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  • Wang Jianmei: From Humble Beginnings in America to Entrepreneurship, Balancing Business and Cultural Ties to His Hometown.

Wang Jianmei: From Humble Beginnings in America to Entrepreneurship, Balancing Business and Cultural Ties to His Hometown.

Wang Jianmei , originally from Zhejiang, moved to Los Angeles in 1992. He is the president of Best in Nature, a natural pharmaceutical company in the United States. His social roles include Honorary President of the Southern California Chinese American Federation, Honorary President of the US Zhejiang Economic and Trade Cultural Federation, Honorary President of the Wenzhou Overseas Chinese Association, Honorary President of the North America Wenzhou University Alumni Association, Overseas Committee Member of the Wenzhou Overseas Chinese Federation, Standing Committee Representative of the Wenzhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference, Advisory Professor of Wenzhou University, Visiting Professor of Wenzhou Medical University, and he has served multiple terms as Overseas Committee Member of the Zhejiang Provincial Overseas Chinese Federation and the China Overseas Chinese Federation, among other positions.

Wang Jianmei

Hardship in entrepreneurship leads to success

In the African desert, even people from Wenzhou can cultivate cacti. "In 1992, with only 250 yuan in hand, I set foot on American soil for the first time," said Jianmei Wang, who initially accompanied his wife, Pan Pingwei, while she pursued her doctoral studies.
 
For Jianmei Wang, leaving behind a secure job as a lecturer at Heilongjiang University in China to start from scratch in the United States was a tremendous leap. To establish himself, Wang took on a job in a restaurant, washing dishes, peeling shrimp, and cooking noodles every day in the kitchen. A few years later, driven by a refusal to fall behind and a pursuit of excellence, Wang seized an opportunity when a local Chinese media outlet recruited him as a journalist. To facilitate his work, he scrimped and saved to buy a used car.
 
With his new job, Wang worked tirelessly day and night, selling advertisements, conducting interviews, and quickly rising to the top in performance across the entire newspaper. Subsequently, with dozens of academic papers and several monographs, he secured a green card as an outstanding talent immigrant (O-1) in the United States.
 
Meanwhile, Pingwei Pan was studying psychology. During her internship, she encountered numerous advertisements for health products in psychology magazines, sparking her deep interest. Later, while pursuing her doctoral degree, she worked for a listed company in Colorado, USA, which solidified her determination to engage with business elites. She further studied pharmaceutical engineering.
 
 

Seizing the opportunity presented by the emerging health supplements industry in the United States, the entrepreneurial journey of this couple has flourished: they founded Pan-America Health Products Company, engaged in the research and development, manufacturing, and import-export of health supplements. Subsequently, they partnered with others to establish Longsida Group and Fanglong Pharmaceuticals. After several years of effort, they gradually became leaders in the American health supplements industry. Their company in the U.S. boasts extensive factory and office spaces, as well as multiple fully automated production lines.

In 2006, Jianmei Wang and Pingwei Pan established their wholly-owned company, Beijia Natural Pharmaceuticals. They developed and produced over 50 U.S. patented and specialty health supplements, including Bone Essence, Heart Blood Flow, Brain Vitality, Liver Health, Yimei Bao, Mingyan Su, and others. Beijia Natural Pharmaceuticals has the largest health supplement network in North America, with a sales network covering the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and various parts of Asia and China. Moreover, their single plant-based drug ingredient, produced in China and imported to the U.S., currently holds the largest global market share.

Jianmei Wang summarizes the characteristics of Wenzhou people and, by extension, new immigrants from mainland China who start businesses in the U.S.: "Hardworking, good at business, flexible, and trustworthy. Wenzhou people, who dare to be pioneers and take risks, could even grow cacti in the deserts of Africa."

At the same time, Jianmei Wang discussed key aspects of entrepreneurship in the U.S.:

Compliance and Integrity: They have developed dozens of U.S. patented and specialty products that are both unique and effective, consistently adhering to market demands and maintaining an undefeated position in the market. They strictly follow U.S. FDA regulations and GMP standards, ensuring compliance and quality.

Leveraging Resources: They have utilized China's substantial export capacity to continuously explore and produce distinctive, high-tech plant-based drug ingredients, importing them into the U.S. health supplements and food markets. They strictly control the quality of each batch according to U.S. importer requirements, avoiding shortcuts, and striving for long-term success.

Integration of Expertise: They make full use of their specialized knowledge to enhance their entrepreneurial efforts in the U.S. Jianmei Wang, with a background in Chinese literature and a graduate degree in artistic psychology, has leveraged his knowledge and experience in market expansion, copywriting, and core concept development. Pan Pingwei's expertise in Western humanities, social psychology, and pharmaceutical engineering, coupled with his high English proficiency, has made him well-versed in U.S. mainstream marketing strategies, management, and FDA regulations. Their collaboration is highly effective and complementary.

 
 
Serving the Overseas Chinese Community, Concerned for the Homeland
 
The experience of hard work and striving in entrepreneurship has made Jianmei Wang more aware of the importance of giving back to society. Alongside achieving success in his career, Jianmei Wang has actively participated in local overseas Chinese community activities, organizing and engaging in numerous community events.
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Jianmei Wang and his wife Pingwei Pan, together with various community leaders, initiated and actively participated in efforts by the Zhejiang Economic and Cultural Association in the U.S. and the Wenzhou Association of America. They made substantial donations of masks, gloves, protective suits, and other epidemic prevention supplies to overseas Chinese associations, hospitals, universities, and epidemic prevention departments in Wenzhou, Yueqing, Yongjia, Harbin, Daqing, and other locations, as well as to local hospitals, fire departments, women’s prisons, and communities in the U.S. through the Southern California Chinese Association and the Zhejiang Economic and Cultural Association in the U.S.
 
 
In February 1997, under the initiative of Kangsong Ye, Jianmei Wang, and Shechao Li, the Wenzhou Association of America was established, becoming one of the earliest overseas Chinese organizations on the U.S. West Coast. In November 2003, the Zhejiang Economic and Cultural Association of the U.S. was founded, with Jianmei Wang serving as its first president. In April 2005, he participated in the founding of the Southern California Chinese Association and later helped establish the Chinese American Foundation. In August 2012, the North American Wenzhou University Alumni Association was founded, and Jianmei Wang served as its first president.
 
Although living abroad, Jianmei Wang says that his hometown is always close to his heart. He recalls being sent to his grandmother's house in Leqing City’s Chengguan Town, Guangshan Alley No. 2 when he was eight months old due to his parents working elsewhere. His grandmother's home was near the Jinxi River, with clear waters, blue skies, white clouds, and occasionally eagles flying overhead.
 
For many years, Jianmei Wang and his wife have paid close attention to the development of their homeland and hometown, frequently initiating and organizing donation activities for earthquake and snow disaster relief in China. They have also participated in aid activities for impoverished high school students in Chun'an through the Zhejiang Economic and Cultural Association. Jianmei Wang has served as an overseas committee member and vice president of the Youth Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Overseas Chinese Federation. In June 2004, he attended the first training session for middle-aged and young leaders of Chinese communities organized by the State Council Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. He has also participated in National Day celebrations at the Great Hall of the People and served multiple terms as a youth and overseas committee member of the China Overseas Chinese Federation. In April 2014, he became an advisory professor at Wenzhou University and a visiting professor at Wenzhou Medical University.
 
Literature and Photography: An Artistic Life
 
Influenced by both Eastern and Western cultures, Jianmei Wang and his wife have never ceased their pursuit of art and literature, even with their busy professional and social lives. In addition to his extensive literary works, they travel the world, using their cameras to capture the beauty of life. Jianmei Wang has been prolific in writing, with numerous publications. To date, he has published ten works, totaling 2.5 million words, including titles such as *My Life in America with Yao Yao*, *Millionaire Villa* (a novel), *The Los Angeles Girl and Her Entrepreneur Dad*, *The Golden Roof of the Potala Palace*, *Ridge and Peak from Different Angles*, and he has edited *The Pursuit of Dreams: A Passionate Heart*. His works have been published by the China Writers Publishing House, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, and in the U.S.
 
Notably, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, County Supervisor Antonovich, and California Governor Wilson each wrote forewords for Jianmei Wang's book *Dreams Come True: Biographies of Chinese American Celebrities*. They recognized the extraordinary contributions of Chinese immigrants in the U.S., who endured hardships, built railroads, mined for gold, and pioneered various industries. They praised the author for positively representing the Chinese image and establishing a historical record for new Chinese immigrants, acknowledging his significant contributions.
 
 
"From Italy to Russia, from the African savannah to the UK and Norway... as time and space change rapidly, we hope to capture and preserve wonderful moments with our cameras, leaving no regrets." Recording beautiful life through words and images, and conveying the value and meaning of life, is the philosophy of Jianmei Wang and Pingwei Pan.
 
Jianmei Wang believes that photography is a way of life that not only helps overcome illness and strengthen the body but also calms the mind and spirit. He describes it as, "Letting the scenery pass through your eyes and spending time on beautiful things is a poetic and eternal existence."
 
In 2018, Jianmei Wang and Pingwei Pan selected 168 out of 60,000 photographs they had taken and published them in the book *On the Road of Photography — The Light and Shadow World of an American Chinese Couple* through China Photography Publishing House, which received widespread acclaim. Pingwei Pan's photograph *The Kiss of the Phoenix* was selected for the collection of the National Library of Finland. Jianmei Wang's photograph *Towards a Joyful Future* won the Gold Award at the 2015 Shanghai International Lang Jingxian Photography Competition, *Surfing Champion* received the First Prize in Popularity at the Second World Overseas Chinese Photography Network Competition, *Autumn Tints on the Frontier* was selected for the Fifth World Overseas Chinese Photography Exhibition, and *Bee-eater Bee-eater*, *Lotus in the Sky*, and *Unyielding* won Second and Third Prizes at the Third and Fourth San Francisco International Photography Exhibitions. *Misty Light and Fog* was shortlisted in the Hong Kong Chan Fook-leung Photography Art Competition, and *Into the Fairy Tale* won the APAS Gold Award at the 2022 Malaysia Evergreen International Photography Salon Tour, among several other awards.
 
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Pan Pingwei's photograph The Kiss of the Phoenix
 
Wang Jianmei's photograph Towards a Joyful Future
 
Wang Jianmei's photograph Bee-eater Bee-eater
 
Wang Jianmei's photograph Walk Into a Fairy Tale
 
[Data Collection: Chinese American Foundation / Text Editing and Organization: U.S. News Express]