It was founded in 1989 by Sun Guangxin as a privately owned restaurant, nightclub, and recreational sports company, but entered the real estate development business in 1993.

Sun began making extensive connections in government, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and oil and banking industry executives.

He opened a series of entertainment venues in Ürümqi, including the city's first bowling alley, discothèque, karaoke bar, and swimming pool.

[9] During the collapse of the Soviet Union, the company began importing oil drilling equipment from Russia and selling it to state-owned firms in China.

[10] Financing the purchases with unsecured loans from banks and by mortgaging its own assets,[10] Guanghui razed the properties it acquired and began building apartments and office towers on them.

[10] Guanghui constructed Zhong Tian Plaza (at the time of its completion, the tallest building in northwest China) and the Holiday Inn Express Ürümqi Station.

China Grand Automotive also leased passenger cars, provided repair and maintenance services, and allowed its automobiles to be sold on a commission basis by others.

The firm also purchased automotive dealerships in Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Ningxia, and Shandong provinces as well as the city of Chongqing, and began selling Buick, Toyota, and Volkswagen automobiles.

The impetus for the company's move came after the Chinese government decided to build a 4,200 km (2,600 mi) natural gas pipeline from Shanghai to Xinjiang.

Eager to collect taxes from Guanghui Energy, Xinjiang Province delegated deputy governor Airkin Iminbaqee acted as a lobbyist for Sun.

The provincial government also informally pledged security for the scheme and helped negotiate natural gas contracts with customers in cities like Tianjin and Wuhan.

In June 2009, the company received permission from the Chinese and Kazakh governments to build a cross-border pipeline to transmit natural gas from Kazakhstan to China.

[26] This was followed in September 2009 by Guanghui's purchase of a 49 percent stake[26] (worth $40.52 million) in Tarbagatay Munay (TBM), a Kazakh company with oil and gas exploration and development rights in the Zaysan block.

[27] Anticipating approval, however, Guanghui Energy purchased for $200 million a 51 percent stake in the South Imashevsky block in Kazakhstan.

[28] In July 2012, after the Chinese government enacted new policies to encourage private investment in monopoly industries, Guanghui Energy applied for a crude oil import license.

[24] In June 2013, Guanghui signed a nonbinding letter of intent with Royal Dutch Shell to jointly develop an LNG import terminal at the coastal city of Qidong in Jiangsu province.

GH America planned to build a wind farm on 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) near Laughlin Air Force Base, which would supply electricity to the Texas power grid.

[5] Concerns were raised that equipment installed on the solar and wind farms could be used for signals intelligence and electronic warfare on Laughlin Air Force Base.

The legislation prohibits any company owned by China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia, or one of their citizens, from connecting to any critical communications, cyber security, hazardous waste, power, or water treatment facility.

[35][36] In 2016, Guanghui Energy began to build an LNG facility and methanol plant near the city of Hami in eastern Xinjiang.

In December 2015, China Grand Automotive bought a 53.6 percent controlling stake in luxury car dealer Baoxin Auto Group for $1.06 billion.

Baoxin, the country's biggest dealer of BMW cars, was China's leading luxury and ultra-luxury automotive sales group.

[40] A separate agreement with Central Asia Petroleum permitted Guangui Energy to pump the liquid carbon dioxide into exhausted oil pools, where it could be stored permanently.

Study authors said "With rich experience and mature technology, Guanghui Company has become the first choice for CCUS projects in Xinjiang.

[45] Guanghui Energy signed an agreement in July 2018 with China Huadian Corporation, a major electrical utility, to build a new LNG facility near the city of Yueyang in Hunan province.

[48] By 2019, the majority of LNG market share was held by China National Petroleum Corporation (a very large state-owned company) and Guanghui.

[49] China Evergrande Group, the country's largest real estate developer, purchased 23.87 percent of the shares of Guanghui for $1 billion in September 2018.

As part of the deal, the two companies agreed to strategic partnerships in automotive sales, energy, logistics, and real estate.

China Evergrande suffered significant cash flow problems, and sold its 40.96 percent stake in Guanghui Energy in November 2020 for $2.23 billion.