SHANGHAI (SCMP): Chen Ailian, who has been dubbed as China’s Wheel Queen with a net worth of 11 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), has trended on mainland social media as an encouraging role model.
Four decades ago, she defied gender stereotypes by driving a tractor.
As her enterprise in the east of the country grew into a success, Chen rewarded her key employees with 100 BMW cars, the news portal Sina.com reported.
The Zhejiang-based Wanfeng Auto Holding Group, founded by Chen, is the global No 1 manufacturer of two niche products: aluminium wheel hubs and magnesium alloy. It is also the leading aircraft maker and covers the general aviation industry’s whole supply chain.
Chen, 68, hails from Xinchang county of Zhejiang province, in eastern China.
In the 1970s, when Xinchang was assigned a tractor from the upper-level government, Chen applied to be its driver.
Initially, government officials rejected her only because of her gender. Thanks to her persistent persuasion, they agreed to let Chen join a class to learn tractor driving.
Chen finally outperformed her male classmates and secured the job with her excellent driving skills.
Years later, Chen was allocated by the authorities to work at a local textile factory before being appointed as the manager of an aluminium alloy company.
In 1994, she set up her own Wanfeng Aluminum Wheel Company, by taking a loan of half a million yuan (US$74,000) from the bank.
Targeting the mid-to-high end market, her products sold well.
The next year, when a batch of wheel hubs was found to have fine cracks, Chen announced she had decided decisively to discard them as useless despite the fact that they apparently posed no safety risk.
“If an enterprise produces bad-quality products, it is a waste of public resources and a crime against society,” Chen told her employees.
With a reputation for high quality, Chen’s Wanfeng company became the front-runner of the motorcycle wheel hub industry.
The company then shifted its focus to car wheels around the year 2000 as Chen forecast a boom in China’s car industry.
In 2013, Chen acquired Canada’s Meridian Lightweight Technologies amid massive questions from within her company.
Meridian is a world leader in the magnesium alloy sector. Chen defended her decision by explaining that she believed there would be a surge in demand for lightweight materials, especially from the aviation and aerospace industries.
She said Meridian served customers like Tesla and Porsche, so Wanfeng could leverage these sales channels to explore the international market.
Chen acquired Austria-based Diamond Aircraft Group and started investing heavily in general aviation industry in 2016.
This operation again reflected Chen’s sharp business acumen since several years later, many mainland cities flocked to develop low-altitude economy.
Chen is well known for being strict with herself. At public venues, she always dresses in vibrant colours and wears refined make-up.
She once told the media that this is to show respect for her own career and is in an effort to safeguard her company’s image.
Chen, who only has a middle school education due to the political turmoil of her youth, requires herself to read for an hour every evening.
“I have been reading for 20 years,” Chen was quoted as saying. “Reading is not only enjoyable for me, it also helps upgrade my knowledge and cognition of the world.”
Chen raises her employees’ salaries by at least 8 per cent every year. If the workers’ incomes are found to be significantly lower than those of other companies, the human resources chief would be deemed to have displayed a dereliction of duty, said Chen.
In 2010, Chen bought 100 BMW vehicles and sent them to her “capable assistants” to thank them for their years of hard work.
Chen said she aims to build an enterprise culture of “work happily, live joyfully.”
Chen is listed 95th in the Hurun Richest Self-Made Women in the World 2026 with a net worth of 11 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion).
She has two sons who now work as executives at her company.
“My regret in life is that I spent little time with my sons when they were young,” said Chen. -- South China Morning Post
