The "Monster-Slaying" Trilogy of China's Richest Woman
On March 9th, on the latest Forbes China list, Wang Laichun of Luxshare Precision topped the list with a net worth of 85.5 billion yuan. Under the spotlight, this female richest person from Chenghai, Shantou, has just completed another leap - going public in Hong Kong and initiating a global capital layout.
In the past three decades, Wang Laichun has successively completed the "trilogy of overcoming challenges" to break through the three major problems of Chinese manufacturing: removing the "OEM" label and climbing from the low - end of the industrial chain to the technological uncharted territory; getting rid of the single - customer dependence and opening up a second battlefield while maintaining growth; and finally, crossing the storm of geopolitics and remaining invincible in the reconstruction of the global supply chain.
01
From OEM to Intelligent Manufacturing
On the day after the closing of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen in 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook didn't return directly but drove to Kunshan to visit the production line of a Chinese supplier.
In Luxshare Precision's AirPods factory, what Cook saw impressed him deeply: a small wireless earphone needs to have hundreds of components installed inside, and the complexity of the process far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people. This Chinese factory not only solved the problem of yield rate but also shortened the delivery cycle from 5 - 6 weeks to 1 - 3 days.
Cook sighed on the spot: "What impressed me most is that there is a passionate and energetic team here."
Wang Laichun, the chairman of Luxshare Precision standing beside Cook, said a sentence that was later repeatedly quoted: "I believe in the saying that those who can fly with the phoenix must be outstanding birds."
This sentence was later interpreted by the outside world as Wang Laichun's humble response to Luxshare Precision's position in the Apple supply chain, but in fact, it has another meaning: she is "flying with the phoenix" rather than being a "supporting role" of the phoenix.
Looking back at the development history of Luxshare Precision, its position in the industrial chain clearly shows a trajectory of "three - step leap".
When Luxshare Precision was founded, it mainly engaged in the production and sales of computer connectors and was just a component supplier at the bottom of the industrial chain.
In 2011, Luxshare Precision took the second step, acquiring Kunshan Liantao and entering the "module" era. It also entered the Apple supply chain for the first time and became the supplier of iPad tablet connection cables. Since then, the company has successively obtained key orders such as MacBook power cords, Apple Watch wireless charging/straps, MacBook Type - C, and iPhone adapters.
The third step started in 2017 when it entered the era of whole - machine manufacturing by taking on the OEM of AirPods. This leap was the most crucial. At that time, Inventec, the exclusive OEM factory of AirPods, was stuck in a bottleneck due to the yield - rate problem. Apple tentatively gave some orders to Luxshare Precision for trial production. The result was unexpected: its yield rate far exceeded expectations, and its delivery ability was amazing.
By 2019, Luxshare Precision was responsible for 100% of the OEM of Apple's new noise - canceling wireless earphones, AirPods Pro. In 2020, Luxshare Precision spent 3.3 billion yuan to acquire Wistron's factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu, and officially became the first mainland Chinese iPhone OEM manufacturer.
Behind these three - step leaps from connectors to modules and then to whole - machines, there is a clear strategic main line: It's not simply about expanding the scale but advancing deeper into the industrial chain and building barriers in areas with higher technical difficulties.
To build higher barriers, Wang Laichun has always promoted the coordinated growth of ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) businesses. She maximizes the value of ODM through the scale of OEM, and the two promote each other.
This makes Luxshare Precision fundamentally different from pure OEM factories. It is also Wang Laichun's redefinition of "OEM" - not just following the customer's drawings but being able to participate in product definition, provide solutions, and help customers achieve what they can't achieve on their own. For this reason, Wang Laichun also put forward a goal:
To make "30% of Luxshare Precision's products enter the global industry's uncharted territory."
Currently, this goal is becoming a reality in the field of high - speed AI interconnection.
In the first half of 2025, Luxshare Precision's communication business revenue reached 11.1 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of about 49%. Behind this growth rate, Luxshare Precision has grasped two core technological directions that determine the computing power performance of data centers: copper interconnection and optical interconnection.
In the field of copper interconnection, the company's 224G high - speed cable products have been mass - produced, and the 448G products are in the pre - research stage with several mainstream customers. In the field of the industry's cutting - edge technology CPC (Connector Directly Mounted on the Chip Substrate), it has entered the productization and public verification stage.
In the field of optical interconnection, Luxshare Precision has simultaneously laid out two core directions, NPO and CPO. Its 800G silicon - optical modules have been mass - produced, the 1.6T products are in the customer verification stage, and it has also laid out the subsequent 5 - nanometer products.
▲ Luxshare Technology's 800G OSFP DR8 optical module product. Image source: Luxshare Technology
It is also thanks to these technological breakthroughs that Luxshare Precision, which rose with the help of Apple, is qualified to talk about "flying together" rather than being a "supporting role".
02
Breaking Away from "Apple" Dependence
For a long time, Luxshare Precision has been labeled with "Apple dependence syndrome". Its performance has also continuously strengthened this label. As of 2023, its revenue from Apple still accounted for as high as 75%.
To a large extent, this is also the result of Wang Laichun's active choice and the outstanding feature of Luxshare Precision.
From entering the OEM of AirPods whole - machines in 2017 to entering iPhone assembly in 2020 - every time it advanced deeper into the Apple supply chain, it not only achieved good performance but also improved its capabilities.
From 2017 to 2023, Luxshare Precision's revenue soared from 22.8 billion yuan to 231.9 billion yuan, nearly a ten - fold increase. Along with this, Luxshare Precision's manufacturing capabilities, whether in ODM or OEM, have also undergone a huge qualitative change.
However, an overly high proportion of a single major customer is a "golden handcuff" for enterprise operation. After reaching a certain scale, it is more likely to turn into a risk. And Apple, being at the core of geopolitical games, brings even greater risks.
Long before Oufeiguang was removed from the Apple supply chain in 2021, Wang Laichun saw this hidden danger and put forward the "Three Five - Year Plans": to develop consumer electronics, automotive, communication, industrial, medical and other businesses in an all - around way to diversify business risks.
Now, the communication and AI businesses have enabled Luxshare Precision to successfully enter the supply chain system of another global giant, NVIDIA, besides Apple. Thus, it has also boarded the new train of the AI economy and is sitting in a key position.
The automotive business, which Wang Laichun has placed the greatest hope on, has also entered a stage of explosive growth.
In the first nine months of 2025, Luxshare Precision achieved automotive revenue of 23.7 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 155%. The proportion of automotive revenue in the total revenue increased from 6% in 2022 to 10.7%, making it the fastest - growing segment within the company. In terms of profitability, the gross profit margin of the automotive business reached 15.2%, significantly higher than the 10.5% of the consumer electronics business.
Behind the excellent performance, Luxshare Precision's automotive business layout has taken a more difficult path. While most cross - border players choose to enter from components, Wang Laichun chose to become a global Tier 1 (first - tier supplier).
"What we want to do is to be the 'Luxshare' in the automotive industry - a full - chain supplier that can provide both core components and modular solutions."
The key step was in February 2022 when it spent 10.054 billion yuan to acquire a 19.88% stake in Chery Holdings and became its third - largest shareholder. Wang Laichun's purpose was clear: by binding with Chery, quickly replicate its precision manufacturing capabilities, rapid iteration capabilities, and strong supply - chain management capabilities accumulated in the consumer electronics field to the automotive field.
Since then, Luxshare Precision's automotive business map has expanded rapidly.
In the field of intelligent cockpits, Luxshare Precision and GAC Group jointly established Lisheng Technology and built a R & D and production project for intelligent driving and control systems in Nansha, Guangzhou. Currently, the project has been fully completed and put into production, with an annual output value of about 10 billion yuan;
Image source: Lisheng Automotive Technology
In the field of in - vehicle wireless charging, Luxshare Precision's wireless charging modules have formed a complete technical - ability matrix. It is the manufacturer of the pre - installed 15W wireless charging module for Volkswagen's 2024 models and won the sole bid for Huawei's 80W super - fast - charging wireless in - vehicle charger project in 2024.
In the field of high - voltage connectors, according to Li Jing, the person in charge of Luxshare Precision's automotive business, in 2024, the company has stably supplied high - voltage connectors to leading car manufacturers in batches. It is the only domestic enterprise capable of forward - looking and full - set development of automotive connectors.
The whole set of precision - manufacturing ability system that Luxshare Precision has accumulated in the consumer electronics field: miniaturization, automation, flexibility, and scale has universal value in any field that requires high - precision and high - efficiency manufacturing.
This system is also Wang Laichun's confidence for cross - border development. "Connectors, wiring harnesses, and modules - these underlying capabilities can be used in consumer electronics, in the automotive industry, and also in AI servers," she said.
This is also the fundamental difference between Luxshare Precision and pure OEM factories - it doesn't just "do whatever order it receives" but "does what it is capable of".
Reusing capabilities is its growth logic.
03
Global Layout
In May 2025, the United States announced a new round of tariffs on China, covering multiple fields such as electronics and communication. Within five trading days after the news spread, Luxshare Precision's stock price dropped by nearly 30% in total, and its market value evaporated by more than 100 billion yuan.
This scene is not unfamiliar to Luxshare Precision.
Since the China - US trade friction in 2018, every adjustment of the tariff list and every mention of "risk reduction" in the supply chain have first been reflected in the capital market and then in the business and performance.
But this time, Wang Laichun didn't passively wait for the storm to pass. Instead, she showed the "safe haven" that she had been laying out for years - a quad - polar production - capacity network covering China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Germany.
Since the sudden change in 2018, Wang Laichun, who has achieved business diversification, has been building a "safe haven" for Luxshare Precision to resist similar storms and remain invincible in the wave of global supply - chain reconstruction.
Vietnam is the earliest overseas base that Luxshare Precision laid out. Since setting up a factory in 2016, it has formed production capacities for multiple products such as connectors, wiring harnesses, and wireless charging, with more than 30,000 employees. The labor cost here is only 60% of that in China, and it can take advantage of Vietnam's free - trade agreements with the US and Europe to effectively avoid tariff barriers;
The Mexican base is deeply bound to the North American market. The factory is only 200 kilometers away from Tesla's Texas Gigafactory and can achieve 48 - hour delivery - this almost "zero - time - difference" response speed is the most powerful card to deal with North American geopolitical risks.
If the layout in Vietnam and Mexico is "defensive", then the acquisition of the German century - old wiring - harness giant Leoni for more than 4 billion yuan in 2024 is "offensive".
Leoni's customer list includes top European car manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen, and Daimler. This acquisition enables Luxshare Precision to achieve three things at once: technically, it acquires core capabilities such as high - voltage wiring harnesses; in terms of time, it skips the 3 - 5 - year certification cycle for European car manufacturers; in terms of risk prevention, it serves the European market with "Made in Germany" and completely avoids geopolitical frictions.
"What customers want is not the lowest price but certainty," Wang Laichun said. "When tariffs, logistics, and geopolitics are all changing, whoever can provide the most stable supply will have the initiative."
This is exactly the core value of Luxshare Precision's quad - polar network: China retains R & D and high - end manufacturing, Vietnam undertakes production - capacity transfer, Mexico achieves rapid response in North America, and Germany focuses on high - end European customers. The four support points back up each other, building a defense line against geopolitical storms.
The vertical extension from connectors to whole - machines, the horizontal cross - border from consumer electronics to automotive and AI, and the strategic upgrading from Chinese manufacturing to global layout - Wang Laichun's "trilogy of overcoming challenges" not only has created a precision - manufacturing giant with a market value of hundreds of billions but also outlined a complete path for Chinese manufacturing to move from "scale dividend" to "technology dividend".
Looking back at the three problems that Chinese manufacturing faced at the beginning, Wang Laichun's answers are to define 'intelligent manufacturing' through technological accumulation, to expand boundaries through capability reuse, and to hedge risks through global layout. These answers may not be perfect, but they provide the most real and worthy - of - reference sample for Chinese manufacturing at the new crossroads in the beginning of the 14th Five - Year Plan.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Huashang Taolue" (ID: hstl8888), author: Huashang Taolue. Rep