How Dong Mingzhu, China’s manufacturing ‘iron lady’, is maintaining her cool in the AI era

Dong Mingzhu chairs Gree Electric Appliances, a home-appliance giant based in southern China’s Guangdong province. Having worked her way up from a frontline sales job, she is one of China’s best-known figures in manufacturing. As a deputy to the National People’s Congress, she has long advocated for manufacturing innovation, higher incomes and greener consumption.

In this interview, conducted when she was named an inaugural “Cool Leader” at an assembly of the UN Environment Programme’s Cool Coalition in Singapore, Dong discusses Chinese companies’ overseas expansion, how automation transforms manufacturing and her management philosophy.

This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here.