Chapter 273 You've Got the Wrong Competitor: Negotiation

As the sun rose high in the sky from the east, the clock tower sounded twelve chimes from afar.

After a room full of chain smokers took the opportunity of urinating to sneak out and quickly smoke several cigarettes, Secretary Fang finally made a decision: "Let's eat first."

It was only then that Wang Xiao realized her stomach was growling with hunger.

She was in a rush to attend a meeting in the morning, so she only had a bowl of white fungus and red date soup and a tofu skin bun at the delicious buffet at Jinning Hotel.

Now, it's all gone.

If she's like this, then Ivanov must be even more so. He was truly impressed by these Chinese people; they didn't even offer a tea break during the meeting, just sitting there from beginning to end.

What's the point of just serving tea? The more I drink, the hungrier I get.

So once he entered the government canteen, he didn't care about his manners at all and just started eating.

Anyway, when it comes to food, the Chinese treat all foreigners like a grandmother doting on her grandson—oops! That's the gist of it. The faster and more delicious this old Russian eats, the happier they are.

Wang Xiao also ate a quick and easy meal; she was a key figure at the conference table.

Director Sun held back for a while, but finally couldn't resist and came over to talk to Wang Xiao with his food tray: "What you said sounds nice, but you also have to consider the pressure on the provincial government. The national policy on land acquisition is already tightening. What about your promises of tax revenue to train engineers and transfer technology? What if those plans don't come to fruition?"

Wang Xiao swallowed the small piece of crispy pork in his mouth and smiled, "How about this, we change the way we do the betting, and confirm the land rights in installments. Pudong is currently using this model, financing with land and attracting investment with land."

"The first phase covers 30 acres, with infrastructure meeting standards and zero land price."

"The second phase covers 70 mu of land, with a yield rate of 60%, and payment will be made at 30% of the benchmark land price."

"The third phase covers 50 mu of land, with a yield rate of 75%, and payment will be made at 50% of the benchmark land price."

"If our panel product yield rate does not reach 75% within three years, we will fail in our bet. The government will repurchase the land with the land price we have already paid and the land with confirmed ownership, and the unconfirmed land will be taken back without compensation. All the infrastructure assets we invested in in the early stage will belong to the government."

A deputy director next to him interjected: "President Wang, your calculations are far too shrewd. In the end, you win, you save 30 million yuan in land transfer fees; we win, but we don't actually get a penny and have wasted three years of our time."

“Yes.” Wang Xiao gently stirred the soup in the bowl, then tapped the spoon against the porcelain bowl, making a soft, crisp sound. “I lost. Three years wasted. 300 million yuan was thrown into the Yangtze River and not a sound was heard.”

The deputy director was caught off guard and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Director Sun laughed: "President Wang has taken the game from Jiangdong to the Dnieper River."

The moment he said that, the director of the Electronics Industry Bureau showed his true colors.

Why? Because he was familiar with the layout of the Soviet Union's electronics industry and knew that this 2.0 version of the LCD screen project would rely on the Soviet Union's past achievements, which required recruiting scientists from the Dnieper River system. From Kyiv, Ukraine to St. Petersburg, Russia, that was the key to his recruitment efforts.

How can it be considered that the chessboard has been placed on the Dnieper River?

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water."

Secretary Fang brought over the soup and shook his head, saying, "Why are we talking about work again? Eat, eat, and get some rest after you finish eating. Look at you, did you stay up late again last night?"

Wang Xiao smiled and thanked Tang, then shook his head regretfully: "I can't stay up all night. Moscow time is only five hours behind Beijing time. Even if I wanted to stay up all night, people over there need to sleep too."

"So if the time difference is big enough, you really will stay up all night?" Secretary Fang shook his head. "No, no, don't take advantage of your youth and think your body can handle it. If you damage your body, you'll suffer a great loss later."

Wang Xiao sighed, "There's no other way, we can't afford to waste any more time, we have to race against time now."

She attended this meeting today and truly realized that there are naive officials everywhere, slow-paced and lacking any sense of urgency.

Secretary Fang handed her a tissue: "Have a rest after you finish eating. Mr. Shi Ze also looks very tired."

Of course.

No worker in the world hopes their boss will make them work overtime, because that only means they'll have to work even longer hours.

How did Ishizawa know about the 2.0 version of the LCD screen manufacturing plan? Of course, it's because he was a participant in its development. Otherwise, how could he expect two laymen like himself to understand the role Japanese technology could play in this plan?

Wang Xiao smiled and agreed: "Of course, I'm also afraid of scaring Mr. Shi Ze away."

The businessmen who were attending the meeting can now go back to their hotel to sleep.

The miserable officials who didn't get to sleep on the first day of the Lunar New Year still had to go back to the meeting room to work after dinner.

Moreover, even more people were called back from their own homes, their fathers-in-law's homes, or their parents' homes by a single phone call.

Don't be fooled by the fact that 150 acres of land may not seem like much; it seems unlikely that the Jiangdong Provincial Government would be so stingy.

In fact, the key point is not the mere 150 acres of land, but setting a model.

The top official of your provincial government spearheaded a high-tech project and waived the land transfer fee.

So, can the heads of governments at all levels follow suit and copy this model?

If that happens, we're doomed. There's too much room for rent-seeking in this situation.

Especially for high-tech companies, the higher the level, the more shrouded in mystery they become.

Intangible assets, such as patents, account for a significant proportion of its total assets.

Outsiders, including regulatory authorities, find it difficult to determine whether it is genuine or embellished.

The situation is similar on the production lines.

For example, the infamous Toshiba machine tool scandal of the 1980s.

To circumvent COCOM restrictions, Toshiba exported the TDP-70 two-axis CNC boring and milling machine, and then exported the NC-2000 CNC system through Norway. After arriving in the Soviet Union, Japanese technicians modified and compiled it to adapt it to nine-axis five-linkage machine tools.

What does this show? It shows that apart from the most knowledgeable experts, even technical officials don't understand the difference between this centralized equipment and system.

In this situation, if I use a low-end, cheap production line to impersonate a high-end product and present myself as something impressive, how sharp-eyed would your government's regulatory departments have to be to see through my deception?

This is why the high-tech companies that Shanghai Pudong has attracted, and those that dare to implement phased property rights confirmation, are all internationally renowned large enterprises.

It's not that they're blindly worshipping foreign things or looking down on others; it's just that doing this is the best way to prevent being deceived.

During the meeting, the heads of various departments said all sorts of things, and the speeches never stopped.

The clock tower outside chimed once an hour, and even after it chimed four times, the debate still hadn't reached a conclusion.

However, when Secretary Fang's secretary left the meeting room and returned, he whispered to the leader, "Secretary Sun from Xiaozhou has arrived at the Jinning Hotel."

Secretary Fang didn't react at first: "Is he here in Jiangdong on personal or official business?"

If it's official business, then anything that could make the top official of Jiangbei Province travel to a neighboring province must be quite significant.

But she hadn't heard any rumors beforehand, had she?

If it's a private matter, that's unlikely. During the Lunar New Year, the Jinning Hotel has very few guests. It's improbable that a government official would stay in a hotel for personal reasons; that would be incredibly inconsiderate.

The office director, who was sitting nearby, suddenly changed his expression and exclaimed, "Oh no! He's here to steal it!"

He immediately stood up and shouted, "Quick, quick, call them and stop Boss Wang!"

Then he hurriedly explained to the leader, "Xiaozhou didn't have an international trade city originally. It was this Sun Chengbin who was the vice mayor at the time. He insisted on going from Xiaozhou to Wang Xiao, dragged him over, and built a trade city."

As he ran, he cursed, "This guy is a dog! He's a municipal party secretary now, and he can't even do this kind of thing during the Chinese New Year!"

Secretary Fang was startled and immediately followed him out.

Fortunately, in the 1990s, female officials within the system were not required to wear high heels; otherwise, walking so fast would have been practically running, and she might have twisted her ankle.

Secretary Fang ran back to his office, panting, picked up the phone and dialed the number for Jinning Grand Hotel. His first question was, "President Wang, how did your talk with Secretary Sun go?"

Wang Xiao, on the other end of the phone, sounded relaxed and cheerful: "We've almost finished talking. It's mainly because Secretary Sun was so enthusiastic. You see, it's the concern of a leading cadre, especially during the New Year. It would be really inappropriate for me to refuse."

Secretary Fang almost couldn't catch his breath.

She was barely containing her anger: "I understand your anxiety, we all understand. But, is it really necessary to be this anxious? Our provincial leadership team in Jiangdong didn't even take a break during the Spring Festival for this LCD screen factory, and they're still discussing policy implementation in the meeting room. How could you just switch allegiances without a word?"

She's absolutely furious right now.

It's truly impressive that Mr. Wang, at such a young age, has built such a large business empire.

But even with such arrogance, she won't go far!

Since the reform and opening up, there have been many talented business leaders, but also a steady stream of them ending up in prison. Which of these troubled individuals didn't become arrogant and lose sight of their place?

Wang Xiao was baffled: "Change allegiance? What do you mean, change allegiance?"

"LCD screen manufacturers, we've been following up with them since last year!"

Wang Xiao quickly explained, "It's a misunderstanding, Secretary, you've got a huge misunderstanding. It's no secret that I'm going to set up an LCD screen factory in Jinning. Even if Secretary Sun really wants to attract investment, he wouldn't go so far as to take this project."

Secretary Fang was a little stunned: "What is that?"

“Hey, a chip factory.” Wang Xiao said casually, “I originally planned to do it in Pudong, since I acquired land there. But today, Secretary Sun came to see me and brought it up. He said that land in Pudong has a much greater appreciation potential, and the price has increased several times over. It’s a bit of a waste to do a chip factory there. It would be better to do it in Xiaozhou, where there’s land available. I thought about it, and he’s right. What Secretary Sun said makes a lot of sense.”

Secretary Fang is so angry he could spit out a mouthful of blood right now.

When it comes to developing chips, Jinning definitely has a greater advantage than Xiaozhou!

Why?

Jinning is one of the birthplaces of China's electronics industry. In the 1950s, it established an electron tube factory, and by the 1990s, it had formed an industrial cluster of "two machines and one instrument" (computers, televisions, and electronic measuring instruments).

Then why did Secretary Fang never even consider targeting the chip factory? She clearly knew about Wang Xiao's negotiations with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Because almost everyone, including Secretary Fang, assumed that Wang Xiao would locate the chip factory in Pudong, Shanghai.

She acquired 3,000 acres of land, and given Pudong's current policies, it's quite suitable for her to build a chip factory.

Who would have thought that Xiao Zhou could even intercept this Hu?

Secretary Fang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down: "Then it's fine if you don't do it in Shanghai, it's more convenient in Jinning."

Wang Xiao said embarrassedly, "Well, Secretary, it would have been fine if you had said this in the morning. But it's too late now. Secretary Sun came all the way from Xiaozhou to see me during the Spring Festival, and he only talked about this important matter. It would be inappropriate for me to change my mind now."

These days, every company is developing tertiary industries, and the government is very keen to attract investment.

After sighing in regret, Secretary Fang quickly got to work: "Why is it unsuitable? I just said that you haven't even seen the land yet, have you? It's very far from where it was originally planned. Listen to me, we'll get you another piece of land, and it will be more convenient to be next to the LCD screen factory."

Wang Xiao laughed awkwardly: "It's really inappropriate. The leaders in Xiaozhou have treated me very well. Take our company's project in Jiangbei to help build houses for employees of township enterprises, for example. Thanks to the leaders' support and their help in securing policies, construction has already started, and some villages have even built model houses."

“Look, their leader hasn’t treated me badly; he’s been very supportive of us all these years. If I agree to something and then go back on my word, wouldn’t that make me look like a two-faced person? That’s not appropriate, really not appropriate.”

After hanging up the phone, Secretary Fang suddenly asked his secretary, "What's the progress on the housing project for township enterprise employees in Jiangdong?"

The secretary paused for a moment before hesitantly saying, "Construction should begin after spring."

This time, because the steel mill was in charge and its attitude was very firm, the progress was quite rapid.

Secretary Fang snorted and shook his head: "They've already built their model homes in Jiangbei!"

Now she truly understands why Wang Xiao was so adamant about not letting Jiang Dong contribute land as shares.

To put it bluntly, they think your state-owned assets are slow to act, always lagging behind others in everything you do.

I'm afraid you'll hold us back!

Secretary Fang strode out of the office.

Where are you going? Back to the meeting room.

What's all the arguing about? Just make a decision already. Otherwise, if Xiaozhou has already taken over the chip factory in Pudong, can't they take over your LCD screen factory in Jinning next?

The director of the general office glanced at the secretary's chief secretary and whispered, "Hey, do you think this General Manager Wang might have gotten Secretary Sun to work with her?"

Originally, the LCD screen factory issue was just starting to take shape, and everyone could still go back and forth in negotiations, slowly working things out.

Now that a secretary from Xiaozhou has emerged and a chip project has been poached from Shanghai, how can they possibly sit still in Jiangdong?

The secretary shook her head, quickened her pace to follow behind the leader, and whispered to the director of the general office, "If that's really the case, she's really something."

What kind of power would it take to get the top official of a provincial capital city in an economically developed region to travel to someone else's territory during the Chinese New Year to chat with a businesswoman?

Regardless of whether she was putting on a show or not, she has already proven one thing with her abilities: she has more than one option besides Jin Ning.

So, if you make her anxious, she can make you even more anxious in return.

Wang Xiao, on the other end of the phone, put down the receiver but didn't go to sleep immediately.

Instead, she had to keep making phone calls.

Who should I call? Feng Zhonglin.

As the person in charge of affairs in Xiaozhou, if he didn't know that the secretary of Xiaozhou wanted to take over the chip factory, Wang Xiao would have twisted his head off and used it as a wine jug.

Feng Zhonglin, disregarding the evasive tone, laughed heartily: "Secretary Sun went to Jinning today? He only mentioned the chip factory to me twice before. I said there was no sign of it yet. I thought he would wait until after the New Year to talk about it."

Wang Xiao didn't care, and only asked Feng Zhonglin for his opinion: "Do you think Xiaozhou can build a chip factory?"

Don't be fooled by what she said to Secretary Fang; she had already agreed to the Xiaozhou government's terms.

In reality, they hadn't even checked the factory site, so how could they possibly agree to anything?

She simply promised Secretary Sun that she would give it serious consideration.

Feng Zhonglin has lived in Jinning for decades, and in the past two years in Xiaozhou, he has traveled almost all over Jiangbei Province, so he has a good understanding of the entire industrial situation.

His opinions are more valuable for reference.

"That depends on whether the chip is for military or civilian use."

"If we're talking about developing in the military industry, then Jinning is definitely more suitable. There are military enterprises there, so it's easier to connect with them."

"But if it's for civilian use, I personally prefer Jiangbei. Private enterprises are more developed here, and there are more people willing to invest. Developing chips is probably very expensive. If there are people willing to invest, the financial pressure will be less."

After a moment's thought, Wang Xiao made his decision: "Then find someone to handle the factory construction coordination."

Without hesitation, Feng Zhonglin immediately agreed and even asked, "Do you need to train local engineers?"

Although he is old, anyone who has made a name for themselves and whose career is thriving is not so keen on retiring.

On the contrary, he would prefer his business to grow bigger and stronger.

So what if there's no new business? We'll find it ourselves and strive for it.

Wang Xiao understood this point, which is why she entrusted the matter directly to him.

So, is she angry?

Why would I be angry?

Why would she get angry if an employee volunteered to take on a task?

As for whether she was tricked by Feng Zhonglin? She's not that petty; she wouldn't be so calculating.

She is more forgiving of everyone who can make money for her.

Seeing that she had hung up the phone, Ivanov immediately urged her, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, Your Majesty, you must rest immediately."

To be honest, when he heard the bodyguard's translation and learned that Wang had chosen Xiaozhou to build the chip factory, he felt incredibly relieved.

Although they both knew perfectly well that once the chip industry was developed, it would inevitably be used in China's military industry.

However, Wang assured Petrov at the Institute of Microelectronics that it would be used for civilian purposes, and now that she can directly show an attitude of avoiding suspicion, he still felt warm inside.

Wang Xiao yawned again, glanced at the quartz clock, quickly set the alarm, and then told Ivanov, "Go to sleep now."

Why set an alarm? Because she has dinner with someone that night.

Ishizawa could build a factory, but he couldn't conjure up a production line.

Theoretically, the factory should be built first, and then the production line should be purchased. However, in practice, it's not like that.

When it comes to procurement, let's take the Toshiba machine tool scandal from back then as an example.

The Soviet Union wanted to buy high-end machine tools in 1981. The machine tools were shipped to the Soviet Union in late 1982 and 1983.

This deal was made even though the Soviet Union was quite generous and didn't haggle much.

Now that it's Wang Xiao's turn, it's natural that he needs to plan ahead even earlier.

Just like when the Soviet Union bought Toshiba's machine tools, Soviet businessmen didn't have to go to Japan themselves.

Now that Wang Xiao wants to buy Sharp's STN-LCD equipment, he can naturally have Sharp's representative in China come to his door to discuss business.

What's wrong with the second day of the Lunar New Year? The Japanese don't care about the Spring Festival.

Wang Xiao slept for an hour and a half. When she was forcibly woken up by the alarm clock, she really didn't want to get out of bed if it weren't for her desire to make money.

Even though she can't toss and turn in her sleep because of her broken leg, sleeping is definitely better than getting up to work!

But no matter how tired she is, after washing her face, sitting in her wheelchair, and draping a cashmere blanket over herself, she becomes a warrior.

The Western restaurant at Jinning Grand Hotel did not close down despite the low number of customers.

The crystal chandelier cast gilded shadows on the beige patterned wallpaper. The waiters remained polite, but the dinner served was completely untouched, as it was the second day of the Lunar New Year and the chef had simply skimped on the taste.

The lacquered box was opened, and the eel gleamed with an amber-colored luster. The aroma of caramel mixed with the pungent spiciness of sansho pepper powder wafted out with the steam.

Unfortunately, Mr. Ichiro Yamashita, the representative of Sharp, was destined never to understand the chef's painstaking efforts in Japanese cuisine.

Because he wanted a medium-rare steak.

Wang Xiao didn't care. She ordered eel rice simply because she wanted to eat it. She didn't need to specially please the Japanese supplier just to eat a meal.

Yamashita Shichiro slowly and methodically cut the steak, his silver steak knife slicing into the muscle at a 45° angle with each cut, each slice precisely controlled to be 1.2cm thick—a testament to his rigorous training in business etiquette.

He ate his steak bite by bite, and only after he had almost finished did he speak up: "Miss Wang, I think that instead of just buying STN-LCD equipment, we can definitely consider further cooperation. Sharp can form a joint venture with you to build a higher-level LCD screen production line."

Here we go again.

Japan's semiconductor industry's aversion to technology transfer is indeed well-deserved.

Wang Xiao put down his chopsticks, took out a wet wipe, slowly wiped his mouth, and smiled: "To be honest, I don't really understand your thinking. The reason I don't want to form a joint venture is very simple: I don't like having someone hindering me when I'm doing things."

"But I don't quite understand you. Why are you unwilling to sell a production line that you've already phased out? Are you reluctant to part with it and want to keep it as a souvenir?"

"Or do you still have doubts, worried that we might become your competitors?"

"Honestly, isn't it a bit of a misguided approach for you to think this way?"

"Japan is now the world's leading LCD screen manufacturer, and the United States has been left behind. If we really have to find a competitor for you, it should be South Korea."

"As East Asian countries, don't you think Japan and South Korea have very similar paths to rise?"

"Japan, which has become the world's second-largest economy, should be a huge threat to the United States."

"With Japan this powerful, the United States probably doesn't want it to become even more powerful."

"So, as Japan's flagship industry, the electronics sector, it would be better for the United States to relocate it."

"South Korea's electronics industry is developing very rapidly. Samsung is also investing heavily in the LCD screen industry, sparing no expense."

"If anyone can beat Japan's semiconductor industry, I think South Korea has a better chance."

"Therefore, even if we are to be wary, Sharp should be wary of Samsung of South Korea, not us."

“We don’t need TFT-LCD, we only need STN-LCD, because my industry needs it.”

Behind his round glasses, Yamashita Shichiro blinked twice, looking rather indifferent: "Miss Wang, what you're talking about is not within the scope of my work. Currently, our company has no plans to sell the STN-LCD production line."

Wang Xiao raised her hand, and an envelope appeared on the table. She pushed it forward and smiled slightly: "Mr. Yamashita, I think your company could consider selling. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

However, Yamashita Ichiro's attitude was very firm. He didn't even look at the contents of the envelope before shaking his head and saying, "No, Miss Wang, I don't need these."

Wang Xiao readily agreed and looked at him with a smile: "Then, I'd like to know, Mr. Yamashita, do you have a need to open up the Chinese market for in-vehicle displays?"

You don't care about the company's interests. You don't want to take bribes. Surely you can't be indifferent to your work performance either.