Li Jianyuan, born in October 1966, is Chairman and Party Secretary of Tangshan Sanyou Chemical Co., Ltd. (SSE: 600409), a leading Chinese chemical enterprise. A professor-level senior engineer with a university education, he is a seasoned industry expert and manager who rose through the ranks within the Sanyou Group system.
His career began at Tangshan Alkali Plant, where he successively served as deputy director and director of the heavy alkali workshop and chief dispatcher. He later held key positions at Sanyou Chemical, including head of the production technology department, vice general manager, executive vice general manager, and general manager. He also concurrently served as chairman of Qinghai Wucai Alkali Industry and Sanyou Silicon Industry. In April 2023 he assumed the role of chairman of Sanyou Chemical. At the group level he currently serves as general manager and deputy Party secretary of Sanyou Group, while also holding the chairmanships of Tangshan Sanyou Alkali Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. and Tangshan Sanyou Electronic Chemicals Co., Ltd., and serving as a director of Sanyou Chemical.
Earlier milestones include participation in the company’s shareholding reform and listing preparations, service as vice general manager and board secretary, appointment in 2016 as deputy Party secretary and general manager of Tangshan Sanyou Group while serving as vice chairman of Sanyou Chemical, and election in April 2022 as chairman of the eighth board of directors (relinquishing the general manager role). In June 2026, following the retirement of previous chairman Wang Chunsheng, Li was elected chairman of the ninth board of directors.
Under his leadership, Sanyou Group has advanced the “Three Transitions” strategy—turning toward the ocean, green transformation, and high-quality development—while building the “Three Chains and One Cluster” industrial layout (circular economy industrial chain, chemical new materials industrial chain, alkali-chlorine-silicon industrial chain, and new energy and new materials industrial cluster). He has driven three 10-billion-yuan-level projects: high-end electronic chemicals (addressing import bottlenecks and enabling domestic substitution), sodium-ion batteries (establishing China’s first large-scale production line for battery-grade sodium carbonate and the world’s first industrial sodium-ion energy storage equipment), and comprehensive utilization of concentrated seawater (pioneering internationally leading high-efficiency utilization technology and creating a national demonstration base). These efforts have supported R&D intensity of 5.7 percent, cumulative patent applications of 865, more than 40 high-value-added silicon-based and magnesium-based products, new-product output value exceeding 30 percent, and high-end product output value above 45 percent. Strategic emerging industries are projected to account for over 70 percent of the business after full project commissioning. The company has also pursued expansions such as a 200,000-ton organic silicon project in Caofeidian and maintained cost advantages and cash-flow stability amid industry price volatility through refined management and efficiency measures, while sustaining consistent cash dividends and investor relations.
Li’s public statements consistently emphasize safety, innovation, and high-quality growth. In flood-season safety inspections (July 2026) he stressed that production safety is paramount, calling for rigorous hazard elimination, 24-hour duty systems, strict weather-related shutdown protocols, and adherence to the principle of “people first, life first.” At a capital-matching seminar for strategic emerging projects (June 2026) and in exchanges with Hebei University of Technology and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, he highlighted the Group’s progress in compliance, technological innovation, and industrial layout, underscoring the goal of becoming a demonstrator and leader in marine economy development and the need for deepened bank-enterprise and industry-academia cooperation. At a 2024 provincial news conference on state-owned enterprise technological innovation, he outlined the three pillars of the “Three Transitions” approach: using scientific and technological innovation to drive industrial innovation, technological innovation to lead industry progress, and product innovation to capture high-end markets. In Party education sessions on establishing a correct view of political achievements (May 2026), he urged cadres to raise political awareness, adopt a rigorous study style, integrate learning with practice, serve employees and the grassroots, and convert theoretical gains into concrete results that accelerate transformation, efficiency gains, and technology empowerment.
Through decades of hands-on experience and strategic stewardship, Li Jianyuan has guided Sanyou Chemical and the broader Sanyou Group from a traditional alkali producer toward a technology-driven enterprise focused on marine resources, green development, and high-value materials, positioning it as a key player in China’s chemical and new-energy materials sectors.