China’s ‘two sessions’: billionaire tech investor Neil Shen sees drive to ‘Buy China’ at home and abroad

Neil Shen, a billionaire venture capital investor in China’s tech sector who plays a key role bridging Silicon Valley funds and China’s tech start-ups, said he saw a “strong consensus” in the global investment community for “buying China” because the world’s second largest economy could offer stellar returns.

Shen, the founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, told Chinese state television on Sunday he had talked to investors from both inside and outside China and sensed a shared conclusion they would keep investing in the country because of its prospects.

“In China, there is a comprehensive system for starting a business. There is also a huge market, alongside hardworking people. This has left a lasting impression on global investors,” said Shen, who ranked among the world’s best venture capital investors in 2020 in the Forbes Midas List, in Beijing on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and CPPCC.

Shen, 54, who has a master’s degree from Yale University, is a Chinese venture capitalist who has benefited from the money and technology flow between China and the United States. As the head of Sequoia Capital China, Shen has channelled money into China’s most valued tech firms, including Alibaba Group, JD.com, ByteDance and Kuaishou. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.