"More important is that the Nepalese company worked as a seed for the market. That seed will sprout and soon branches will be visible," said Wang. "Going global may be hard. But the hardest thing was to convince my colleagues who could not speak English and feared to go abroad."
But Wang did not worry after 2011 when China's feed market saw surplus. China's overall annual output reached the peak of 200 million tons, according to research of Industrial Securities.
"Going global and extending industrial chain become a reasonable choice for those ambitious and fledgling companies," said Chen Jiao, chief agricultural analyst at Industrial Securities.
What's more, the Belt and Road initiative worked as a springboard for the Chinese companies seeking to expand into international markets. After the initiative was launched, Chinese companies won the trust and respect from local partners in various markets outside China, said Wang.
In 2014, Wellhope finally went public. Jin determined to go full steam ahead to realize his dream of making Wellhope a global leader.
But that was easier said than done. The past few years saw the tide turning against the international operations of Chinese private and State-owned enterprises. Only those helmed by a captain with both foresight and a qualified crew succeeded to weather the storm.
Jin is one such captain. He received a PhD from Shenyang Agriculture University. That's extraordinary because agriculture was and remains the last choice as a career option for most Chinese, given the hard work required and low returns.
Few educated people choose the feed industry as their field of endeavor even though it was opened up to private and international business in the early 1980s.
"I take part in all overseas negotiations because the ability to communicate in a foreign language is vital in any overseas negotiation. It helps me find a potential opportunity, qualified local partners and judge the investment environment," said Jin. "And I believe this is the key for the success of our international business."
Besides Jin, six out of seven founding members of Wellhope hold doctorate degrees, effectively making it more of a technology company than one engaged in agriculture.
Ten years after starting up, Jin chose to cooperate with De Heus, Holland's largest feed company, which helped improve company's technical level and also enhanced its international way of thinking and operating.
Zhang Xin, vice-president and human resources manager of Wellhope, said the company now hires only those who are versed in the English language. It also provides weekly English classes and administers an annual English language proficiency test to its staff.
"After 30 years of development, Chinese feed companies have built up advantage in terms of technology, capital, talent and management. It is time for them to set sail," said Chen.
For the coming year, Wang said his new mission is to make leading companies in various local markets outside China Wellhope's partners.
"The emerging markets look like nuts with a hard shell. But if you have a handy nut-cracker, you can enjoy the delicious kernel.
