(Yicai) May 28 -- Wang Shi, the founder and honorary chairman of struggling property developer China Vanke who retired eights year ago, said he is attempting to link with the firm's new management team to help with achieving a smooth transition after a significant executive turnover.

Wang, 74, still represents Vanke in the eyes of the public as its founder, he said on WeChat yesterday, adding that he feels responsible to continue protecting the rights and interests of investors, partners, and employees.

Wang established Vanke in 1984 and led its development into China's largest developer. However, the firm faced a hostile takeover attempt by Baoneng Investment Group in 2015, prompting him to link arms with state-owned Shenzhen Metro Group to mount a counterattack.

Shenzhen Metro acted as a "white knight" and bought around 29 percent of Vanke's shares in 2017, becoming its biggest shareholder. In the same year, Wang announced his resignation as chairman and appointed general manager Yu Liang as his successor. Wang remained as honorary chairman but did not participate in the company's operational decisions.

Vanke faced a liquidity crisis last year with the Chinese real estate market continuing to decline, logging a new loss of CNY49.5 billion (USD6.9 billion). In January, the company said that Shenzhen Metro Chairman Xin Jie would step in as chairman while Yu would retain as a director and executive vice president.

In addition, Vanke President and Chief Executive Zhu Jiusheng resigned from all his positions due to health reasons, with the president post still vacant.

Shenzhen Metro has provided four shareholder loans worth CNY12 billion (USD1.7 billion) to Vanke this year to alleviate its liquidity pressures. The firm owns around 27 percent of the builder's shares.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev