Business · Companies · 11 hrs ago
Taiwanese entrepreneur in Nanning turns from concrete to AI
Taiwanese businessman Zhou Daixiang has built his career in Nanning, in China’s Guangxi region, after returning there from Canada in 2011.
His family’s concrete company had relied on handwritten records and workers’ experience, so he introduced digital systems to share information across the business.
The company’s output value grew from more than 100 million yuan to nearly 700 million yuan, according to Zhou.
He points to a concrete plant in Hainan where digital and AI upgrades were linked to 30% higher production efficiency and 40% lower labour costs.
Zhou says he is discussing how AI could help concrete businesses manage overdue payments, a persistent problem for the industry.
He sees Guangxi as a link between China and ASEAN markets, and advises Taiwanese entrepreneurs to develop their businesses across China, bring them together in Guangxi and seek customers in ASEAN.
Nanning offers startup support, including a 5,000-yuan reward for eligible young entrepreneurs after a year of operation and government-backed loans; Zhou is exchanging ideas with industry peers about applying AI.
Taiwanese entrepreneur Zhou Daixiang says he is exploring how artificial intelligence can transform the concrete industry in Nanning.
He returned to Nanning in 2011 and pushed to digitise his family’s concrete business.
The company’s output value grew from more than 100 million yuan to nearly 700 million yuan, according to the article.
Zhou shared his experience at the 22nd Gui-Tai Economic and Trade and Cultural Cooperation Forum, held in Nanning from October 19 to 21.
He described Guangxi as a base for Taiwanese entrepreneurs to combine technology and business before seeking markets in ASEAN.
- Who
- Zhou Daixiang, a Taiwanese entrepreneur and chairman of Guangxi Nanning Jiatai Concrete Products Co.
- What
- He is applying digital technology and exploring AI’s potential to change the concrete industry.
- When
- He spoke at a forum held October 19–21, 2026.
- Where
- Nanning, Guangxi, China.
- Why
- He says AI could improve traditional industries and help businesses compete; he also sees Guangxi as a route to ASEAN markets.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Zhou’s father founded Guangxi’s first commercial concrete batching plant in Nanning.
Zhou returned to Nanning from Canada and began pushing for digital changes at the plant.
The 22nd Gui-Tai Economic and Trade and Cultural Cooperation Forum was held in Nanning, where Zhou shared his experience.
- Company
- Guangxi Nanning Jiatai Concrete Products Co.
- Company founded
- Zhou’s father established Guangxi’s first commercial concrete batching plant in Nanning in 1996.
- Zhou’s return
- 2011
- Company output value
- Grew from more than 100 million yuan to nearly 700 million yuan
- Forum
- 22nd Gui-Tai Economic and Trade and Cultural Cooperation Forum, Nanning, October 19–21, 2026
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What people are saying
AI’s transformation of traditional industries is no longer just the icing on the cake; it is reshuffling the field.
There are no sunset industries, only sunset thinking.
Guangxi is not the destination, but the outlet to the sea.
I hope more young Taiwanese friends will not just come to look, but stay and write our shared story on this promising land.