Chapter 490 Never Thought of Becoming a Comprador: A Trip to Beijing

On February 3rd, the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, a strong festive atmosphere permeated the land of China. Ivanov finally led his delegation to Beijing.

It wasn't that he intentionally delayed; rather, the negotiations arranged by the high-level officials of the two countries were a rather complicated task.

Your information must be absolutely accurate, and you must have considered all aspects of the group ticket delegation you've arranged. It's not good to rush to transfer information and personnel from China halfway through the negotiations—it's not that you can't do it, but that would be too time-consuming.

Ivanov has brought a really big mission this time. He wants to discuss not only export quotas for textiles, but also home appliances and bicycles.

Wait a minute, what's with these appliances and bicycles? They weren't mentioned before.

Yes, it wasn't mentioned.

At that time, Wang Xiao saw laid-off workers from textile factories and thought about export quotas for textiles.

But Ivan, being a businessman and later serving as Russia's Deputy Prime Minister in charge of industrial and agricultural production, naturally had a deeper understanding of Russia's industrial situation.

He was at the White House conference table, having just finished discussing with his colleagues—or you could interpret it as arguing, it doesn't matter—that they had reached a preliminary consensus on the issue of textile export quotas, when suddenly his mind started racing.

If textiles can be processed like this, then what about other industrial products?

As is well known, Russia's light industry is extremely weak, and there are certainly a lot of export quotas lying idle.

Then the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, represented by Nemtsov, got busy and dug out a bunch of domestically produced but practically defunct industrial products and their corresponding export quotas.

The thought of these dusty export quotas, which could actually be exchanged for money, made everyone in the circle, from Ivanov to Nemtsov, envious.

So this is how international trade works.

Of course, they also understand that if you want to play, others have to be willing to cooperate. It's essential to find something that interests both parties.

For example, among this pile of idle export quotas, China would certainly be interested not only in the export quotas for textiles, but also in the quotas for bicycles, home appliances, and toys.

Because China is the world's largest bicycle producer, various countries began conducting anti-dumping investigations against it starting in 1991. As a result, China was forced to decide in October 1994 to implement a bidding system for bicycle exports, beginning in 1995.

What about home appliances?

Taking television sets as an example, Europe has long initiated anti-dumping investigations against Chinese television sets. As far as Ivanov knows, some Chinese color TV manufacturers have even set up factories in Romania specifically to deal with these anti-dumping investigations.

Besides that, toys are also a major expense.

Good heavens, Russian factories can easily produce a real gun, but now getting them to make toy guns is a real nightmare.

As they chatted, the people in the room started to diverge again, discussing Russia's multilateral strategy in the global trade landscape.

To put it simply, in the light industry sector, besides cooperating with China, who else can they cooperate with?

This applies to anyone who wants to do something; there must be a backup plan. If A doesn't work, then try B.

After searching around, they discovered that in the textile and apparel sector, they could collaborate with countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Türkiye.

However, India and Russia have traditionally had a very good relationship, a friendship that has lasted for decades.

To be honest, Ivanov and others were not very willing to deal with India in a genuine sense.

Why? Because India is truly a terrible place.

During the Soviet era, India owed the Soviet Union a debt equivalent to tens of billions of US dollars.

Later, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Russia inherited the Soviet Union's foreign debts, including those owed by foreign countries to the Soviet Union and those owed by the Soviet Union to foreign countries.

India has to repay its debts, and in principle, it should repay them according to the market exchange rate.

India, however, played a clever trick. It seized the window of opportunity presented by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting chaos in the rules, insisting that the debt was denominated in "accounting rubles," and therefore repayment should be calculated according to the official exchange rate during the Soviet era.

Based on this calculation, of its 10 billion ruble debt, it only needs to repay Russia about 120 million to 170 million US dollars.

Russia certainly wouldn't agree to that; only a fool in the world would suffer such a loss.

So the two sides sat down to talk, and the talks dragged on from 1992 to 1994. In the end, Russia suffered a major loss. India only needed to pay about $1 billion to $1.2 billion to settle its old debt to the Soviet Union.

There was no other way. At that time, Russia was facing a severe economic crisis and its international voice was not as strong as it had been during the Soviet era. It lacked sufficient leverage to force India to repay at market value.

Moreover, Russia cannot afford to fall out with India, as it needs India as a traditional ally and a vital arms market.

Finally, in a conciliatory manner, India agreed in the agreement signed by both sides to purchase weapons and goods worth several billion dollars from Russia over the next few years, which can be considered as a way of appeasing Russia's military-industrial complex to some extent.

But this consolation felt more like a punch, making the person cough up blood.

So after all that, the money I painstakingly made and sold should have been my own.

The White House in Moscow isn't the Department of Defense, and we're in the civilian goods business, so we really don't want to have anything to do with that shameless India.

As for Pakistan, relations between the two countries plummeted to a freezing point after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Although they have eased somewhat in recent years, there has been no breakthrough in diplomatic relations.

Bangladesh does have a relationship with Russia inherited from the Soviet Union, but Bangladesh is too small a country. It's more realistic to import its cotton yarn and then process it into textiles. Other options are not very practical.

If I had to pick one of these countries, Turkey would be the most suitable. Its textile, garment, and electronics industries are all doing quite well, but it has good relations with the EU and therefore has a relatively small need for Russian quotas.

After such a thorough comparison, it seems that China is still the most suitable.

Because the remaining countries, such as Japan and South Korea, have already completed industrialization and industrial upgrading, and most of their low-end, labor-intensive industries, such as textiles and clothing, have long since moved out.

Other countries, however, lack the complete industrial chain support for related industries. The former "Asian Tigers" are still in the recovery phase after the 1997 financial crisis, and their production capacity has not yet reached pre-crisis levels.

China's light industry, in particular, possesses a unique combination of advantages—scale, efficiency, completeness, and geographical proximity to Russia—that are difficult for other countries and regions to replicate.

The potential for cooperation between the two sides is considerable.

Most importantly, China has an urgent need for cooperation. Talking about it when both sides are eager to reach an agreement will save a lot of trouble.

So, after reaching an agreement within the White House and consulting with the Kremlin, and receiving the president's approval, Ivan arrived with a large negotiating team.

Wang Xiao set off shortly after him.

She is not one person, not one team, but three teams put together.

What happened?

A Russian delegation came to Beijing to discuss cooperation, and they also brought industry leaders from relevant regions so that they can directly discuss cooperation.

Beijing will definitely have to recruit people from other regions, and Jiangdong Province will naturally be a good candidate.

It was Jiangdong who first organized this matter, in order to solve the problem of overcapacity in the local textile industry.

But I've come from Jiangdong, why do you have to come from Jiangbei too?

The expression on the face of Hu, the vice governor of Jiangdong Province in charge of industry, was hardly pleasant.

Wang Xiao was the first to distance herself: "I don't know, I really don't know, I don't know anything, I didn't even mention this to my parents when I got home."

Good heavens! Jiangdong and Jiangbei are clearly two different provinces, so everyone can fly to Beijing separately. If you really don't want to fly, you can take the train, and it doesn't have to be a regular train.

But that's how I think.

Unfortunately, this train departed from Xiaozhou at 6 p.m. and arrived in Jinling at around 9 p.m. After sleeping overnight, it arrived in Beijing at 7:30 a.m. the next morning.

If I were to transfer by plane, the flight from Jinning departs around 6 a.m. and arrives at the airport around 8 a.m. I simply can't get up in the morning.

Xiao Zhou departed around 3 PM and arrived in Beijing around 6 PM. He couldn't do any more work, so he decided to spend the night in Beijing.

The comrades in charge of booking tickets for the leaders in the provincial party committee offices on both sides calculated that arranging this train was the most cost-effective option. They could go directly to the train station after work, sleep overnight, and get to work as soon as they arrived in Beijing.

Most importantly, because there are fewer flights now and not many discounted tickets, train tickets are much cheaper than plane tickets.

Zhang Rujing listened silently, deeply admiring the pragmatic style of the two provincial leaders.

Flying is still a relatively fashionable thing for mainland Chinese. Many people will definitely take the opportunity to fly. After all, it's a business trip, so they don't have to pay for their own airfare.

As a result, both provinces arranged for their leaders to catch the train overnight.

Vice Governor Chen of Jiangbei Province was also an old acquaintance of Wang Xiao; they had often dined together at the same table.

Seeing that Vice Governor Hu's expression was not good, he immediately clarified for Wang Xiao: "This really has nothing to do with President Wang. It was the State Council that directly notified us."

Vice Governor Hu, unable to contain himself any longer, retorted: "How many laid-off workers do you have? How many do we have? Tell me honestly, which province is under more pressure?"

Vice Governor Chen was not one to back down: "We're actually under a lot of pressure. When state-owned enterprises lay off workers, at least the government provides some subsidies. But when private factories here go out of business, the government doesn't give any subsidies to the workers; we have to raise all the money ourselves. And don't even mention us; from what I've heard, they've also affected Guangdong."

Vice Governor Hu was taken aback; he really didn't know that.

How many export quotas does Russia have in total? Even just the two provinces of Jiangdong and Jiangbei are barely enough. Add Guangdong, and will a war break out?

"It seems like there are quite a few projects being discussed," Vice Governor Chen joked. "Maybe we don't even need to compete with each other."

Vice Governor Hu suddenly realized: "You didn't go to the Northeast, did you?"

If we're talking about the region most affected by the ingot pressing, it has to be Northeast China.

As an old industrial base, it has a large number of state-owned enterprises. The textile industry, in particular, relied heavily on state subsidies and protection during the planned economy era, which hampered its market competitiveness.

With the implementation of the policy to reduce ingot production, it will inevitably be greatly impacted.

"No," Vice Governor Chen shook his head. "I've inquired, and it's just the three of us."

Vice Governor Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Better to sacrifice a friend than himself. In these times of economic turmoil, managing one's own little plot of land is already a feat.

In the summer of 1997, when the Southeast Asian financial crisis first broke out, who could have imagined the impact would be so huge? The four Asian Tigers were all knocked down. The entire foreign trade industry was wiped out.

The train rattled along, and Wang Xiao listened silently beside it.

What could she say?

A big wave washed all the little fish ashore. She could only pick up a few and put them back in the water; she couldn't care less about them all.

Vice Governor Hu was still lamenting to Vice Governor Zhao, "It would be great if we joined the WTO sooner. There wouldn't be so many quota restrictions, and everyone could roll up their sleeves and get to work."

Everyone says that a swaying train is not a good place to sleep, but Wang Xiao felt that the swaying carriage was like a cradle, and the clattering of the wheels hitting the rails was like a lullaby.

Hearing their voices, Wang Xiao vaguely thought: It's not that simple; each step has its own difficulties.

If China were to truly unleash its full potential, it could devour the entire global industrial sector. No wonder other countries wouldn't want that.

She fell asleep in a daze and slept until dawn. Then, she hurriedly washed her face and brushed her teeth, without even having breakfast, and got off the bus in a daze.

She has no regrets at all.

After all, times have changed. Train meals in 1999 no longer had the advantages of being cheap and delicious and not requiring food coupons in the 1980s. Now they are synonymous with being expensive and unpalatable.

The person responsible for picking up the boss was Xiao Ding, Yang Tao's former assistant, who has now taken over Yang Tao's work and is in charge of managing things in Beijing.

She was quite clever; when she came to pick up the boss, she didn't forget to bring breakfast, and everyone got a portion.

Wang Xiao recommended that Zhang Rujing drink soy milk, and repeatedly emphasized to him: "Don't be curious about what soy milk tastes like. After drinking it, I felt like I couldn't taste anything at all."

Zhang Rujing couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't stand on ceremony and finished his vegetable and mushroom bun with plain soy milk at the station. Then everyone quickly set off for their destination.

The vice governor of Liangjiang Province had just met up with the people who came to pick them up and were still exchanging pleasantries when they saw Wang Xiao and the others finish their breakfast standing up and leave.

The two involuntarily exchanged a glance. Wow, she really doesn't get involved in the export quotas between China and Russia. Being able to endure loneliness takes skill.

Wang Xiao certainly wouldn't get involved, firstly to avoid suspicion, and secondly because there was no time in America for that.

She is not lonely at all.

She had a list in her hand, densely packed with more than a dozen companies, all of which produced semiconductor-related equipment.

Our first stop in Beijing was Beijing Factory 700, also known as Beijing Jianzhong Machinery Factory.

As a company with the "Jian" prefix in the national plan, it, like Shenyang Jianbei, is one of the backbone enterprises of China's semiconductor equipment industry.

It participated in all the major national science and technology projects, such as the "6895 Project," the "696 Project," and the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" and "Seventh Five-Year Plan."

They produce a wide variety of equipment; they have everything.

Rapid gas quenching vacuum furnaces and various sintering furnaces are already basic operations.

Their company also produces electrohydraulic shockwave lithotripsy machines, which, after passing inspection by hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, were exported to North Africa to generate foreign exchange.

In addition, the first thermoforming machine in my country that can recycle packaging materials for processing fast food boxes, beverage cups and other packaging materials was also made by Factory 700.

They're all about making whatever a country needs. There's nothing they won't do, only things you can't imagine.

But perhaps precisely because of this, its positioning is somewhat ambiguous, and its advantages are not obvious.

Wang Xiao made arrangements through an intermediary to visit the factory in Jiuxianqiao. The head of the marketing department of Factory 700 personally came to pick them up.

She didn't waste time on small talk, exchanging a few polite words before getting straight to the point: "What products does your factory want to sell to Shougang Electric? Just show us those. As for the others—"

She smiled and pointed at Zhang Rujing, "Our Zhang Bo is a well-known expert in factory construction. He is highly respected at Texas Instruments and is also a prominent figure in the semiconductor industry when he went to Taiwan to build a factory. World Semiconductor ranks third in Taiwan. If the products your factory brings are not good enough, they will not meet Zhang Bo's standards."

Since 1994, Shougang Electric has become a flagship brand in China's chip manufacturing industry.

Although other factories subsequently challenged it, including Nippon Electric itself participating in Project 909 and establishing Huahong Nippon Electric in Shanghai as a joint venture with Huahong, Shougang Nippon Electric remains the leading company in China to date.

Last July, it also produced the first 64M dynamic RAM in China, achieving full coverage of the 4M, 16M and 64M product lines.

If Factory 700 can secure the order from Shougang NEC, it means that a leading domestic semiconductor company is endorsing it, allowing it to rapidly expand to other companies in the industry.

The head of the marketing department smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, we're also promoting a star product, a cleaning machine. Not to brag, but our product really does have superior performance and is reasonably priced."

Although this chip factory in Xiaozhou kept a low profile and was rumored to be using Soviet technology, as the head of the marketing department, he didn't quite understand one thing: in this era, all the factories that survived had their own unique skills.

Moreover, Texas Instruments is a renowned company, and Taiwan's semiconductor industry has been booming in recent years. Having such experts endorse their cleaning machines gives them an extra advantage in their bid to enter Shougang Electric Appliances' market.

He had no choice but to be proactive.

The group followed the head of the marketing department and walked around Factory 700 from morning till night. They inspected the cleaning machine and the diffusion furnace. It wasn't until dark that they had a simple meal at the canteen before the day's itinerary came to an end.

Dr. Zhang didn't approve of the diffusion furnace from Factory 700, but thought the cleaning machine was worth a try. If the cleaning machine from Factory 700 could pass the test and meet the standards of similar internationally advanced equipment, then it could completely replace the imported product.

Suppliers should always be given opportunities so that everyone can have orders and things can get better and better.

Only after it gets completely dark can everyone take their suitcases to the hotel.

Don't forget, they came directly from the train station to Factory 700 without even checking into a hotel to drop off their luggage.

When the head of the marketing department of Factory 700 saw them off, he was surprised to see their luggage and blurted out, "You guys are really dedicated to your work."

No wonder their factory can survive and even expand its production scale.

Wang Xiao smiled and shook hands with the people to say goodbye: "Zhang Bo is busy with work and has to squeeze in time for the inspection. Thank you so much for your help today."

The person in charge smiled and assured them, "You're too kind. It's our honor that you've graced us with your presence. We'll send the prototype over soon. We'll follow your instructions exactly as you wish to debug it, and our engineers will be there as soon as possible."

After getting into the car, Yang Tao's deputy, Xiao Ding, sighed, "Factory 700 is in a hurry to transform itself. I heard it might be merged into another company."

What good is a glorious past? Now, those past honors have become a burden. Almost all state-owned enterprises, especially the large ones, are under immense pressure.

The initial sense of security that the national policy of prioritizing large enterprises over small ones brought them has been swept away by the wave of layoffs that began in the second half of last year.

The financial crisis came too quickly.

Everyone knows perfectly well that textile companies are likely just the first to close down, and many more factories may close down, leaving countless workers unemployed.

Wang Xiao nodded, indicating that he understood: "That's good. If these companies are integrated and combined, things might be even better in the future."

This is the painful transition from a planned economy to a market economy; enterprises that cannot adapt to market survival are unlikely to survive.

But once they adapt, it's not impossible for them to thrive, become industry leaders, or even world-class.

A high-end bulletproof sedan drove out of the 700 Factory area, passing the neon sign of "Beijing Panasonic," which was probably the most modern presence in the area.

In many other places, through the car window, one sees large swaths of darkness falling on the retina.

Without sufficient orders, the factory no longer operates on three shifts as before, and it no longer enjoys its former glory of bright lights and bustling activity.

In the vast industrial area, the dim mercury lamps could only illuminate a small area, leaving deep darkness outside the halo.

The towering Soviet-style factory buildings of the old factory area stand silently in the darkness like a monument, or a sleeping forest in the night.

Occasionally, a few windows would light up, like the eyes of a giant in the forest suddenly opening.

Wang Xiao fell asleep amidst the quiet and jolting, until the car entered the North Third Ring Road and headed west into Zhongguancun. The bustling night market and crowds forced the car to honk its horn, waking her up.

Xiao Ding had been carefully observing the boss, and seeing this, he quickly explained, "The Friendship Hotel is just ahead."

Under normal circumstances, when a country's vice prime minister leads a delegation to Beijing for business negotiations, the most likely place to stay is the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

But since Mr. Ivanov was Russian, there was another option – the Beijing Friendship Hotel.

Because in 1954, the Friendship Hotel, originally named the Western Suburbs Experts' Guesthouse, was tasked with the glorious mission of receiving Soviet experts who were assisting China.

When China and Russia were negotiating, both sides preferred to start with the honeymoon period of the 1950s, so the Friendship Hotel became one of the first choices for hosting the Russian delegation.

When Ivanov was asked for his opinion, he did not hesitate to choose the Friendship Hotel, which offered authentic Russian cuisine to satisfy his colleague's needs.

Moreover, the Friendship Hotel has an advantage in that it also caters to ordinary guests, unlike the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where guests must have their identities verified in advance.

This made it convenient for Wang to bring his people to check in.

Wang also came to Beijing for work, and according to her habits, she might even call the team together for a meeting in the evening.

So Ivanov couldn't let her come to him alone.

See, a good partner must consider all aspects.

So he has every right to feel wronged; he's been waiting for a long time since dinner, and the king still hasn't arrived.

He went downstairs to check twice and called the front desk twice. He was too embarrassed to call a third time.

Nemtsov was fed up with this guy and urged him directly, "Why don't you call the King's cell phone?"

Then he received a glare in return: "What do you know?"

Nemtsov nearly jumped up: "God! I didn't know?"

This is the biggest insult to his masculine charm!

Just then, Nikolai came running up in a hurry: "We're almost there."

He received a text message from Lyuba. Thank God, times are changing; cell phones can now send text messages, so you don't have to make a phone call to deliver a message.

Ivanov instantly perked up and immediately jogged off again.

He was escorted by bodyguards, and just as he reached the hotel entrance, the car stopped.

Wang Xiao had just gotten out of the car when she bumped into someone's arms.

"Good heavens!" Ivan complained, "You've finally come! I thought you were going to stand me up."

Wang Xiao smiled and touched his face, her eyes curving into crescents: "I'd go through fire and water to see you."

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao felt as if their hearts had been struck a heavy blow.

Good heavens! When it comes to conning people, their boss is definitely a master—a thumbs up! He talked about going through fire and water, but in reality, he slept the whole way and didn't even urge the driver to hurry up.

But Mr. Ivanov fell for it; he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's go inside quickly, it's so cold in Beijing."

Listen to this! Is this even human language? How can someone who just came from the freezing cold of Moscow complain about the cold winter in Beijing?

The two bodyguards secretly grumbled as they followed him into the Friendship Hotel.

Wow, this is the first time they've stayed at the Friendship Hotel in all the times they've come to Beijing.

I didn't expect the Friendship Hotel to be so affordable.

The price of a regular room is only 394 yuan.

Don't think they're getting cocky. In 1999, 394 yuan a room wasn't expensive? How many people didn't even earn that much a month?

You should know that in 1999, consumption patterns in China were very fragmented. The cost of decent hotels was never low.

The China Travel Service Building, which is of a similar standard to the Friendship Hotel, charges 400 yuan per night for a special offer room.

Not to mention the Tianlun Songhe Hotel on Wangfujing Street, where a standard room costs 1200 yuan, which is more than four times that of this place.

Zhang Rujing was also quite satisfied with the hotel price; his frugality was ingrained in his bones, and he would avoid spending money as much as possible.

After a long day, everyone was exhausted. They got their room keys at the front desk and went back to rest.

As Wang Xiao followed Ivan, Nemtsov winked at her from the side: "Oh, Miss Wang, you've finally arrived. Otherwise, our poor Ivan would have had a sleepless night."

Wang Xiao nodded, and asked frankly, "So, is there anything else?"

Nemtsov was taken aback by her frank attitude. However, he reacted quickly, seizing the opportunity and saying in a serious tone, "Of course there's something. Before you came, we were discussing how China and Russia could cooperate in producing textiles and how to win the market."

This is indeed a big problem.

Russia's natural conditions and human resources are what they are, and its production and transportation costs are definitely higher than China's.

It's fair to say that, under normal circumstances, Chinese businessmen would never have ventured into the textile industry in Russia if it weren't for the lucrative export quotas.

Even with export quotas, these textiles, when exported, are actually less competitive than genuine Chinese goods in terms of cost.

Nemtsov looked extremely serious: "If you were to build the factory, Miss Wang, how would you solve the problems?"

Wang Xiao casually replied, "Oh, if it were me, my factory would definitely specialize in producing ballet costumes and ballet shoes."

Nemtsov was taken aback. His question was just making conversation, purely to stir things up, but he didn't expect her to actually give an answer.

Wang Xiao explained, “It’s common knowledge that Russia’s light industry is light. In this case, no matter how much you emphasize the high quality and cost-effectiveness of your textile products, no one will believe you. But Russian ballet is world-renowned. When people think of Russia, their first thought is ballet, such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Almost everyone knows Ulanova.”

"Ballet costumes and ballet shoes are essentially clothing and shoes, but people tend to focus on ballet itself."

"Because Russian ballet is good, people will naturally assume that Russian ballet costumes and shoes are also good. This is a natural consumer market."

"Once my factory's ballet costumes and shoes won the hearts of this group of natural consumers with their outstanding design and excellent quality, I was able to expand my production scope."

"For example, costumes can be extended to all performance costumes used on stage. Because ballet is, in essence, a performing art."

"Take shoes for example. Brands like Repetto from France and Capezio from the United States both started by making ballet shoes. Now they are very active in the fashion world and are the choice of many celebrities and stars."

Nemtsov gasped, then gave a thumbs-up: "Miss Wang, you really are something else."

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Isn't that what cooperation is all about? There's no need to suppress each other, but rather to maximize the strengths of both sides."

She then quipped, "Are you only concerned with textiles? Don't you consider how to make toys?"

This time it was Yura's turn to blurt out: "How do you make a toy?"

After he finished speaking, he hurriedly nodded to Wang Xiao and then repeated, "What are the toys for?"

He discovered that Chinese toys were already incredibly diverse, and he couldn't find any unique advantage in Russia. He couldn't just keep making music box dancing figures, could he?

Wang Xiao smiled and nodded: "That's one of the directions we can develop. Another one I'm thinking of is making toy weapons."

"Everyone says that Russia is a nation of warriors, so there are military equipment models, including tanks, armored vehicles, fighter jets, bombers, and destroyers and cruisers. There are also toy soldiers, military scene toys, where children can place military equipment models on them to experience military life; there are also toy guns and military-themed building blocks, etc."

“These things, when associated with Russia, have a natural persuasiveness.”

Wang Xiao gave an example: "Our computer company makes two games that sell best. One is called 'Siege,' which is a war game. The other is called 'Survival in the Apocalypse,' which is also very popular. Because everyone knows that Russia's climate conditions are extremely harsh, a survival game made in Russia naturally gives players a very convincing feeling."

Nemtsov finally finished his gasp, extended his hand to Wang Xiao, and said in a serious tone, "Miss Wang, on behalf of the Minister of Industry of Russia, I invite you to join us. Good heavens, what kind of image consultant do you want to be for the president? He doesn't need any image consultant. You should come to the Ministry of Industry as an advisor. That's where you can truly shine."

Wang's plan cleverly avoided the fatal weakness of "cost" in Sino-Russian cooperation, and instead attacked the high ground of "value".

Whether it's ballet costumes, dance shoes, or military models, they all belong to high-value-added products in niche markets.

Consumers who buy these products are less price-sensitive and value more their cultural authenticity, design, and brand connotation.

In this way, they perfectly avoided the cost disadvantage of big-ticket items such as clothing and toys.

For Russia, this is a shortcut to revitalize dormant cultural assets and revive its light industry.

My God, this level of collaboration is worth exploring with all our might.

Wang Xiao smiled and spread her hands, refusing without hesitation: "I don't have time, I have a lot of things to do."

Ivanov reached out and pushed Nemtsov, saying, "Alright, alright, you talk too much. You should go back to sleep."

Nemtsov resisted stubbornly, and even turned to the Deputy Prime Minister to emphasize: "My God, you really are, Ivan, the King is really the most suitable person to be our advisor."

Then the door closed.

Feeling rejected, Nemtsov could only talk to Yura: "Don't you think so? We racked our brains but didn't know how to start, and she just opened her mouth and got it."

As a former top student, he understands the importance of talent all too well. Miss Wang is such a talented individual.

Yura gave him a meaningful look: "There are plenty of people who want her as an advisor; we all have to wait in line. Let's go, let's not be third wheels anymore, Ivan will really get angry."

Nemtsov then left, grumbling to himself. He really wanted to continue his conversation with Wang.

He always felt that she could solve all the problems facing Russian industry if she wanted to.

Behind the door, Ivanov couldn't help but complain, "I've never seen such a clueless person."

Wang Xiao smiled, put her arms around his neck, kissed him, and murmured, "You've finally come. I've missed you so much."

Ivanov beamed with joy again. He knew that while he was missing the king, the king must also be missing him.

The next morning, everyone ate breakfast together, and Nemtsov was surprised to find that their delegation leader seemed to have eaten a little less.

Oh, without a doubt, Miss Wang is here, Ivan must have had a very satisfying and wonderful night.

But precisely because of this, shouldn't he eat even more? That would be incredibly tiring. Is he just all show and no substance, finally meeting someone only to chat under the covers?

Ivanov glared at him warily: "What's with that expression?"

Nemtsov said seriously, "Don't you want to eat more? God, dear Ivan, I thought you needed more energy."

Ivanov, of course, dared not eat too much.

Wang told him while he was taking a shower today that Ovechkin is now 1.5 times bigger than before.

Wang laughed heartily, finding it particularly amusing. His heart was pounding. Because of racial differences, he felt that Russians were indeed very prone to weight gain as they aged.

He absolutely doesn't want to become that kind of fat guy; he doesn't want the king to look at him like that, hahaha.

However, the Deputy Prime Minister still had to put on airs in front of the Minister of Industry.

He said seriously, "We're going to talk all day today, so how can I eat too much in the morning? Too many carbohydrates can make you dizzy."

Nemtsov was filled with respect and quickly withdrew his hand from the gold-plated bag.

He doesn't eat Russian food; he's incredibly adaptable and has long been able to eat Chinese food. During his time at the White House meetings, he frequently mooches meals from Ivan; he's lost all affection for rye bread.

After the noisy group finished their meal, Wang Xiao and his group set off to visit another semiconductor equipment factory, while Nemtsov, Ivanov, and the others returned to their rooms to prepare for the next round of negotiations.

Nemtsov suddenly came to his senses: "Ivan, if our industry picks up, won't the container market business be affected?"

Good heavens! Everyone knows that it's a goldmine.

Ivanov asked in surprise, "Can't Russian goods be sold in the container market?"

“That’s nothing compared to your current profits.” Nemtsov looked at him strangely. “My God, you are the most morally upright person I have ever met.”

Given his position, all his actions after becoming Vice Premier were not only free from using public office for personal gain, but also demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good.

What kind of spirit is this?

The shortage of supplies in the Russian market was the foundation of his wealth.

Now he's going to shatter all of that with his own hands.

Ivanov continued walking: "What else can we do? If Russia's industry doesn't develop, we'll become a country that exports raw materials and energy and imports industrial and agricultural products. What will we become then? We'll become a comprador government."

Nemtsov followed him into the room, frowning as he asked, "So what about the Queen? Did she agree to this?"

Good heavens! With the king's wisdom, she couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

Is it really love that has blinded her? That it has made her, as a businesswoman, no longer care about making money?

Ivanov glared at him: "Aren't you going to talk nonsense? What exactly do you misunderstand about Wang? Let me tell you honestly, what is a comprador-type government? It was Wang who first used the Republic of China as an example to tell me. A government that can only rely on customs duties and unified taxes to make a living is a comprador-type government. Such a government is incapable of thinking about the people. The Russian Federation absolutely cannot become such a government!"

Nemtsov blinked hard twice, his eyes filled with respect: "Really, Ivan, you should run for president. I will fully support you. The Queen is worthy of being the First Lady."

As a foreigner, the effort and dedication she has devoted to Russia, and the results she has achieved, are enough to leave many Russians in the dust. He wouldn't even dare to say that he has done more or better than Wang.

Ivanov rolled his eyes: "Don't get involved! We've never considered this."

“Then I don’t understand.” Nemtsov persisted, “If you don’t want to, then why is the King so concerned about Russia?”

Is it a case of loving someone because of their love for them? Because she loved Ivan, she consequently fell in love with Russia? What a profound love!

Ivanov found him annoying: "Because of love, love for the Russian people, love for the people of the world, understand?"

He pointed in the direction of Tiananmen Square and said, "Long live the great unity of the people of the world, understand?"

Seeing Nemtsov looking a bit dazed, Ivan urged him again, "Alright, stop thinking about these things and get ready to leave. We still have a lot to discuss."

Now that we've decided on a joint production plan, we need to finalize it as soon as possible.

By combining Russia's cultural essence, design inspiration, and export quotas with China's strong supply chain management capabilities, mature production technology, quality control, initial capital investment, and keen grasp of global market trends, we can transform the simple OEM model of "Russia provides the shell, China fills in the meat" into a brand co-creation model of "Russia provides the soul, China builds the body."

This way, even if the quota advantage disappears in the future, the cooperation between the two parties can continue.

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Note: The room rates for the Friendship Hotel and several other hotels mentioned in the text are from 2000; I couldn't find the 1999 rates. Regarding Factory 700, the relevant reference is the article "Liberating Thinking, Boldly Exploring, and Forging a New Path for State-Owned Enterprises to Expand the Market—An Investigation of Beijing Jianzhong Machinery Factory" in the December 1996 issue of *Market Observation*. After 2000, the cleaning machines produced by Factory 700 were purchased by Beijing Shougang Electric, a landmark event in the domestic semiconductor equipment supply at the time. As for export quotas, historically, the only information I could find shows that China and Russia have attempted cooperation on textile export quotas. I couldn't find relevant records for bicycles, home appliances, and toys. However, starting in 1991, China did indeed face anti-dumping investigations from other countries on bicycles. Similar anti-dumping investigations on color televisions were already discussed earlier in the novel. Toy exports were also subject to numerous restrictions. Therefore, given the development of the novel, it's only natural that Ivanov's Russian team would consider expanding the scope of cooperation. [Winking face]