I. The Beginning
In 1989, Chairman Xue Xirong read 《The Secrets Behind the Rise of Japan’s Kyotou Company》 and was deeply impressed by the prospects of specialty ceramics, which sparked his initial desire to start a business and marked the beginning of his enduring connection with Kazuo Inamori.
In 1992, to ensure a steady supply of ceramic parts for his clients, he took out a personal loan of 400,000 yuan with their support and, combined with a 380,000 yuan investment from the mine, established a factory with a total capital of 780,000 yuan.
In 1993, due to technical shortcomings, the factory went into liquidation, leaving a debt of 1.57 million yuan. While his partners expressed a willingness to assume the debt and continue operations, the clients said, “ ‘I only trust you, Xue Xirong.’” Faced with the massive debt,
Faced with the massive debt, Chairman Xue Xirong once despaired so deeply that he attempted suicide, but while underwater, he had an epiphany: “If I’m not even afraid of death, what else is there to fear?” In October 1993, Chairman Xue Xirong resolutely took over the factory and voluntarily assumed all the debt, marking the beginning of his arduous entrepreneurial journey.
