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  • July 2021 (Revised January 2022)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

K.C. Li: The Tungsten King

By: Geoffrey Jones and Casey Verkamp
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

This case examines the business career of Kuo-Ching Li, who was born in China in 1892, and built a successful minerals trading business called Wah Chang in the United States during the interwar years. He acquired a prominent role in tungsten, the strongest natural metal on earth, and during World War II he played a major role in securing supplies of the strategic mineral from China and Latin America for the United States war effort. The case is set against the background of the era of the Chinese Exclusion Acts between 1882 and 1943 which largely curtailed Chinese immigration to the United States and denied ethnic Chinese citizenship. It explores how Li was able to build his brokerage business in such a setting on the basis of contacts in both China and the United States. It ends with the Communist Revolution in China in 1949 which appeared to threaten his dual identity.

Keywords

Immigration Acts; China; Racial Bias; Globalization; Government and Politics; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; China; United States; Latin America

Citation

Jones, Geoffrey, and Casey Verkamp. "K.C. Li: The Tungsten King." Harvard Business School Case 322-024, July 2021. (Revised January 2022.)
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About The Author

Geoffrey G. Jones

General Management
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Related Work

    • February 2022
    • Faculty Research

    K.C. Li: The Tungsten King

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Sabine Pitteloud
    • July 2021 (Revised January 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    K.C. Li: The Tungsten King

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Casey Verkamp
Related Work
  • K.C. Li: The Tungsten King By: Geoffrey Jones and Sabine Pitteloud
  • K.C. Li: The Tungsten King By: Geoffrey Jones and Casey Verkamp
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