Wang Xing
王兴
portrait photo of Wang Xing as a young man
Wang in 2009
Born (1979-02-18) 18 February 1979
Longyan, China
EducationTsinghua University (BEng)
University of Delaware (MS)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forInternet entrepreneurship
TitleCo-founder and CEO, Meituan

Wang Xing (Chinese: 王兴; born 18 February 1979) is a Chinese businessman, who co-founded Meituan and has been serving as chief executive officer of Meituan since January 2010. He previously served as chief executive officer of Fanfou from 2007 to 2010.[1]

Early life and education

Wang Xing was born in 1979 in Longyan, Fujian, China.[2]

Wang received a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering in 2001.[3] He enrolled in a PhD program in computer engineering at the University of Delaware from 2001 to 2004, but dropped out with a master's degree in computer engineering.[4][5]

Business career

After leaving the University of Delaware, Wang returned to China to launch his business career. In his first technology startup, Wang along with a couple of friends, tried to create a Chinese version of the then-social networking site Friendster.[6] His first such site was called Duoduoyou (兜兜友; lit. 'Pocket–Pocket Friends'), targeting students in various Chinese universities. After Duoduoyou failed to take off, he started Youzitu (游子图; lit. 'Traveller's Map') to serve Chinese students abroad but the site eventually ceased operation.[2]

In 2005, Wang created a Chinese version of Facebook called Xiaonei (校内网; lit. 'Inside-Campus Net'). The site was a hit but Wang had to sell it off due to financial problems. The new owners re-branded the site, renamed Renren (人人网; lit. 'People–People Net').[6]

In 2007, Wang created a Chinese version of Twitter called Fanfou (饭否; lit. 'Dinner or Not').[6] It was China's first big microblogging site but was soon shut down by the government over politically sensitive content. It was eventually permitted to reopen but by then, other Chinese microblogging sites like Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo had entered the market and captured substantial market share.[7]

In 2010, Wang established the Chinese group-buying site Meituan, which was based on the business model of Groupon.[6] Meituan was hugely successful and merged with Dianping in 2015.[8]

Controversy

Politics

On 3 May 2021, Wang posted a Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) poem about book burning on Fanfou, a social media platform owned by himself. The action was reported by Quartz News as a veiled swipe against Xi Jinping Administration's clampdown on civil society, intellectual and academic freedom since ascension to office. The poem, entitled "Book Burning Pit," speaks about the late emperor Qin Shi Huang's practice of beheading scholars and burning books, only to be overthrown by illiterate rebels later during his reign.[9]

As a result of the post, Meituan's shares plunged 7.1% on the same day, wiping $36.98 billion from the company's market cap over the subsequent weeks.[10] The firm also subsequently came under scrutiny from the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and became the target of an anti-monopoly investigation from the State Administration of Market Regulation, reported by Bloomberg News as political reaction for Wang's post.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Wang Xing". Forbes. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Vashishtha, Yashica (6 April 2019). "Wang Xing : Chinese Billionaire Businessman & the Founder of Meituan". Your Tech Story. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Jin, Keyu (2023). The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism. New York: Viking. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-9848-7828-1.
  4. ↑ "The story of the Tsinghua graduate leading Meituan Dianping". South China Morning Post. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Wang Xing". Forbes. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Kai-Fu (2018). AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. United States: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 22. ISBN 978-1328546395.
  7. ↑ "Tech in Asia – Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Browning, Jonathan; Chen, Lulu Yilun (7 October 2015). "China's Meituan Agrees to $15 Billion Dianping Merger". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  9. ↑ Li, Jane. "Meituan's CEO is in the hot seat over a classical Chinese poem about book burning". Quartz. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Kharpal, Arjun (12 May 2021). "China tech crackdown turns to food delivery giant Meituan as $38.96 billion is wiped off value". CNBC. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  11. ↑ Liu, Coco (24 April 2020). "Bloomberg – China Investigates Meituan for Suspected Monopolistic Practices". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
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