Wang Guangying, Han nationality, was born in Beijing in 1919. His father, Wang Huaiqing, was an industrialist, and one of his sisters, Wang Guangmei, was the widow of the late PRC Chairman Liu Shaoqi. Wang Guangying graduated from the Chemistry Department of Fu Ren University in 1942 and in 1946 was a co-founder of a chemical factory in Tianjin. In the early 1950s, he founded a knitwear enterprise in Tianjin, and subsequently became secretary-general of the Federation of Industry and Commerce in Tianjin and a member of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
In the 1980s, Wang was the vice-mayor of Tianjin in charge of commerce and marketing and later honorary chairman of the Everbright Group and a board member of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation.
Wang subsequently held numerous high level posts in business and national unity associations, and he was a member of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd National People's Congresses and vice-chairman of the 8th and 9th NPC Standing Committees. He was also a member of the 5th CPPCC National Committee and vice-chairman of the 7th CPPCC National Committee.