Zhou Qunfei, the founder of Chinese manufacturing giant Lens Technology, drew widespread attention online after she was seated betweenElon Muskand Tim Cook during a state banquet hosted by Xi Jinping for Donald Trump in Beijing.
Images from the dinner circulated across X, TikTok and Chinese social media platforms, where some users referred to Zhou as a 'mystery woman' and questioned why she had been given such a prominent seat alongside two of the world's best-known technology executives.
Zhou is the chair of Lens Technology, a major electronics supplier that has worked with companies including Apple and Tesla. Her appearance at the banquet highlighted the close business ties that continue to connect American technology firms with Chinese manufacturers despite ongoing political and trade tensions.
Zhou was born in Hunan province in 1970 and left school at the age of 15 before moving to Shenzhen to work in factories during China's manufacturing expansion.
In 1993, she started a small business producing glass for watches with support from relatives in Shenzhen's Bao'an district. The company later expanded into electronics components before becoming Lens Technology.
At this U.S. visit to China dinner banquet, the most eye-catching figure in the prime center seat between Musk and Cook was Lansi Technology founder Zhou Qunfei—from a rural factory girl to China's richest woman, with absolutely no background to rely on, building everything from…pic.twitter.com/TGmNt0MvUb
Lens secured a major breakthrough in 2007 when it joined Apple's supply chain as a supplier of cover glass for the original iPhone. As iPhone sales grew worldwide, Apple became one of the company's biggest customers.
The success of Lens Technology helped make Zhou one of China's wealthiest self-made entrepreneurs after the company listed on Shenzhen's ChiNext exchange in 2015. Lens later completed a Hong Kong listing in 2025.
The banquet took place on 14 May duringTrump's two-day visit to Chinafocused on trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed Zhou seated between Cook and Musk during the formal dinner attended by senior Chinese officials, American executives and business leaders from major manufacturing and electronics companies.
Source: International Business Times UK
