Previously, the outside world’s summary of joint ventures also applies to Danone and Wahaha.

“Before this, we have always hoped to enter the Chinese market faster through a joint venture.” A person from Danone also admitted frankly to this reporter.

For Wahaha in the 1990s, its thirst for funds, especially technology, was the reason why it was willing to give up its equity.

Before the joint venture in 1995, Zong Qinghou once recorded the gap between domestic and foreign countries in his notebook: The best domestic can sealing machine can only seal 130 cans per minute, while the advanced foreign equipment can seal 130 cans per minute. Sealing more than 1,000 cans; large companies in the United States produce 1,000 tons of cans per day and require about 40 operating workers, while our daily production of 100 tons of cans requires more than 600 people... Wahaha must achieve extraordinary development, consolidate its leading position in the domestic market, and introduce foreign advanced technology Technology and learning from foreign advanced management experience have become top priorities.

Everyone has their own needs and we hit it off immediately. In 1996, Danone and Wahaha Group established five joint ventures, with foreign parties holding 51% of the shares.

Since then, Wahaha has grown rapidly, and Danone has also gained a lot. According to information previously disclosed by Zong Qinghou, Danone received dividends of 3.077 billion yuan in 10 years. At the same time, Danone used Wahaha to gain 23% of China's bottled water market, becoming the largest beverage manufacturer in China.

But beneath the surface prosperity, there are undercurrents. Ten years later, Zong Qinghou and Danone finally turned against each other over the acquisition of non-joint venture companies. In Wahaha's eyes, this joint venture has become a "trap" for multinational companies. The first evidence is that Danone hid its "organs" in the joint venture agreement. After the transfer of the "Wahaha" trademark was rejected, it required Wahaha to use the trademark to produce and sell products, which required Danone's consent or a joint venture with it, causing Wahaha's interests. loss.

“Due to unclear understanding of the meaning of trademarks and brands at that time, Wahaha’s development fell into a trap carefully set by Danone.” Zong Qinghou told the media at the time that he was “distressed”.

Danone said it could not tolerate the huge private wealth empire Zong Qinghou had established outside the joint venture. The breakup was imminent when Danone found himself threatened.

Both parties were unwilling to let go of the increasingly huge Wahaha assets, so a series of legal battles began.

From the confrontation between the two parties to the subsequent legal battle, Wahaha has "opened the eyes" of Danone, a foreign-funded enterprise. The latest news is that on November 27, 2008, the Intermediate People's Court of Suqian City, Jiangsu Province made a first-instance judgment on the case of "Suqian Wahaha Beverage Co., Ltd. and three other companies sued KPMG Huazhen Accounting Firm and its Guangzhou Branch for infringement disputes" , believed that KPMG Huazhen’s act of sending letters with property takeover content was illegal and constituted infringement on Wahaha Company.

A year ago, Danone sued the foreign shareholders of Wahaha's "non-joint venture companies" in the British Virgin Islands and American Samoa - 10 offshore companies registered in the two places, and applied for a court ruling Danone appointed KPMG as the receiver of the offshore company.

In 2008, Wahaha won all “domestic judgments” including trademark ownership and non-competition.