Fifteen years ago, the phrase “lack of chips and screens” summarised the absence of core technologies in Chinese manufacturing. As the world’s largest TV market with numerous TV companies, China once was lack of core components. From 2005 to 2014, LCD panels were China’s fourth-largest import after chips, crude oil and iron ore, costing $30 billion to $50 billion annually.
TCL’s founder and chairman Li Dongsheng realised that the technological gap was a critical issue that needed addressing. In 2009, he made the most important decision of his career—establishing China Star Optoelectronics Technology, entering the core upstream semiconductor display sector of the TV industry.
Li revealed that the six years from 2018 to 2023 were the fastest-growing years for R&D expenses in TCL’s 43-year history, with a total R&D investment exceeding 60 billion yuan. TCL’s story illustrates that the transformation of Chinese manufacturing is a result of a systematic improvement in corporate capabilities, where both lean manufacturing and technological advancement are equally important, with the entrepreneurship as the decisive factor.
