CHONGQING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Two decades ago, Zhang Xue was filmed chasing a TV crew's van on a beat-up motorcycle, striving for an opportunity significant to his motorcycle dream.
Two decades later, Zhang Xue became a household name as the motorcycle manufactured by his company, ZXMOTO, secured stunning victories in the World Supersport (WorldSSP) category at the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championship (WSBK) in March.
This relatively obscure Chinese brand, founded in 2024 by Zhang in Chongqing, has made a name for itself on the racetrack. Its rider, Valentin Debise, crossed the finish line with an impressive lead of nearly four seconds. In a sport where victories are typically decided by mere milliseconds, such a margin is exceptionally rare. The following day, the same motorcycle clinched another victory.
It sent shockwaves through the industry and quickly went viral across Chinese social media. With the triumph, Zhang's personal journey from a repair shop apprentice to owner of a 750-million-yuan (approximately 108.8 million U.S. dollars) business became an inspiration to millions of Chinese endeavouring to fulfill their dreams.
The video featuring him chasing the van 20 years ago offers a glimpse into his humble beginning and his burning desire to succeed. It's tempting to call his journey rags-to-riches, but that would do him no justice. Along this journey, he has been driven by a strong passion for motorcycles and racing.
Meanwhile, his legendary growth coincides with the rise of made-in-China products in the global value chain. It showcases the country's growing manufacturing strength, and the significant progress that made-in-China motorcycles have achieved.
STARTING FROM REPAIR SHOP
Born in 1987 in a remote mountain village in Hunan Province, central China, Zhang grew up in modest circumstances. In videos from 20 years ago, he was filmed visiting his grandmother in a mud-brick abode with a leaking roof.
Riding a motorbike for the first time at 14 kick started his lifelong passion. After dropping out of school at 16, Zhang became an apprentice at a motorbike repair shop. Through repetitions day in and day out, he built an intuitive understanding of mechanical systems, not from textbooks, but from hands-on experience.
In 2006, the year when the hit talent show Super Girl on TV was at its peak, inspiring talented youngsters across the country with the dream of stardom, the ambitious Zhang secured his opportunity in his own way.
He repeatedly called a local television crew, begging for a chance to show off his motorcycle stunts. Eventually, they agreed to film him, but were obstructed by a downpour that turned the roads to mud on the day of the shoot.
When the crew prepared to leave for another assignment, Zhang Xue hopped on his motorcycle and chased their van through the rain for more than 100 kilometers. Impressed by his grit, the crew gave him another chance and filmed him performing stunts -- wheelies, riding while lying down, and big air -- not without tumbles and falls. Each time he fell, he got back up. "This little bit of pain? It's nothing," he was filmed as saying.
It worked. Zhang entered the racing world after the segment was aired, working both as a rider and a mechanic. But he soon realized that becoming a top-tier rider was out of reach. So he pivoted. "If I couldn't ride the fastest bike, then I'd build one," he said in an interview with Xinhua.
MADE-IN-CHINA STRENGTH
At the 2026 WSBK Portuguese round, the competing motorcycles are built from production models, meaning the race was not merely a contest of speed but a showcase of manufacturing strength. The victory implies that China is closing the gap in high-performance engineering faster than many had anticipated.
According to Zhang's company, the competing model, ZXMOTO 820RR-RS, equipped with a self-developed 819 cc inline three-cylinder engine, achieves 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 2.81 seconds. Additionally, the frame and electronic controls are 100 percent domestically produced and entirely developed by the company's team.
Zhang described how his engine team consistently urged their suppliers to enhance machining precision. "At first, our suppliers were very reluctant. I convinced them by saying that I would personally cover all the costs incurred from the trials. But if the trials succeeded, everyone would benefit," Zhang recalled, "That gave them the motivation to experiment with me."
Such agility in supply chains should be credited in part to Chongqing, a southwestern metropolis with a robust motorcycle industry. Today, the city is home to more than 40 whole-motorbike manufacturers and over 400 component companies.
In 2013, Zhang moved to the city. The intensive concentration of supply chains enables startups to complete the entire process from R&D prototyping to mass production swiftly, drastically reducing the cost and time of trial and error.
Across the country, China has a vast motorcycle industrial chain, being the world's largest motorcycle producer, with the entire chain valued at nearly 500 billion yuan. Data from the China Chamber of Commerce for Motorcycle shows that in 2025, production and sales reached over 22.1 million units and nearly 21.97 million units, respectively.
After co-founding KOVE MOTO in 2017, Zhang struck out in 2024 and founded ZXMOTO, fixating on high-performance motorcycles and proprietary engine development. According to Zhang, the company's total output value reached 750 million yuan in 2025, with nearly 70 million yuan invested in research and development.
Speaking of the appeal of Zhang's motorcycles -- from the first he himself assembled from scratch back in 2013 to the current models, a Beijing-based motorcycle enthusiast surnamed Jiang said many choose to buy Zhang's motorcycles out of admiration for his can-do spirit, while others are drawn by the cost-effectiveness of his models, which deliver performances comparable to premium brands at a fraction of the price.
When asked in a television interview what sets Chinese motorbikes apart from global brands, Zhang replied, "High efficiency and low costs." "The overall manufacturing capacity rivals that of Europe and Japan. Their strength lies in accumulated experience. We're still catching up and learning through trial and error."
As people applaud his fulfillment of youthful aspirations, his quotes have gone viral. "Failure or success, if you don't go for it when you're young, you'll definitely regret it when you're old," the then 19-year-old Zhang said. ■
