Wahaha

Zhong dropped out of primary school during the Cultural Revolution and worked in construction, later became a journalist at the Zhejiang Daily, quit in 1988 to move to Hainan where he sold mushrooms, prawns, and turtles, and worked as a sales agent at the Wahaha beverage company before founding his own bottled-water company.

After Danone and Wahaha's 1996 joint venture grew tense, Zong signed then reneged on a December 2006 deal that would have let Danone buy a majority stake in Wahaha's non-joint-venture operations, saying the offer undervalued the business; Danone alleged he wanted a higher price.

The Danone dispute escalated into international arbitration (Stockholm, filed May 9, 2007) and a Los Angeles Superior Court suit against companies controlled by Zong's wife and daughter (filed June 4, 2007), before the two sides agreed on December 21, 2007 to suspend legal action and negotiate.

Entered a joint-venture partnership with Danone in 1996, initially hailed by Forbes as a 'showcase' joint venture.

Following Zong's death on February 25, 2024, his daughter Zong Fuli (Kelly Zong) inherited a 29.4% stake and took over as chairwoman/CEO in 2024, but stepped down in September 2025 amid an escalating dispute over Wahaha brand rights with other shareholders and an inheritance lawsuit from three people claiming to be her half-siblings, who obtained a Hong Kong court freeze on a $1.8 billion HSBC account in August 2025; Xu Simin succeeded her as legal representative, chairwoman, and general manager per corporate filings reported in late November 2025.