40 years on: Hangzhou entrepreneurs honored as reform pioneers

Lu Guanqiu, founder and former chairman of Wanxiang Group

Lu Guanqiu (1945-2017) was the iconic entrepreneur from Hangzhou who founded China's largest automotive parts company Wanxiang Group.

As one of the numerous Chinese companies that have gone abroad since China's reform and opening-up, Wanxiang started as an agriculture machinery repair factory in 1969, then turned its focus onto auto components production and sales. With an eye on the future, Lu led the company to expand its business abroad in line with China's reform and opening-up policies in 1994.

Today, the Hangzhou-based company is a major partner of leading carmakers including General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. It owns nearly 30 companies and over 40 factories in 10 foreign countries including the United States and Germany.