In the 17th century, China's southeast coastal region was a location with diverse and complicated power, including Ming government troops, merchant-pirate and foreign merchants. The Zheng family, represented by Zheng Zhilong (鄭芝龍), has always reigned as the ruler of this place. Li Kuiqi (李魁奇), who became a pirate from a fisherman, has grown into a force that can stand against Zheng Zhilong and VOC. He also cooperated with other pirates. He used to work with Zheng and was independent on his own afterwards. However, his independent leadership did not last as long as he expected. However, Li still made a historical significance is that he put Zheng Zhilong in danger. He also tried to establish a new order in the Fujian coastal region by helping VOC trade and negotiate with Ming Dynasty. Li Kuiqi tried to compete with Zheng Zhilong by actively utilizing the VOC forces. However, the Fujian Government never allowed VOC to land and trade in China. Negotiations between Li Kuiqi and VOC had difficulties, and bilateral relations also faced a crisis. This made Zheng Zhilong regain the initiative in negotiations with VOC and alliance with VOC to attack Li Kuiqi. In the end, Li Kuiqi failed to fight with the combined fleet and his forces collapsed. This paper examines the formation process of Li Kuiqi’s merchant-pirate, which presents those important events occurred at the coastal area of Fujian in the early 17th century. This study demonstrates how the power shifted in the Fujian coastal region, how Zheng Zhilong became a major power, and why VOC could not trade directly with China.