In 1984, Li Jingwei, director of Sanshui Winery in Sanshui County, Guangdong, obtained a new sports drink formula and launched the "Jianlibao" beverage brand.
Jianlibao became the drink of choice for the Chinese Olympic delegation and was hailed as the "Chinese Magic Water" by the Japanese media.
In 1987, Guangdong Jianlibao Co., Ltd. was established.
Jianlibao became the largest sponsor of the National Games that year and became famous.
In 1991, Jianlibao established a branch in the United States to promote Jianlibao beverages throughout the United States, and spent huge sums of money to purchase an entire floor of the Empire State Building in New York.
In 1994, Jianlibao celebrated its 10th anniversary. Its product sales exceeded 1.8 billion yuan, ranking first in the national beverage and brewing industry.
In 1997, the 38-story Guangzhou Jianlibao Building was completed and the Jianlibao headquarters moved to Guangzhou.
Product sales exceeded the 5 billion yuan mark.
In April, Jianlibao was rated as one of the first batch of "China's Well-known Trademarks" by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
In August, the China Beverage Association released industry data, and Jianlibao ranked first in four categories: output, total output value, sales revenue and tax profits.
In the autumn of 1997, the plan for Jianlibao to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was about to be approved. The Sanshui government refused to approve the management team's purchase of stocks on the grounds that "it does not have a Hong Kong temporary residence permit and is therefore not allowed to purchase original H shares." Li Jingwei was furious.
Next, give up listing.
In 1999, Li Jingwei proposed a plan to implement an employee stock cooperative system within the company. The management would use 450 million yuan of its own funds to buy out the government's shares. The plan was rejected by the government.
In 2001, Jianlibao's operating performance dropped to 3.1 billion yuan, and the profits and taxes paid to the government also dropped from 100 million yuan to about 20 million yuan.
In July, the Sanshui government held a joint meeting on the restructuring of Jianlibao. Ninety percent of the officials attending the meeting advocated selling Jianlibao, but they could not sell it to Li Jingwei's team.
On January 15, 2002, the Sanshui government transferred 75% of Jianlibao's shares to Zhejiang State Investment Corporation for a price of 338 million yuan, and 28-year-old Zhang Hai became the chairman of the group.
In May 2002, Jianlibao's new product "Fifth Season" was officially launched.
In October 2002, the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress dismissed Li Jingwei as a representative of the National People's Congress on suspicion of corruption.
In November 2002, Jianlibao Group acquired Henan Baofeng Liquor Industry.
In December, "Jianlibao Football Club" was established.
In March 2003, Jianlibao Group invested 200 million yuan to launch new products such as Guoqi, A8 and Gobi.
In August 2004, due to poor operating performance, Zhang Hai was removed from the position of chairman and president of Jianlibao Group, and Zhu Weisha was appointed president.
In October 2004, Taiwan Uni-President Group offered US$100 million to acquire Jianlibao, but was unsuccessfully targeted by dealers.
In November 2004, Zhang Hai's team transferred the shares to Li Zhida, but the Sanshui District Government of Foshan City strongly interfered as a minority shareholder, and the transfer was aborted.
On December 7, 2004, the Sanshui District Government of Foshan City came forward to lead the resumption of production of Jianlibao. Li Jingwei treated himself to "double regulations" and appeared in a wheelchair in the auditorium of Jianlibao Group where an all-employee meeting was being held.
In March 2005, Zhang Hai was criminally detained in Guangzhou.
In February 2007, the Foshan Intermediate People's Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison on charges of official embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.
In 2007, Taiwan Uni-President Group took ownership of Jianlibao Trading Company.
On November 2, 2011, Li Jingwei, the former founder of Jianlibao, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Foshan Intermediate People's Court for corruption. At 13:56 on April 22, 2013, Sina Weibo's real name was authenticated as "Secretary of the Li Ning Foundation"
The user "Chang Zhang Jian" posted on Weibo this afternoon that Mr. Li Jingwei, the former chairman and general manager of Guangdong Jianlibao Group Co., Ltd., passed away due to illness in Sanshui District, Foshan City at the age of 74.