From Zhang Xue's "Counterattack" to How to Break Through "The Essence of Poverty"

Source: CITIC Publishing House

On March 28, 2026, in Portimão, Algarve International Circuit, Portugal.

On the track of the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) SSP class, a French rider drove a Zhang Xue motorcycle, the 820RR-RS, crossing the finish line with a huge lead of 3.685 seconds.

In this top-level event, where victories are usually decided by milliseconds, such a gap means absolute domination. The next day, the same bike won again, achieving a “double victory” in the race segment.

This was the first time a Chinese motorcycle brand topped the WSBK podium.

In the past, the long-standing dominance of this event was held by international giants like Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki—companies with decades of technical accumulation. Defeating them was a Chinese team formed less than two years ago, and a man from a mountain village in Hunan with only a junior high school education.

At the moment he crossed the finish line as champion, the 39-year-old man crouched by the track, covering his face, trembling with tears.

He is, Zhang Xue.

A poor boy from a leaky mud house in a mountain village in western Hunan, he spent a full 20 years, and today—stood at the top of the world.

But this is not a simple story of “rising from poverty.” Zhang Xue’s life, fundamentally, is a process of constantly breaking the “poverty mindset trap.”

Every key decision he made along this path sharply contrasted with the internal logic analyzed in the book “The End of Poverty,” which explains why the poor find it so hard to turn their lives around.

Behind this young man who achieved a life reversal, we can’t help but ponder: why can some people succeed, while others cannot?

That rainy night, a boy made an counterintuitive choice

In 1987, Zhang Xue was born in a remote mountain village in Huaihua, Miao Autonomous County, Hunan.

His parents divorced, and he lived with his grandmother and sister in a leaky mud house. Childhood was marked by poverty and loneliness that he couldn’t even fully grasp. Around age 10, he began to live independently with his sister.

At 14, he rode a motorcycle for the first time.

At that moment, he made a decision: “I know, I won’t leave it in my life.”

That year, he dropped out of school, became an apprentice at a repair shop, earning only 300 yuan a month, sleeping in the attic of the repair shop. Before dawn, he would get up to open the shop, disassemble parts, clean, assemble… nails always embedded with black oil, hands with cuts that kept reopening.

A year and a half later, he became a capable motorcycle mechanic, even developing a skill to assemble an engine from parts with his eyes covered.

Thus, his friends nicknamed him “Wild Man”—his obsession with motorcycles was as pure as that of a wild man.

But, Zhang Xue had a bigger dream: to become a professional racer. He saved 8,000 yuan to buy a used Honda VFR400, 20 years old, with many faults.

Yes, it was older than him, full of problems.

But that was the starting point.

In 2006, a turning point appeared.

That year, Hunan TV’s “Evening” program crew came to western Hunan to film. Zhang Xue repeatedly called the crew, claiming he was good at riding and wanted to appear on TV. After countless calls, the crew was overwhelmed and reluctantly agreed to meet him.

On the day of filming, heavy rain fell. The road was muddy, and Zhang Xue performed stunts on his broken motorcycle in the rain, often crashing and covered in mud. The crew shook their heads, ready to pack up and leave.

By all rights, this should have been the end of it.

But Zhang Xue did something nobody expected. He mounted that broken motorcycle, chased the crew’s car in the cold rain, all the way from Huaihua to Mayang, over 100 kilometers, for more than three hours.

In November, the temperature in western Hunan was only about ten degrees Celsius. He wore only two thin shirts, soaked through, lips purple from cold, hands almost unable to grip the handlebars, but he refused to stop.

A reporter asked him: “Is it really so important to be on TV?”

He said: “Getting on TV isn’t important. What matters is having a team that can see me, let me join the team.”

The reporter asked again: “What if no one wants you?”

He tearfully replied: “Whether I fail or succeed, if I don’t try when I’m young, I’ll regret it when I’m old. If I try when I’m young, even if I fail, I won’t regret it when I’m old.”

Fortunately, after that program aired, Zhang Xue was indeed noticed by a racing team.

That rainy night chase was the first moment in his life to break the “poverty mindset trap.” He did something extremely “counterintuitive”: investing all his resources—time, energy, and courage—into an “investment” with no immediate return.

When everyone else thought “forget it,” he chose to push forward.

And the book “The End of Poverty” finds that most poor people, on the contrary, tend to do the opposite.

One striking case in the book: in a remote mountain village in Morocco, the author met a man named Ouchaa Mbacke. He was starving, living in a house without running water, with poor sanitation. But when the author entered his room, he found a TV, a parabolic antenna, and a DVD player.

The author asked: “If your family can’t even eat enough, why buy these things?”

He smiled and replied: “Oh, the TV is more important than food!”

This is not an isolated case. The book also describes Indonesian farmer Pahk, who is often hungry and weak, yet his home is filled with TVs, DVD players, mobile phones, and tea, coffee, and sugar. When asked why he doesn’t first fill his stomach, he said: “I need to find some joy.”

Moreover, the two Nobel laureates in “The End of Poverty” found through extensive field research that: under extreme resource scarcity, poor people tend to prioritize “immediate gratification” over “long-term investment.”

These “hobbies” are not impulsive consumption but ways to cope with dull, monotonous life. But this preference for “immediate gratification” traps them in a “consumption squeeze”—money that should be invested in the future (skills, health, children’s education) is spent on the present.

Zhang Xue’s choice was the opposite of this pattern.

When he only had 300 yuan left, he spent 260 yuan buying things for his grandmother, and all the remaining money was invested in practicing riding. He didn’t spend money on instant pleasures, didn’t buy better clothes, didn’t indulge in entertainment—he poured all his resources into that seemingly distant dream.

He wasn’t without impulses for “instant gratification,” but he was clearer about what he truly wanted.

Behind this, we see that a key to escaping poverty is: restraining the impulse for instant gratification, and spending money and energy on things that can make you better.

When God closes a door, He opens a window

After joining a team, Zhang Xue quickly hit a wall.

As a professional rider, his old injuries gradually surfaced, and his talent was insufficient to reach the top of the sport. Injuries, funding, fierce competition… all obstacles he couldn’t bypass.

His racing dream was shattered.

But he didn’t give up like most people, who either completely abandon after hitting a wall or sink into self-pity. He quickly found another way:

“If I can’t ride the fastest bike, then I’ll build the fastest one.”

This was his second critical decision to break the “thinking trap.”

In 2013, at age 26, Zhang Xue set out again, with only 20k yuan in savings, heading alone to Chongqing, known as the “Motorcycle Capital.”

No connections, no funds, he visited suppliers one by one; lacking money, he borrowed from his wife’s family…

His starting approach was almost primitive: he began modifying bikes, posting on forums to sell them, gradually building a reputation with his excellent skills.

By 2017, Zhang Xue and partners founded Kaiyue Motorcycles.

The first model, 500X, with lightweight design and strong power, quickly gained market share. In the first year, 800 units sold; the second year, 3,000; later, annual sales exceeded 30k units, with revenues reaching billions.

In 2023, he led the Kaiyue team to participate in the Dakar Rally, becoming the first Chinese motorcycle team to finish.

However, just as Kaiyue was thriving, conflicts with investors erupted.

Zhang Xue insisted: the profits must be reinvested into independent R&D—especially engines. He didn’t want to be forever an “assembly plant,” nor to be held back by foreign brands. But investors believed: profit should be used to expand production and pursue quick returns.

In 2024, Zhang Xue made a shocking decision: give up all shares, “walk away with nothing.”

On resignation day, he rode his self-made 450RR, looked at the office building in the light rain, and posted a message: “If I don’t love myself anymore, how can I love others or the world?”

At that time, the industry was pessimistic: “Without Kaiyue, he’s nothing.” “Dreaming of WSBK? Dream on.”

He didn’t argue.

A month later, Zhang Xue registered a new company under his own name, holding over 73% of the shares. He said: “Putting my name on the bike is like betting my life. If I can’t do it well, I’ll shut down for good.”

This is a key to breaking the “poverty trap”: not being bound by short-term gains and losses, daring to give up immediate benefits for long-term goals.

In “The End of Poverty,” it also analyzes a heartbreaking pattern behind poverty:

When faced with setbacks, the poor are more prone to “cognitive burden,” because long-term survival pressures drain their mental resources, leading to self-doubt and loss of motivation to change. They lower standards to increase tolerance, rather than improving their abilities to change their situation.

Zhang Xue’s choice was the opposite. He didn’t lower standards but raised them higher. When “riding the fastest” was impossible, he didn’t say “forget it,” but said “I’ll build the fastest.” When investors wanted quick profits, he refused to compromise, choosing to start over from scratch.

From a shattered racing dream, to transitioning into manufacturing; from being kicked out of his own company to resigning and starting anew—at every crossroads, Zhang Xue made an counterintuitive choice: when a specific dream was crushed by reality, he didn’t stagnate but quickly found a new outlet—building a bike that others could ride to the front.

He turned every “failure” into a stepping stone for the next attack.

Net worth over a hundred million, still using that cracked screen phone

The hardships of entrepreneurship far exceed what outsiders imagine.

In the toughest times, Zhang Xue and his wife couldn’t even afford 20 yuan for dinner. Later, his wife posted their old account books online, recording every penny borrowed from friends and relatives, crossing out each debt once paid off. Over 15 years of marriage, they paid off debts for 11 years.

In 2025, Zhang Xue’s motorcycle company’s total annual output value was 750 million yuan, with R&D investment reaching nearly 70 million yuan. Meanwhile, the company still lost 22.78 million yuan.

This means that even under pressure and survival challenges, Zhang Xue continued pouring significant funds into independent R&D.

His personal life contrasts sharply with his business achievements.

Despite his net worth exceeding a billion, Zhang Xue still uses an old Huawei phone costing just over 2,000 yuan, with a cracked screen. He hosts clients with a regular minivan.

After becoming famous, someone offered him a 13 million yuan extended Rolls-Royce. His response: if someone really gave it to him, he would find a used car dealer nearby to buy it at 20% off, then donate the money to charity, and still use his minivan to host clients.

The only “face” he cares about is whether Chinese motorcycles can win honorably on the world stage.

Beyond that, he is immune to all vanity.

This “frugality” isn’t deliberate self-restraint but a natural reflection of his internal value hierarchy. In his world, only two things are worth everything: his love for motorcycles and his obsession with “building the fastest bike.” Everything else is unimportant.

Indeed, “The End of Poverty” also states that the reason why many poor people find it hard to escape poverty is often not due to lack of ability, but because resource scarcity makes them more prone to short-sighted choices—spending money on “appearances” (like a luxurious wedding) rather than on things that can change their future (fertilizer, education).

The book recounts a poignant case: in India, mothers start saving ten years or more in advance for their daughters’ dowries; in South Africa, a funeral can cost 40% of a family’s annual income. If these funds were invested—buying seeds, attending training, opening a small shop—they could completely change the family’s destiny, but they are swallowed by “rituals” and “face.”

And Zhang Xue, born into poverty, broke free from these ingrained habits. He isn’t short of reasons to spend money—billionaires buy luxury cars, change phones, who would think that’s excessive? But he doesn’t need those things to prove himself.

This is the third key to escaping poverty: distinguish what is truly important from vanity. Invest money and energy in things that can generate long-term value, rather than in meaningless rituals and external validation.

In 2026, after winning the championship, Zhang Xue’s motorcycle sold out completely. The civilian version of the winning model, 820RR, is priced at only 43.5k yuan, about one-third of similar imported bikes. Pre-orders within 100 hours exceeded 5,500 units. In the market, some models’ delivery times are already scheduled for June or July.

Even more surprisingly, after the orders flooded in, Zhang Xue made a decision that drove all sales managers crazy: motorcycles with less than one year of riding experience are prohibited from buying the 820RR.

He said: “I want fewer deaths. I don’t want this 10% sales volume. The company won’t die.”

This move was publicly praised by the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security: “True passion isn’t indulgence; it’s knowing boundaries. Speed can make your blood boil, but only responsibility can make love last longer.”

“One life, one pursuit, go all the way”

“One life, one pursuit, go all the way”—this is not just a slogan but a true reflection of Zhang Xue’s 20-year life.

From being an apprentice at 14 to standing on the WSBK champion podium at 39, Zhang Xue’s life has one theme: motorcycles.

After winning, a reporter asked him the secret of success. He said: “Doing one thing isn’t for the result, but because of love. The result might be different.”

Someone asked how he managed to build such good bikes. He said: “As long as you really like it, really want to do it, and are willing to work hard, how can you not succeed? If you don’t know how, learn; relationships can be built slowly. The key is whether you’re willing to do it.”

He claims he’s not a naturally talented rider, but the key is a “perseverance” spirit—constantly challenging himself, moving toward his goal.

What is the result of this “perseverance”?

The 820RR-RS motorcycle, equipped with a self-developed 819cc three-cylinder engine, has a core component localization rate of over 90%. In the “ultimate test of mass-produced vehicle performance”—the WSBK race—Zhang Xue’s bike defeated Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, giants with decades or even a century of technological accumulation.

From debuting 14th in Australia to winning double crowns in Portugal, only a month apart. The team completed 12 core technical upgrades in 30 days. That’s the power of “perseverance.”

After winning, Zhang Xue said: “In the next five years, we will take over more than 50% of the international big brands’ market share.”

This is not arrogance but the confidence of someone who has spent 20 years from a repair shop to the world’s top, deeply believing in his passion.

Interestingly, in “The End of Poverty,” the two Nobel laureates also posed a thought-provoking question:

Why do poor people, even knowing “fertilizer can increase yield,” often not buy it when they have money? Why do only 25% of farmers in Kenya use fertilizer annually, despite knowing it’s an effective way to escape poverty?

The answer: long-term poverty erodes a person’s “long-term thinking” ability.

When you’re worried about your next meal every day, you don’t have the mental bandwidth to think about “whether to buy fertilizer next year.” Your brain is filled with immediate survival pressures, leaving no room for long-term planning.

This reflects that poverty isn’t just material scarcity but a limitation of mindset. It makes you short-sighted, only seeing the immediate days ahead, unable to envision the next three or five years.

Zhang Xue’s story provides a reverse proof of this pattern. A poor child from a mountain village, if he can maintain “long-term thinking” under extremely scarce conditions—spending money on learning skills, dedicating time to research motivation, focusing on a distant goal—he has a chance to break out of this cycle.

Zhang Xue didn’t get caught in the inertia of poverty but created an “upward acceleration.” This isn’t luck; it’s the victory of “long-term thinking” over “cognitive burden.”

He spent 20 years, step by step, from a repair shop to the top of the world.

Epilogue

Zhang Xue’s story is a story of passion, perseverance, and “how far can one person go.”

But first, it’s a story of “how to escape poverty.”

From a leaky mud house to the winner’s podium, from a repair apprentice earning 300 yuan a month to a startup valued at 1 billion yuan, Zhang Xue’s every step over 20 years answers a question that troubles many:

Why can a poor kid defy the odds and change his destiny?

The answer is written in every detail: the stubbornness of chasing cars on a rainy night at 19; the pragmatism of starting from a repair shop at 20; the daring of carrying only 20k yuan to start from zero in Chongqing at 26; the solitary gamble of giving up everything and carving his name on a bike at 37; and even now, using a cracked-screen phone, refusing luxury temptations—extreme self-discipline.

Behind all this, there is a deeper logic that explains why some people can succeed and others cannot—this logic is written in “The End of Poverty.”

Authored by Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, based on 15 years of field research and numerous randomized controlled trials across five continents, it uses accessible language and vivid cases to analyze the invisible traps—consumption squeeze, cognitive burden, information scarcity, social pressure—that keep countless people stuck in place.

After reading Zhang Xue’s story, you’ll feel inspired. You’ll think: if he can do it, why can’t I?

“The End of Poverty” might just be the “manual” to help you see through those “poverty traps”:

It helps you understand why the poor make seemingly “irrational” choices; why simple financial aid often fails to lift people out of poverty; and how to use scientific methods to step out of the poverty cycle and break that invisible wall.

“The End of Poverty: Why We Can’t Escape Poverty”

Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo / authors

CITIC Publishing Group