On February 25, Zong Qinghou, a legendary veteran of Zhejiang businessmen and the founder of Wahaha, passed away suddenly.
After the news came out, countless Zhejiang businessmen and friends, juniors and people from all walks of life expressed their condolences to the elders. I deeply miss this outstanding representative of private enterprises.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma:
Ma Yun sent a couplet: "It's not too late to fight forty in life, the spirit of a pioneer; Entrepreneurship is difficult to seek innovation all night, and the true character of entrepreneurs. ”
Zhang Tianren, vice chairman of Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of Tianneng Holding Group:
Hearing this news, I was deeply saddened, Zong Lao is a senior whom we Zhejiang businessmen respect very much. A few years ago, I participated in the national "two sessions" in Beijing, and I was in the same group with him, and every time I communicated with him, I benefited a lot and deeply admired him. Zong Lao has worked hard to run an enterprise all his life, leaving the society not only an excellent enterprise, but also the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of "440000", which is the precious spiritual wealth of our Zhejiang businessmen. May the elder go all the way.
Wang Licheng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holley Group:
Today, I was shocked to learn that Mr. Zong Qinghou passed away, and my heart is very heavy and I deeply regret it. He is a role model for a generation of Zhejiang businessmen, and he is also an entrepreneur I respect very much among my generation. His entrepreneurial history is a microcosm of the tide of China's reform, and his life's struggle is a model of the "Four Thousand Spirit" of Zhejiang businessmen.
The Si people have passed away, but the spirit lives on. The concept of honest management, the spirit of hardship and hard work, the passion of hard work and the feelings of caring for the family and country demonstrated by Zhejiang businessmen like Zong Qinghou are always worth remembering, learning and carrying forward!
Lao Zong, go all the way.
Wang Shuifu, co-chairman of Xizi:
Shocked to hear the bad news of Mr. Zong's departure, my mood was very heavy and sad. Zong is always an excellent representative of our Zhejiang business group, and he is also a generous big brother.
There are two things that stand out to me the most. In 2015, Wahaha, Superstar, Xizi and many other manufacturing enterprises participated in the Olympic Skills Competition opened at Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College. In the competition, Wahaha's front-line technicians performed well and won good results, and the workers mentioned Zong's attention and investment in manufacturing many times when they talked about their feelings. Through this activity, I have a deeper understanding of the capabilities of Zongbei manufacturing factory, and Wahaha's manufacturing capacity has also reached the level of high-end and high-precision mold processing.
Another time was after Xizi participated in the C919 project, Mr. Zong took time out of his busy schedule to communicate with me about the manufacturing and processing of aviation aircraft parts, and cared about the development and future of Xizi as a leading aviation parts supplier. Later, when Mr. Zong learned that our aviation had built a zero-carbon factory, he expressed strong interest and specially sent an engineering and technical team to visit and exchange. The original plan was to have the opportunity to ask Mr. Zong to come to guide in person in the New Year, but who knew that it had become an eternal regret.
In my heart, Zong is always an entrepreneur who loves to learn and has a high pursuit of national manufacturing. He is an outstanding representative of our generation of Zhejiang businessmen who worked hard in the 80s, and is one of the souls of the spirit of Zhejiang businessmen. The people have passed away, but the spirit lives on! Brother Zong goes all the way!
Hu Jiqiang, chairman of Kangenbei:
When the bad news came, I was shocked and saddened. Mr. Zong has been ill for a while, and I was supposed to visit the hospital last Wednesday, but the doctor advised me to wait until my condition stabilized.
Mr. Zong and we are of the same generation, and I have always called him "Brother Zong". Over the years, I have had a lot of intersections with him and a lot of exchanges. The longest time we spent with us was in 2014, when he invited me and several other Zhejiang businessmen to Angola to conduct a week-long research. In the past 10 years, although the Si people are gone, the ambition and pride at that time are still in front of them.
In the face of the background of Zongzong's departure, on the one hand, we cherish and thank him for his great contribution to the economic and social development of Zhejiang and even China, and on the other hand, we should inherit and carry forward the spirit of Zongzong, let his life brilliance and spiritual belief illuminate more people, and encourage Zhejiang businessmen to continue to struggle.
I am also 63 years old this year, and there is no retirement, no rest in the dictionary of life of my generation. I will also continue to learn from Brother Zong, live to be old, learn to be old, be old, contribute to old age, and love to old age.
Xuan Xinlong, chairman of Tianshun (Hangzhou) Food Co., Ltd.:
I was very sad to hear the news of the death of the elder of the sect. Zong Lao is our predecessor, he has a lot of shining points worth learning, the most important of which is to love his own career, not to be disturbed by other things, to focus on his own industry, this is what I want to learn from him, and I am also insisting.
Wang Zhiqiang, founder of Wang's Holding Group and vice chairman of the National Council of Hangzhou Merchants:
In my mind, Zong Qinghou is an entrepreneur with outstanding talent and noble morality, an industrialist who is low-key and practical, a representative of private entrepreneurs, and a legendary figure of Zhejiang businessmen! The social values he represents include: social entrepreneurs with a sense of family and country: jointly creating a better society and helping more people to prosper together. Solving the employment problem and driving more people to get rich is the greatest charity; The corporate values he represents include: the guardian of the real economy: always adhere to the concept of "serving the country by industry, Ze is the society", single-handedly build the "Wahaha" group, a well-known national brand, and create a "legend of a bottle of water"; The personal values he represents include: outstanding representatives of private enterprises, eternal explorers, organizers, leaders, and strugglers, who have deeply cultivated the main business with the "Four Thousand Spirit", created a legendary story of a generation of Zhejiang businessmen, and left valuable spiritual wealth.
Yang Yiqing, director of Zhejiang Merchants Museum and professor of Zhejiang Gongshang University:
Zong Qinghou may be the "latest to start and the lowest starting point" in the group of big entrepreneurs; He is probably the most frugal entrepreneur; Wahaha is probably the most humble of large corporate headquarters. Chairman Zong Qinghou's pragmatic entrepreneurial spirit, hard work style and unique management style are typical among Chinese entrepreneurs and Zhejiang businessmen.
Zong Qinghou is a model of civilian entrepreneurship, his life has changed times, sharing the dividends of reform and opening up, and he is also an excellent representative of Zhejiang businessmen who are "in the right place and in the right place". After 37 years of focusing on the main business, sticking to the industry and hard work, Zong Qinghou's focus on pragmatic entrepreneurship is the internal driving force to support the sustainable development of the enterprise.
If nothing else, by 2024, Wahaha's total tax revenue may reach 200 billion. In 2015, 70-year-old Zong Qinghou said at the Chengdu National Sugar and Wine Fair, "I have to work for another 20 years", and now the words are still in my ears, and the 80-year-old Zong Qinghou has gone, which makes people sigh and sigh!
*: Orange Persimmon Interactive City Express Reporter Cheng Chao Content Comprehensive Zhejiang**.