Wanda: Flexing China's Soft Muscle

Wang was born in 1954 in Cangxi County, Sichuan, China. His father served the Chinese military and was a war hero who fought alongside Mao . Influenced by his father, Wang joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the age of 15. He rose through the ranks, going from a soldier stationed on the North China border to a Regiment officer and served the PLA for 17 years. During the 1986 downsizing of the PLA, Wang left the army and joined as an office administrator in Xigang district in Dalian . He soon found his calling in business and in 1988, he managed to turn around a poorly managed ailing real estate business in Dalian. Wang borrowed $80000 to run the business. The year 1988 marked the 10th year of China’s economic reforms and the government approved a plan for the introduction of further economic reforms. That year, the Wanda Group was born and the following year it took over the Beijing street redevelopment program ...