"China is pushing forward with revolutionising the supply side, forcing unhealthy companies and those companies that produce poor quality products to take corrective action or go out of business" says Dong Mingzhu, the leader of the US$22 billion air-conditioning giant, Gree Electric Appliances, inc.

Since becoming the head of the company in 2012, the price of the company's stock has more than doubled. 

What are the beliefs and values that give meaning to your business modus operandi?

Gree is a manufacturing company. For a manufacturing company, any kind of business model is designed with products at its core. It is only by producing high quality products for consumers that a company can maintain continuous success in business. At present, many companies emphasise innovation and advertising rather than products. In my opinion, they are running after the less important things. No matter how smart your advertisement is, it is the product that consumers are going to use and experience. If your product gives a bad user experience, different from what is said in the advertisement, then your company is not an honest company. A dishonest company will be driven out of the market sooner or later.
In recent years, Gree has used the slogan "Made in China, Loved by the World" and at all times, makes its products by insisting on the "Artisan Spirit" and "Innovation Spirit". We hope that, with our independently developed core technologies and premium quality, people around the world will benefit from Chinese manufacturing and then love products made in China. Gree is now not only an air conditioning enterprise but also a diversified enterprise. Our dream is to build the world's best products and benefit consumers all over the world. For us, this is a grand dream and also a relentless pursuit.

You will visit Slovenia for the 61. EOQ Congress, sharing a plenary session titled "Guarantee of Quality is the Social Responsibility for an Enterprise". What has Gree gained from implementing quality standards?

In the past, Chinese manufacturing was stereotyped as "low quality and low price" but today we have basically removed this stereotype. Our products are gaining more and more recognition globally. This is inseparable from our strict requirements on quality control since the beginning.
In recent years, China has pushed to revolutionise the supply side. In my view, the revolution of the supply side is a kind of forcing mechanism, forcing unhealthy companies and those companies that produce poor quality products to take corrective action or go out of business, meaning that only healthy and quality companies will survive and maintain sustainable development. This has also encouraged more and more Chinese companies to understand their social responsibility and the fact that a company should not just be seeking profit.
Recently, the concept of the "Artisan Spirit" has often been discussed in public. What is Artisan Spirit? I think it is the spirit of pursuing perfection and implementing the highest standards for our products at every stage of the production process.

Some of the quality standards that Gree has implemented have already become the industrial and national standard. Can you highlight the impact?

In order to guarantee product quality, Gree established the Material Inspection Factory from its foundation and which is unique in the industry. This factory conducts strict inspections on every component and will not allow any inferior components to continue along the production line. We are promoting the "Zero Defect" project in product design, manufacturing, purchasing and other production processes, which has greatly lowered the after-sales reworking rate of air conditioners. In the process of product design, we have set up a complete supervision system, implemented a comprehensive strategy of refined products, imported and encourage the excellent performance management mode. In addition, Gree has a complete system of enterprise standards management which currently includes more than 10,000 items, most of these standards have surpassed national and international standards.

Where do you see the main economic opportunities for China and the CEE countries from the Belt and Road initiative?

China, as the world's second largest economy and the biggest developing country, has made a significant contribution to global economic growth in recent years. During the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative, related countries will also enjoy the benefits of economic growth.
Gree, as a leading enterprise in the global air conditioning industry and a representative enterprise of Chinese manufacturing, has been actively promoting international strategies in recent years. We have set up production facilities successively in Brazil and Pakistan, etc. This has not only helped Gree in the implementation of its international strategy but also contributed to the development of local economic growth. We believe, as the Belt and Road initiative gradually advances, China and related countries, and Chinese enterprises and local enterprises, will together enjoy the benefits of development, gain more development opportunities and be the driving power of economic growth on the basis of deep cooperation and complementary advantages.