From the "Six Little Dragons" to Zhang Xue's Motorcycle, Why Can Zhejiang Always Get a Share of the Pie?

Recently, the entire internet has been flooded with news of Zhang Xue Motorcycle's championship.

This is the first historical championship for a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer in the world's top - level competitions. It has broken the decades - long monopoly of international giants such as Ducati and Yamaha. When the news spread back to China, the stock prices of Hongchang Technology and Hongquan Technology, which indirectly hold shares in Zhang Xue Motorcycle, soared, and the terminal sales market also quickly "exploded with orders".

Just two months before the championship, Zhejiang Venture Capital, with the background of Zhejiang state - owned assets, just completed the leading investment of 90 million yuan in the Series A round of Zhang Xue Motorcycle. After the investment, the valuation was 1.09 billion yuan.

From Yushu Technology to Qiangnao Technology, from Leapmotor to Zhang Xue Motorcycle, a phenomenon has repeatedly occurred: Zhejiang can always become a key participant in the enterprises at the forefront of the trend. Is this just luck, or is there a replicable underlying logic?

(Image source: Zhang Xue Motorcycle official website) 

01 The industrial foundation built by "hidden champions" rather than vehicle manufacturers

After Zhang Xue Motorcycle won the championship, Cheng Junhua, the general manager of Zhejiang Venture Capital, repeatedly mentioned a term in an interview - "telling the story of Zhejiang". The protagonist of this story is not a single vehicle manufacturer, but an industrial network woven by more than 7,000 motorcycle enterprises.

Zhejiang is not a traditional "motorcycle capital", but it has the most dense parts supply network in the global motorcycle supply chain. In Ruian, Wenzhou, this "Capital of China's Automobile and Motorcycle Parts" has undergone nearly six decades of industrial precipitation. It has more than 6,000 automobile and motorcycle parts enterprises, with more than 5,000 types of products and an annual output value of nearly 100 billion yuan.

In 2025, there were 462 above - scale automobile parts enterprises in Ruian City, with an annual output value of 53.81 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 16.4%. The industrial investment reached 7.816 billion yuan. In Tangxia Town, Ruian, the total industrial output value of above - scale industries reached 51.23 billion yuan in 2025, breaking through the 50 - billion - yuan mark for the first time.

In Yuhuan, Taizhou, more than 4,000 enterprises cover 37 major categories and more than 6,000 types of parts, with an annual output value of more than 50 billion yuan, accounting for 11% of the national market. Zhejiang Zhaoxiang Vehicle Industry monopolizes 40% to 50% of the global motorcycle modification parts market. As the leading area of the motorcycle industry in the province, Taizhou has gathered 3,134 motorcycle enterprises, accounting for nearly half of the province.

Qianjiang Motorcycle is based in Wenling and has the largest engine base in Asia. Jinlang Technology, as the main domestic supplier of scooter engines, supplies engines for half of the scooters in the country. In Tongxiang, Chunfeng Power's Jike invested 3.5 billion yuan to build a factory. After full production, it can produce 3 million motorcycles, electric vehicles and core components annually, with an expected annual output value of more than 10 billion yuan.

These data point to a fact: Zhejiang's motorcycle industry is not supported by one or two vehicle manufacturers, but is an industrial cluster formed by thousands of "hidden champion" enterprises. In 2025, Wenling City promoted 37 key technology research projects for the automobile and motorcycle parts industrial cluster, and the average R & D cycle of enterprises was shortened by 15%. Wenling, in cooperation with the Guiyang Center, effectively resolved the overseas trademark co - existence dispute of Qianjiang Motorcycle, which was selected as a typical case of rapid intellectual property rights protection in the country. This means that Zhejiang's industrial chain is transitioning from "supporting ability" to "technical standard ability".

In the vehicle manufacturing sector, Zhejiang has two motorcycle enterprises with revenues of more than 5 billion yuan, Qianjiang Motorcycle (with a revenue of nearly 10 billion yuan in the first half of 2025) and Chunfeng Power. The two giants account for 42% of the domestic large - displacement market. In the upstream technology sector, enterprises such as Hengbo Co., Ltd. (the drafter of the national standard for air filters) and Juyuan Electronics have entered the supply chain systems of global leading automobile enterprises such as Tesla and BYD, with technical standards in line with global first - tier levels.

This vertical integration ability of "upstream technology spill - over + mid - stream brand leadership + downstream parts support" has formed full - chain control from "a single screw" to "a large - displacement motorcycle".

However, every coin has two sides.

Zhejiang's motorcycle industrial chain is highly developed in the parts sector, but relatively weak in the independent vehicle brand sector. Except for Chunfeng Power and Qianjiang Motorcycle, there is a lack of a third pole with global influence. In other words, Zhejiang has the world's top "parts ability", but has long lacked a leading vehicle exporter to transform it into "brand premium".

This is where the significance of Zhang Xue Motorcycle lies: It provides a rare sample for the leap from a parts cluster to a high - end vehicle brand. 90% of the core parts of Zhang Xue Motorcycle come from the domestic supporting system, and key parts such as engines and frames are independently produced or locally supported. This just shows that a strong local parts base is a prerequisite for the birth of high - end vehicle brands - and Zhejiang has such a base.

The value of an industrial cluster lies in cost and efficiency, but what really determines whether an enterprise can "stand out" is often another variable: capital. 

02 Don't chase the trend, use the "sniper thinking" to bet on long - term value

If the industrial chain is the "hardware" of Zhejiang, then capital is the "software". The difference between the two is that hardware can be migrated, while software forms the real moat.

Zhejiang Venture Capital, the leading investor in the Series A financing of Zhang Xue Motorcycle, is a provincial - level state - owned venture capital institution established for more than 25 years. When it decided to invest, Zhang Xue Motorcycle was still in a strategic loss state - it lost 22.78 million yuan in 2025, its products had not been verified by the large - scale market, and the founder Zhang Xue left his first entrepreneurial project "empty - handed". In the eyes of most market - oriented capital, this was a high - risk target.

The investment logic of Zhejiang Venture Capital precisely reflects its "sniper" style. It is reported that Zhang Xue Motorcycle invested 69.58 million yuan in R & D in 2025, accounting for 9.33% of the total output value. The growth rate of the entire high - end market for large - displacement motorcycles above 250cc is over 40%, and the potential for going global is huge.

In addition to the analysis of the industry fundamentals, Zhejiang Venture Capital conducted in - depth due diligence for three or four months - from the focus of on - site management, the rigor of document specifications to the real situation of supply chain collaboration, cross - verifying one by one. Cheng Junhua, the general manager of Zhejiang Venture Capital, called this investment style "sniper - style investment": "Don't rely on luck to cast a wide net, but aim with a clear logic", using in - depth knowledge to improve the certainty of investment.

"Sufficient due diligence supported my judgment of him. I think his value will definitely exceed 1 billion yuan in the future." Cheng Junhua said. In January 2026, Zhejiang Venture Capital completed the leading investment in the Series A round through two funds, Hangzhou Zhechuang Baige and Jinhua Zhechuang Jinyi Zhikong, with a total investment of 90 million yuan, holding a total of about 8.26% of the shares and pushing the valuation to 1.09 billion yuan.

After leading the Series A investment, Zhejiang Venture Capital did not put forward a requirement for reinvestment. Cheng Junhua clearly stated on many occasions: "I really want to attract him to Zhejiang, but I won't force it. All we can do is tell the story of Zhejiang and let him come here voluntarily."

This kind of "restraint" is not common in the investment circle. In his words: "The best post - investment service is not to disturb." He calculated a longer - term account: If Zhang Xue Motorcycle can drive the upgrading of Zhejiang's automobile and motorcycle parts industrial chain and form a high - end motorcycle industrial cluster in Zhejiang, the return on this investment will be far more than just the financial figures.

However, "not disturbing" does not mean not intervening. Real empowerment occurs when the enterprise needs it. This is precisely a key feature of Zhejiang's capital: It is not hot money chasing the trend, but "accompanying - type" capital with patience and an understanding of the industry.

At the institutional level, Zhejiang's layout of "patient capital" far exceeds the scope of a single project. In July 2025, the "Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Government on Promoting the High - quality Development of Government - invested Funds" was officially implemented, clearly dividing government - invested funds into two major categories: industrial investment funds and venture capital funds.

Venture capital funds focus on the construction of the "315" scientific and technological innovation system, focusing on future industrial fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and humanoid robots, emphasizing "investing early, investing in small projects, investing in the long - term, and investing in hard technology", and the duration is extended to 20 years.

At the same time, a new mechanism for evaluating the entire life cycle of the fund is established, tolerating normal investment risks - this means that the evaluation of state - owned institutions is no longer based on the short - term return of a single project, but on the long - term value of the entire portfolio.

In November 2025, the Runmiao Fund directly invested by the Hangzhou Municipal Government was officially launched, with an initial scale of 2 billion yuan and a duration of 20 years. It focuses on technology - based start - up enterprises established for no more than 5 years and with a valuation of less than 100 million yuan, setting a record for government - led early - stage science and technology innovation funds in China.

Meanwhile, the scale of the fourth - phase Zhejiang Science and Technology Innovation Mother Fund is 2 billion yuan, and the fund duration reaches 15 years. The Zhejiang Future Industry Fund plans to extend the duration to 20 years. In October 2025, Zhejiang also took the lead in establishing a social security science and technology innovation fund with a scale of 50 billion yuan.

The core logic of this institutional design is to make capital dare to "accompany" hard technology, rather than chasing short - term "quick - in and quick - out" returns. Zhejiang Venture Capital's 90 - million - yuan investment in Zhang Xue Motorcycle is a specific practice of this logic - when everyone was still waiting and watching, it captured the value of an "atypical" target through systematic layout rather than luck.

This account is not calculated based on short - term return rates, but on the long - term value of industrial upgrading. However, capital and enterprises alone are not enough. To make this system run efficiently, a key lubricant is also needed.

03 Don't create "bonsai", use institutional design to pave the long - term track

Between enterprises and capital, there needs to be an institutional environment that can reduce transaction costs and improve collaborative efficiency. In this regard, Zhejiang's approach can be summarized in four words: paving the way in advance.

Zhang Xue was very direct in his evaluation of Zhejiang in an interview: "The efficiency in all aspects of Zhejiang is very high." He recalled the details of cooperating with Zhejiang Venture Capital: "We talked for about three months, which was quite fast. I think the efficiency in all aspects of Zhejiang is very high." After receiving 90 million yuan in funds, Zhang Xue said, "I have relatively sufficient funds, so I will be bolder and sleep more soundly."

This "efficiency" is not achieved overnight, but is the result of a whole set of institutional design. At the project implementation level, "starting construction immediately after getting the land" has become a normal operation in many cities and counties.

The Qianwan New Area in Ningbo implemented the reform of "starting construction immediately after getting the land", pre - examining all the links that originally needed to be approved in series in an all - round way. The time from getting the land to starting construction for enterprises was significantly shortened. Since 2025, 17 out of 21 newly introduced land - supply projects in the Qianwan New Area have achieved "starting construction immediately after getting the land", accounting for 80.9%. The approval time was compressed by more than 80%, and the average cycle from getting the land to starting construction for new land - supply projects was shortened to less than 15 days. Yiwu went a step further and successfully achieved "getting the land, getting the license, and starting construction on the same day", with an average speed - up of 60 days compared with the traditional series - approval mode, setting a new speed for industrial project approval services.

The underlying support for this approval efficiency is the continuous optimization of Zhejiang's business environment. In May 2025, Zhejiang issued 18 measures to optimize the business environment, covering multiple dimensions such as market access, fair competition, intellectual property protection, and financial services. Longwan District implemented the mode of "assigning a code in advance before the land is auctioned and simultaneously reviewing the construction drawings during the planning publicity period" for each land - taking enterprise, which has helped 14 construction projects achieve "starting construction immediately after getting the land". Dongyang City has issued implementation plans for the business environment for four consecutive years, established a rapid handling mechanism of "responding to enterprises' calls", and achieved a 24 - hour response to enterprises' demands.

At the industrial planning level, Zhejiang is systematically promoting the "415X" advanced manufacturing cluster strategy, and industrial investment funds are focusing on increasing investment in major strategic projects around this strategy. In 2025, the "4 + 1" special funds added 263 investment - decision projects, with a cumulative investment of 19.5 billion yuan, leveraging more than 580 billion yuan of social capital. In the case of the new factory of Chunfeng Power's Jike, it only took 5 months from the first contact to the signing and then to the start of construction, creating the "Tongxiang speed" for the implementation of high - quality major industrial projects.

The role of the government is far more than just improving approval efficiency. At the market environment level, Zhejiang is paving a broader road for industrial upgrading. In 2025, the export volume of Chinese motorcycles reached 13.3657 million units, a year - on - year increase of 21.33%; the export value was 8.85 billion US dollars, a year - on - year increase of 26.78%. The continuous out - performance of the value growth rate over the quantity growth rate means that Chinese motorcycles are selling at a higher value.

In the large - displacement field, the export unit price of domestic large - displacement motorcycles above 250cc has been continuously rising. The unit price of motorcycles exported to Europe has reached 1,485 US dollars per unit, far higher than that in the African and Latin American markets. Zhejiang Venture Capital saw this structural growth opportunity - the growth rate of the high - end market for large - displacement motorcycles above 250cc is over 40%, and the potential for going global is far from being released.

Zhang Xue Motorcycle's championship happened to coincide with this industrial upgrading node. After the championship, the pre - orders for the two main models of Zhang Xue Motorcycle started on