same batch of enterprises—a zero-sum game—the pattern of "regional coordination and tiered linkage" is already quite clear.
Wang Xingxing in Chongqing and Wang Chuanfu in Chengdu mention the synergy of innovation resources离不开 the "Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle." Zhu Xiaojing, shuttling between Liaoning and Jiangsu, not only witnesses the interaction between "Jiangsu Super" and "Northeast Super" but also directly experiences the joint development of key industrial chains between the two regions.
The changes in investment attraction models, industrial growth drivers, and collaboration modes also outline the new landscape of China's urban industrial restructuring at the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
Moving past the extensive investment attraction focused solely on numbers, past the singular reliance on "one leading enterprise dominating the scene," and past the "everyone for themselves" internal competition, future regional industrial competition—even when competing for the same people—will be about who is more precise, more diversified, and more collaborative.
Whoever can embed a company's strategic nodes into their own long-term development blueprint and form complementary rather than substitutive relationships with neighboring cities will remain at the table in this restructuring.
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