Li Dongsheng's over 40-year business career: what truly sets him apart are these three things

Author: Zheng Feng

Source: Zhenghe Island (ID: zhenghedao)

As the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and a critical moment for humanity’s transition from industrial civilization to digital intelligent civilization, this year’s Two Sessions are particularly significant and highly watched.

One obvious feature is that delegates and members are discussing topics related to new productive forces such as artificial intelligence, future industries, and intelligent manufacturing at a higher level of enthusiasm. Behind this is everyone’s expectation and hope for industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as high-quality economic development.

Another point worth mentioning is that among the business representatives at this year’s Two Sessions, we see a familiar face again—TCL Founder and Chairman Li Dongsheng.

Having served as a National People’s Congress delegate for 24 consecutive years, Li Dongsheng spoke on topics such as financing for advanced manufacturing, “anti-involution” in the photovoltaic industry, and expanding domestic demand this year. It is truly felt that this industry veteran, who has persisted in real economy for decades, continues to advocate for the development and progress of China’s industry.

In our view, Li Dongsheng’s proposals are certainly worth industry attention and focus. Why? Because they reflect his entrepreneurial spirit in the real world, containing sharp analysis and judgment of industry trends and directions. Judging from his entrepreneurial spirit over the past 40+ years and the growth and evolution of TCL, his analysis and judgment are very likely correct.

A company is a mirror of its entrepreneur; the kind of person an entrepreneur is, the kind of company it will grow into.

Since its founding in 1981, TCL has grown from a small local factory producing magnetic tapes to two industrial groups—TCL Industrial and TCL Technology—spanning three major industries: smart terminals, semiconductor displays, and new energy photovoltaics. The evolution of TCL is closely related to Li Dongsheng’s personal traits, and it can even be said that the entrepreneurial spirit embodied in him has almost directly shaped TCL’s current form.

So, what is Li Dongsheng’s entrepreneurial spirit? Based on TCL’s industry story, we can summarize it with three keywords: Innovation, Courage, and Vision.

Let’s examine each in detail.

Innovation is not just icing on the cake; it is a matter of life and death

First, let’s look at innovation.

Honestly, when mentioning innovation, some may find it somewhat dull—after all, it’s not a new word or a flashy concept, and it can even be considered a cliché.

But if you take a moment to review the understandings and insights of various business thinkers on innovation, you’ll find that this is a word that cannot be overemphasized.

For example, Schumpeter, the pioneer of “innovation theory,” directly defined entrepreneurship as innovation. He said: “An entrepreneur is not a role or a status, but a state of innovation. A general manager may not be an entrepreneur, a chairman may not be an entrepreneur, but only when they are engaged in innovation are they truly entrepreneurs.”

Ning Gaoning, former Chairman of Sinochem, also straightforwardly stated: “The responsibility of our enterprise and the spirit of entrepreneurs is innovation. Without innovation, we are nothing.”

From Li Dongsheng’s perspective, this spirit of innovation is also clearly evident in him. He has explicitly stated: “Manufacturing cannot rely solely on cost efficiency; it must move towards technological innovation, reach global leading levels, establish technological barriers, and only then can talent find it difficult to surpass you, allowing you to survive in the ‘competition’.”

This statement has been deeply engraved in TCL’s decades-long industrial journey. Overall, innovation is undoubtedly TCL’s most distinctive trait.

Looking further back, over 20 years ago, after TCL suffered a setback due to the acquisition of Thomson’s color TV business, TCL did not hesitate or stagnate. Instead, it actively shifted from CRT (cathode-ray tube) to LCD (liquid crystal display).

First, TCL established the TCL Industrial Research Institute to strengthen upstream and core technology R&D. Then, despite the risk of bankruptcy, it launched TCL Huaxing, entering the upstream semiconductor display panel industry, breaking China’s “chip shortage and screen scarcity” dilemma.

In recent years, TCL Huaxing has also shined in the fiercely competitive OLED display technology. Notably, the printed OLED achieved mass production first globally, marking China’s first “leading” achievement in this field.

From the technological iteration trend of the display industry, OLED is recognized as the next-generation technology due to its superior picture quality, form factor, and energy efficiency, becoming the absolute mainstay of the current display industry. UBI Research, a Korean market research firm, recently reported that OLED display shipments will reach 3.2 million units in 2025, a 64% increase over 1.95 million units in 2024, with this year’s growth expected to stay above 50%.

To seize this new wave of technology, six years ago TCL Huaxing invested 30 billion yen strategically in Japan’s JOLED to accelerate the industrialization of inkjet-printed OLED technology and products. Last October, TCL Huaxing invested nearly 30 billion yuan to build the world’s first large-scale 8.6-generation printed OLED production line in Guangzhou, becoming the fourth panel manufacturer worldwide to start construction of an 8.6-generation OLED line after Samsung, BOE, and Visionox.

TCL Huaxing T8 project groundbreaking ceremony

Today, TCL Huaxing’s printed OLED not only achieved mass production but also formed a full-size printed OLED product ecosystem matrix, covering large, medium, and small sizes, and holds over a thousand core patents in printed OLED technology. It has successfully integrated materials, equipment, processes, and manufacturing into a complete industry chain, transforming from “follower” to “partial leader.”

It is worth noting that in choosing the OLED technology route, many years ago, companies like Samsung and LG adopted the mature evaporation technology and maintained market dominance through technological monopoly. Printed OLED, however, is a less-traveled path. Previously, almost all companies involved in printing processes withdrew midway because the technology was too difficult.

Specifically, printed OLED works similarly to an inkjet printer, but instead of ink, it sprays OLED materials dissolved in solvents. The production process is extremely demanding: 1 milliliter of liquid must be divided into 1 billion droplets, working at a rate of 40,000 drops per second, with each droplet requiring precise control, and ensuring uniform spreading and drying.

Therefore, choosing the printing process means TCL Huaxing entered a “no man’s land” of technology, crossing a “river” with no stones to grasp, and must be prepared to bear significant risks.

Objectively, without Li Dongsheng’s innovative spirit and determination to lead with core technology, this endeavor would be very difficult to realize. Judging by TCL Huaxing’s achievements today, they are undoubtedly the fruits of Li Dongsheng’s innovative spirit.

Courage is most evident in the toughest moments

We often say that entrepreneurs at the forefront of organizations are like generals on the battlefield, possessing leadership qualities—bold courage, decisiveness, and execution ability. If a leader lacks these qualities, they cannot command a group composed of many members. These qualities can collectively be called courage.

Over the years, Li Dongsheng’s style of action clearly demonstrates that extraordinary courage is another prominent trait of his. This is also evident in several key development milestones of TCL.

Looking back to 2004–2006, it was a harsh winter for TCL.

In 2004, the acquisition of Thomson’s color TV business, which was written into business school textbooks, caused TCL to lose 1.8 billion yuan in just 18 months. In 2005 and 2006, the losses continued, and soon the “ST” label was slapped on TCL. Media reports indicated that during that period, Li Dongsheng often couldn’t sleep at night, lost 20 jin (10 kg), and his waistline shrank nearly 3 inches, under immense pressure.

What was his choice? To continue maintaining the traditional business with no clear prospects, or to resolutely “slim down,” reduce costs, and accumulate strength in dormancy? Today, it is clear that Li Dongsheng chose the latter.

In 2006, TCL announced the restructuring of its multimedia European business, closing six sales companies in Europe, and later sold electrical and building businesses. The cash inflow turned TCL profitable in 2007. This “bold amputation” was later called “Chinese-style hibernation”—cutting off the bad limbs to survive the winter.

Undoubtedly, without the courage for self-revolution, decisive action, and the will to rebirth like an eagle pecking its feathers, it would have been nearly impossible to cut off profitable but unpromising businesses amid huge losses. Making such counterintuitive decisions requires a certain level of courage.

As he wrote in “The Rebirth of the Eagle”: “The eagle’s story tells us: in the lifecycle of a company, sometimes we must make difficult decisions to start a new process. We must completely abandon old, bad habits and traditions, possibly giving up some past successes that now hinder our progress, so we can fly again.”

Furthermore, in 2009, shortly after recovering from losses, to break the awkward situation of China’s display industry doing “the heaviest work for the least money,” he established TCL Huaxing. The first production line invested over 200 billion yuan, filling the gap in high-generation display panels in China and positioning China in the global display industry.

The earlier mentioned printed OLED is also an example. In an interview, Li Dongsheng admitted that choosing printed OLED was as risky as launching the first LCD line in 2009. Because it is a different path, requiring strong innovation and continuous exploration costs.

Indeed, choosing printed OLED means fighting alone in a “no man’s land,” with unknowns, risks, and potential failure. Industry insiders have long said: “Printed OLED is not mature enough, and yield is hard to control.”

As with previous decisions, Li Dongsheng once again faced difficulties and made a clearly counterintuitive decision—investing another billion yuan to build the world’s first large-scale 8.6-generation printed OLED production line, leading the industry into a new stage of technological innovation and industrial synergy.

Today, TCL Huaxing has accumulated over a thousand printed OLED patents and successfully applied them to mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and other full-size products, further reducing China’s reliance on imports of mid-to-high-end OLED panels.

Undoubtedly, whether it was the “bold amputation” in the harsh winter, the breakout after the downturn, or pioneering in the “no man’s land,” Li Dongsheng’s figure has always been present behind TCL’s rebirth and cycle crossing. His courage acts as a ballast stone, stabilizing the ship’s course.

TCL Huaxing display panel factory

Vision is about daring to invest in the future

Drucker, the “father of modern management,” left an important insight in his book “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”—even when facing similar or identical innovation opportunities, people’s ability to seize them varies. Only those with true entrepreneurial spirit—who have both down-to-earth drive and strategic vision—can truly grasp innovation opportunities.

From this perspective, if Li Dongsheng’s innovation spirit and courage are the practical side, then his proven accurate predictions of industry trends are undoubtedly the best proof of his willingness to invest in the future.

Take TCL’s long-standing globalization strategy as an example. Starting from its first overseas venture in Vietnam in 1999, its business now spans over 160 countries and regions, building a comprehensive global industrial and supply chain system, and is regarded as a model of Chinese enterprise globalization. The key behind this is Li Dongsheng’s precise judgment of globalization trends.

Years ago, Li Dongsheng keenly realized that relying solely on product trade exports to promote internationalization was increasingly limited. During the 2022 Two Sessions, he shared his approach: “First, adjust overseas industrial layout to effectively avoid trade barriers. Second, deepen local presence and improve local management. Third, continuously increase R&D investment and establish a global R&D system to enhance core technological capabilities.”

He further proposed “shifting from exporting products to co-building industrial capacity locally” and the latest concept in globalization 3.0—“improving the localization of global industrial and supply chains,” leading TCL’s globalization strategy.

In recent years, the concept of Glocalization has gained recognition among Chinese outbound companies. Looking back, this aligns with Li Dongsheng’s long-standing emphasis on local operation and strategic foresight.

Moreover, in addressing industrial transformation challenges, Li Dongsheng once emphasized: “Transformation and upgrading of manufacturing are the only way forward. Companies that stay in their comfort zones for too long will find it hard to grow strong.” Over the past decade, TCL has evolved from a traditional consumer electronics manufacturer into a large high-tech industrial group with TCL Industrial and TCL Technology, focusing on smart terminals, semiconductor displays, and new energy photovoltaics—becoming a typical example of China’s manufacturing transformation and global expansion.

Therefore, Li Dongsheng’s proposal at this year’s Two Sessions to strengthen financing support for advanced manufacturing is also highly thought-provoking for the industry. His suggestions are surely motivated by reasons.

Looking at China’s manufacturing characteristics, long-standing issues include large loan demands, long borrowing cycles, and difficulty matching short-term loans with production and receivables cycles. Advanced manufacturing is especially characterized by long R&D cycles and large capital investments, making medium- and long-term sustainable funding support crucial for their development.

Our neighbor South Korea’s experience is worth reflecting on.

Today, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Doosan Group, POSCO, and other Korean industrial giants are world-renowned. But in the 1960s, Korea’s industry was extremely underdeveloped, even lacking basic raw materials and heavily dependent on others.

To fundamentally change this backward situation, Korea mobilized the entire nation to develop steel, shipbuilding, automotive, and other basic industries. The government provided preferential policies and actively offered loan guarantees to help companies overcome financial difficulties. Over the following decades, the “Han River Miracle” was born.

Now, as China aims to develop advanced manufacturing and promote high-end manufacturing, China’s industrial transformation is at a critical juncture. Providing strong capital support to advanced manufacturing enterprises is equally essential.

In this context, Li Dongsheng’s advice is timely and another reflection of his strategic vision.

Conclusion

Overall, TCL’s industry journey spanning nearly half a century is a vivid reflection of Li Dongsheng’s continuous refinement and elevation of entrepreneurial spirit.

In this era of rapid change and emerging concepts, it becomes clearer that: those entrepreneurs who can truly cross cycles and withstand pain are not driven by quick reactions to trends, but by rooted industry resilience; not by singing in good times, but by persevering in adversity.

Li Dongsheng’s more than forty years in industry once again prove a simple truth—entrepreneurial spirit is a long-term embrace of uncertainty and unwavering commitment to “difficult but right” things.

We wish TCL continued success and salute all Chinese entrepreneurs like Li Dongsheng, who dedicate their lives to relentless innovation, bold decision-making, and future planning—these are the names that will be remembered on China’s path from big to strong, from catching up to leading.