Sun Guangxin
{{short description|Chinese businessman (born 1962)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{family name hatnote|Sun|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
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| name = Sun Guangxin
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1962}}
| birth_place = Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
| death_date =
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| education =
| alma mater = Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Tianjin University
| occupation = Businessman
| organization = All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce
| known for =
| title = Founder of Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group
| party = Chinese Communist Party
| spouse =
| parents =
| children = 3
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| website =
}}
Sun Guangxin ({{zh|s=孙广信}}; born 1962) is a Chinese businessman.
Early life
Sun was born in 1962 in Xinjiang, China, with his ancestral home in Pingdu, Shandong.{{cite web |title=China Vitae : Biography of Sun Guangxin |url=http://www.chinavitae.com/biography/Sun_Guangxin/bio |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716213113/http://chinavitae.com/biography/Sun_Guangxin/bio |archive-date=16 July 2016 |accessdate=9 September 2016 |publisher=chinavitae.com}} He received a Master of Arts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and an EMBA from Tianjin University.{{cite web|title=Sun Guangxin|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/sun-guangxin/|website=Forbes|accessdate=4 April 2019|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224231227/https://www.forbes.com/profile/sun-guangxin/|url-status=live}} He joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and retired as a captain in 1989.{{Cite news |last=Pomfret |first=John |author-link=John Pomfret (journalist) |date=2002-09-29 |title=Chinese Capitalists Gain New Legitimacy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/09/29/chinese-capitalists-gain-new-legitimacy/1f5d7ee6-2027-4250-8b85-8762effbb9f1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107065126/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/09/29/chinese-capitalists-gain-new-legitimacy/1f5d7ee6-2027-4250-8b85-8762effbb9f1/ |archive-date=November 7, 2023 |access-date=2022-09-25 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |quote=}}
Career
{{Further|Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group}}
In 1989, Sun founded Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group under the name Ürümqi Guanghui Industry and Trade Company. Initially, Sun opened a restaurant that served fresh seafood imported daily from the coast. Historian James A. Millward says that sources vary as to where he got the funds for his business.{{Cite book |last=Millward |first=James A. |author-link=James A. Millward |title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang, Revised and Updated |date=2021 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-20454-5 |pages=331 |jstor=10.7312/mill20454 |oclc=1246672834}} Not only was fresh seafood a novelty in Ürümqi, it was favored by government and business elites. Sun began making extensive connections in government, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and oil and banking industry executives. He opened a series of entertainment venues in Ürümqi, including the city's first bowling alley, discothèque, karaoke bar, and swimming pool. As his business interests grew, Sun employed many former army officers in key positions. During the collapse of the Soviet Union, the company began importing oil and gas drilling equipment from Russia and selling it to state-owned enterprises in China.
In 1993, Sun was investigated for bribery.
Working closely with the state, Sun's company grew into a conglomerate with interests on natural gas, real estate and auto distribution. China Grand Auto, which is controlled by Guanghui Group, became the largest auto dealer in China. According to Sun, "Guanghui functions like a great state-owned enterprise."
= Texas property controversy =
In 2021, Sun's plan to build solar and wind farms on a 140,000-acre ranch in Val Verde County, Texas were stopped when the Texas Legislature passed a law, the Lone Star Infrastructure Act, preventing it from connecting to the grid due to national security concerns.{{Cite news |last=Hyatt |first=John |date=August 9, 2021 |title=Why A Secretive Chinese Billionaire Bought 140,000 Acres Of Land In Texas |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2021/08/09/why-a-secretive-chinese-billionaire-bought-140000-acres-of-land-in-texas/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811224846/https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2021/08/09/why-a-secretive-chinese-billionaire-bought-140000-acres-of-land-in-texas/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|last=Avila|first=Jaie|date=May 27, 2021|title=Texas stops Chinese billionaire from building wind farm|work=WOAI-TV|url=https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/legislature-passes-bill-to-prevent-chinese-billionaire-from-building-wind-farm|access-date=June 15, 2021|archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603004720/https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/legislature-passes-bill-to-prevent-chinese-billionaire-from-building-wind-farm|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Blake |title=China Billionaire Spurs Texas Backlash Over Rural Land Purchases |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/china-billionaire-spurs-texas-backlash-over-rural-land-purchases |access-date=21 February 2023 |work=Bloomberg News |date=21 February 2023 |language=en}} Concerns were raised that equipment installed on the solar and wind farms could be used for signals intelligence and electronic warfare on Laughlin Air Force Base.{{Cite news |last=Detsch |first=Jack |last2=Gramer |first2=Robbie |date=June 25, 2020 |title=Deep in the Heart of Texas, a Chinese Wind Farm Raises Eyebrows |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/25/texas-chinese-wind-farm-national-security-espionage-electrical-grid/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812023940/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/25/texas-chinese-wind-farm-national-security-espionage-electrical-grid/ |url-status=live }} Despite the law, Sun declared his intention to lease the land, held by subsidiaries of Guanghui (GH America Energy and Brazos Highland Properties),{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2022 |title=Secret Acres: Foreign-owned agricultural land inaccurately tracked by government |url=https://www.investigatetv.com/2022/01/24/secret-acres-foreign-owned-agricultural-land-inaccurately-tracked-by-government/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=InvestigateTV |publisher=Gray Television |language=en |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627120423/https://www.investigatetv.com/2022/01/24/secret-acres-foreign-owned-agricultural-land-inaccurately-tracked-by-government/ |url-status=live }} to other companies to build and operate solar panels. Local ranchers sued Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in 2023 to halt the project.{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Kyra |last2=Drane |first2=Amanda |date=May 6, 2023 |title=West Texas ranchers sue ERCOT over wind farm connected to Chinese billionaire |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/west-texas-ranchers-sue-ercot-wind-farm-chinese-18081528.php |access-date=November 5, 2024 |work=Houston Chronicle}} Sun's company filed a lawsuit against ERCOT in 2024 to advance the project.{{Cite news |last=Hyatt |first=John |date=July 9, 2024 |title=Chinese Billionaire Claims Texas Law Is Unconstitutional |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2024/07/09/chinese-billionaire-claims-texas-law-is-unconstitutional/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Peterson |first=Kristina |last2=Fan |first2=Wenxin |last3=Gillum |first3=Jack |date=October 31, 2024 |title=The Election-Year Fight Over What Counts as Chinese-Owned U.S. Farmland |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/chinese-owned-farmland-us-national-security-election-2024-5082faa6 |url-access=subscription |work=The Wall Street Journal}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Guangxin}}
Category:Businesspeople from Xinjiang
Category:Chinese Academy of Social Sciences alumni
Category:Chinese company founders