Businesses that want to succeed in China need to have the nerve to enter the country earlier rather than later, according to a partner at Sequoia Capital China, Xing Liu.

Speaking Wednesday at CNBC’s East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou in China, the investor said that Western companies have historically been too bearish about doing business in the world’s now second largest economy.

“I think Western companies need to be more daring to come to the China market,” Liu told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa. “If you are not a meaningful player in the China market, you will not be a global leader down the road.”