Capital Connections | Wang Shaojie: Value Investing Is Not Passive Holding, but Long-termism Built on Active Companionship

Editor's Note

In China's private equity circle, Wang Shaojie is a unique figure who bridges the roles of entrepreneur and investor. He was once an entrepreneur who served as chairman of multiple enterprises; he is an investor who has been deeply engaged in private equity investment for decades; and above all, he is a platform builder who has led the Zhongguancun Private Equity Association (ZVCA) since 2009, turning it into a critical bridge connecting capital and industry.

In this issue of "Capital Connections", we draw on Wang Shaojie's nearly 40 years of experience in financial investment, corporate practice and platform building to examine how he practices the deep core of value investing through his distinctive "companionship-style investment" philosophy.

I. From Entrepreneur to Investor: The Value Foundation of Dual Identities

Wang Shaojie has nearly 40 years of theoretical and practical experience in the financial investment field. He held positions in financial institutions including the People's Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and also served as chairman of a large Beijing-based digital technology company, combining hands-on corporate management experience with a financial investment background. This unique dual perspective of both corporate operations and capital markets has shaped Wang Shaojie's value judgment approach, which differs from traditional investors: he understands not only capital operations but also the joys and hardships of running a business. It is precisely this dual identity that gives him a deeper understanding of how capital can truly serve the real economy.

As the decision-maker and founding executive partner of his investment fund, Wang Shaojie has led investments in numerous high-quality projects spanning information technology, digital entertainment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, demonstrating his sharp judgment in balancing technological innovation and industrial value. Meanwhile, Wang Shaojie has also served as Secretary-General of the Beijing Zhongguancun High-Tech Enterprises Association, Secretary-General of the Beijing Zhongguancun Venture Capital Industry Alliance, and Executive Director of the Financial Services Professional Committee of the Beijing Zhongguancun Enterprise Credit Promotion Association. He has built extensive and profound networks and project resources across government, finance, listed companies, high-tech enterprises and thousands of domestic and international investment institutions. These platform roles have enabled him to promote the deep integration of capital and industry at a broader ecosystem level.

II. Platform Building: Elevating Value Investing from Individual Practice to Ecosystem Consensus

In 2009, Wang Shaojie co-founded the Zhongguancun Private Equity Association with the Zhongguancun Administrative Committee and domestic and international investment institutions, and has served as its president ever since. At that time, China's private equity industry was in a period of rapid growth. Under Wang Shaojie's leadership, the association has taken root in Zhongguancun and expanded globally. As of 2025, it has built a resource pool of over 10,000 enterprises in Zhongguancun, with more than 1,000 institutional members and thousands of individual members whose combined assets under management exceed 4 trillion yuan. Wang Shaojie's positioning of the association goes beyond that of a traditional industry association. In his view, the association is not only an information exchange platform for members but also an ecological community that builds trust and collaborative cooperation.

In July 2023, at the Beijing Forum on Development Cooperation for Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDC), Wang Shaojie clearly stated in his speech: "The modern economy is built on mutual trust and collaborative cooperation among all parties." He proposed that the association is willing to work with people of insight from all walks of life to build a platform for private listed companies that enables "timely policy communication, equal information exchange and collaborative business development". This "platform thinking" is highly consistent with the core of value investing. Value investing is not a zero-sum game but a process of promoting sustained corporate value growth through long-term companionship, ultimately achieving a win-win situation for capital and industry. The association ecosystem built by Wang Shaojie elevates this individual practice into a systematic value co-construction network—by bringing together capital, industry, professional services and other forces, it allows "good companies" to be discovered, empowered and recognized within the ecosystem.

Under his leadership, the association has promoted a series of international cooperation initiatives. In 2024, overseas cooperation accelerated, with the association organizing member units to negotiate cooperation details with the Gewan Investment Group of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai Expo City, helping Chinese enterprises go global. In January 2025, Wang Shaojie led the association to visit member unit Shenzhen Venture Capital Group, stating that the association will continue to inject new momentum into member units in terms of innovation, industry and capital, promoting cooperation and development among all members.

III. Practicing Value Investing: From "Discovering Value" to "Active Companionship"

Wang Shaojie's investment practice has always been permeated with the philosophy of "accompanying enterprise growth". The investment fund he founded focuses on investing in enterprises with core technological barriers and long-term growth potential. The enterprises he invests in receive not only long-term patient capital support but also continuous injection of industrial resources.

In 2015, Wang Shaojie made a forceful statement at an industry forum: "From now on, whether you like it or not, you must pay attention to private equity investment. This is a matter of whether your wealth will shrink or not. You could buy a house in the past decade, but in the next decade, you must focus on private equity investment. Because a new era centered on equity has arrived. Private equity investment is our true new frontier of wealth. Those who pay attention to it and participate in it..." These words were not only a judgment on market trends but also a dissemination of the value investing philosophy—against the backdrop of the gradual failure of traditional asset allocation methods, only by deeply participating in the growth of excellent enterprises through equity investment can long-term wealth preservation and appreciation be achieved.

IV. Long-termism: Wang Shaojie's Value Investment Methodology

1. Devote Time to Corporate Growth, Not Short-term Speculation

In his nearly 40 years of investment practice, Wang Shaojie has always emphasized the "long-term companionship" attribute of investment. The brand events he founded, such as the "Innovation and Capital Forum from an International Perspective", are precisely designed to promote the deep integration of innovation and capital. These events are not short-term resource matching meetings but platforms that continuously build long-term dialogue between capital and industry.

2. Replace Transactional Thinking with Industrial Thinking

Wang Shaojie's investment decisions are often based on a deep understanding of the industry. He has served as a member of the investment decision-making committees of several large state-owned enterprises, and his investment logic emphasizes comprehensive judgment of a company's business model, technological barriers and management team, rather than relying solely on financial indicators or market hotspots. This "industrial thinking" is the core embodiment of value investing in the private equity field—the value of a good company ultimately comes from its irreplaceable position in the industrial chain.

3. Replace Passive Holding with Platform Empowerment

Unlike the "buy-and-hold" approach of traditional value investors, Wang Shaojie's practice places greater emphasis on "active companionship"—continuously importing resources, connecting markets and optimizing governance for invested enterprises through the association platform. This in-depth empowerment model allows capital not only to "discover value" but also to "participate in value creation", which is an upgraded interpretation of value investing in the digital economy era.

V. Current Outlook: The New Coordinates of Value Investing

Since 2025, Wang Shaojie has led the association to continuously deepen cooperation with institutions such as the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center and the New Energy Chamber of Commerce of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. In January 2025, the association was invited to attend the "Beijing Municipal Administrative Center High-Quality Industrial Development Conference". Wang Shaojie attended the "Inauguration Ceremony of the Global Partner Alliance of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center" and clearly stated that the association will continue to support the high-quality industrial development of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center. On the innovation front, Wang Shaojie emphasized that the association will import technical resources and industrial capital for enterprises; on the industrial front, he promotes the integration of traditional enterprises with technological innovation; on the capital front, he actively expands cross-border capital cooperation to help Chinese enterprises enter broader global markets. This systematic layout in three dimensions is the practical implementation of the "full-cycle management" concept of value investing.

VI. Conclusion: Value Investing Is a Friend of Time, and Even More a Partner of Enterprises

Wang Shaojie once defined the essence of investment as follows: "Investment is a competition of foresight—those who see far, see accurately, dare to take concentrated positions and can persist will succeed." This sentence is not only a summary of his nearly 40-year investment career but also a precise refinement of the core of value investing.

From entrepreneur to investor, from investor to platform builder of the Zhongguancun Private Equity Association, from the "Global Innovation and Capital Forum" to international overseas cooperation—Wang Shaojie has spent nearly 40 years writing a unique sample of value investing practice: True value investing is not passive holding and waiting for value reversion, but active companionship and in-depth empowerment, making capital a long-term partner on the road of enterprise growth. As he said at the EMDC Development Cooperation Beijing Forum: "The modern economy is built on mutual trust and collaborative cooperation among all parties." This trust comes from the shared commitment to value; this collaboration comes from the shared respect for time.

This article is compiled from Wang Shaojie's public speeches over the years, public information from investment institutions and reports from multiple authoritative media outlets.