Recently, I found myself thinking again about the investment strategy of Duan Yongping, often referred to as the “Chinese Buffett.” Tracing his life, you can see that his background is unusual—not just that of an investor, but of an entrepreneur who later turned into an investor.

Duan Yongping’s early stage is truly fascinating. In 1988, at the age of 28, he took over a factory on the brink of bankruptcy and, within just a few years, grew its annual output value to the 100 billion yuan scale. After that, he founded BBK and demonstrated his marketing brilliance, winning CCTV’s advertising “top brand” title for two consecutive years. In 1999, he split BBK, giving birth to the two major smartphone brands that later became OPPO and vivo. At age 40, he stepped away from corporate management, moved to the United States, and entered the field of investing. This decision dramatically changed his life.

In 2006, Duan Yongping secured a lunch opportunity with Buffett for more than 620 thousand dollars. As the first Chinese investor to earn this honor, he recommended Apple to Buffett there. It is well known that later Buffett bought a large amount of Apple stock. Duan Yongping himself also awakened to the principles of value investing and began putting them into practice.

His investment record is astonishing. When NetEase’s stock price crashed to $0.8, Duan Yongping put in $2 million. In just a few months, its value surged to more than $100 million, and in the end he achieved a return of 68 times. As for Apple, he has held it on a large scale since 2011, which now accounts for more than 70% of his current U.S.-stock portfolio. He treats Guizhou Moutai almost like a long-term bond, investing nearly the entire amount. He also actively increases holdings during downturns, such as with Tencent and Pinduoduo.

Duan Yongping’s investment philosophy is summarized into 10 points. First, the most important thing is “fish where there are fish.” With Chinese A-shares stagnating for 20 years, his success in U.S. stocks was because he followed this principle. Next is “choose in one year, hold for 10 years.” Citing Buffett’s words, Duan Yongping argues that once you have selected the right companies, you should hold them for the long term.

Duan Yongping emphasizes that investing requires conviction. He runs two accounts: one for value investing, in which he has held Apple for 14 years without ever selling it. The other is a speculation account, but he says its results were limited. Reducing the number of investment decisions is also important—he warns that if you make 20 decisions in a year, you will inevitably make mistakes. His belief is that 20 investment decisions in a lifetime are enough.

What Duan Yongping repeatedly stresses is the principle of “buy where nobody is paying attention, and sell when people are flocking in.” In the case of NetEase, at that time the stock price was 1 yuan, but the cash value per share was 4 yuan. He put in the money with the resolve to buy even if the company were delisted. It is likely that such cold-blooded judgment is what led Duan Yongping to success.

Finally, Duan Yongping says he “believes in fate.” Speculators will remain speculators, but if they become believers in value investing, then they can become different people. Through his lunch with Buffett, he met someone who shared the same beliefs, which greatly changed his later investment life. Duan Yongping’s life can be considered the best textbook showing the importance of sticking to the right philosophy and beliefs.