industrial overlord

Chapter 727 Investment Prohibition
"What? Stop construction!"

He Lan looked at the two American government officials who suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, and asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes." An official who claimed to be Jon nodded solemnly and said, "Ms. He, I am very sorry to inform you that the shallow mountain wind farm project built by Lansell Company, because it endangers the national security of the United States, It will be suspended in accordance with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.”

"Sorry, I didn't understand. How could a wind farm pose a threat to the national security of the United States? Please give me a clear explanation." He Lan said coldly.

Jon said: "It is like this. There is an airport of the US Navy 56 kilometers northwest of the Qianshan Wind Farm. The construction of the Qianshan Wind Farm poses a threat to the normal training of the Navy. The Navy has already submitted a report to the federal government on this matter. , asking the government to suspend the construction of the shallow mountain wind farm.”

"Gentlemen, please make it clear that before the construction of the shallow mountain wind farm, it has passed all approvals from the state government and obtained a construction permit. At the time of approval, the state government has already made a request for the wind farm to surrounding agencies, including the navy. The impact of the incident has been evaluated, and the navy has also signed the approval materials." He Lan said.

She was personally responsible for the acquisition of the shallow mountain wind farm. She had carefully read the relevant materials and assessed the possible risks.The nearby Naval Airfield had not raised any objections to this matter before, but at this time, there were side effects, and it was obvious that they were finding fault.

Jon said: "Maybe there was no problem at the time of the initial approval, but at that time the person who operated the Qianshan Wind Farm was Mr. Christo. He was an American citizen, but you were a Chinese citizen."

He Lan retorted: "Our Lansell company is registered in the United States and is an American company."

"As far as we know, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Chinese company," Jon said.

"So what?" He Lan said, such a thing can't be hidden from anyone, and she has no need to avoid it, "US law does not prohibit a subsidiary of a Chinese company from investing in the United States, all our actions are complies with relevant U.S. laws.”

"This is a matter of the Ministry of Commerce. We don't understand it." Jon said, "What we are concerned about is that a subsidiary of a Chinese company invested in the shallow mountain wind farm, and it happens to be adjacent to our naval airport. CFIUS believes that, This investment is not conducive to American security."

"Your policy is discriminatory." He Lan said, "We will file a complaint with CFIUS."

Jon shrugged and said, "You have the right, but during this period, the construction of the shallow mountain wind farm must be stopped immediately."

The news that CFIUS stopped the construction of the shallow mountain wind farm was quickly transmitted back to China, which immediately caused a shock in the Hanhua Group headquarters.

For the trade protection measures that the U.S. government may adopt, Hanhua’s management has long been mentally prepared. He Fei, Hu Wei and others have also formulated a response plan for various measures.For example, the issue of anti-dumping, Hanhua has adopted the strategy of building factories overseas to avoid it.If this strategy doesn't work, Hanhua can also consider building the factory directly in the United States.

But no one would have imagined that the U.S. government would come up with such an outrageous reason to attack Hanhua. It is really cold to associate a wind farm with the national security of the United States.

"This shows that the U.S. government is at the end of its rope." Lin Zhenhua said with a sneer at the executive meeting. "Can there be a more ridiculous excuse than this?"

"Indeed." Xiang Zhe echoed, "In my opinion, this is the last move of the Xisai government."

Yang Chao, the general manager of the steam turbine company, asked: "Mr. Lin, Mr. Xiang, could this be an accidental event? I mean, maybe this wind farm has indeed affected the US military."

Cen Youjun shook his head and said: "This is impossible. The wind farm is more than 50 kilometers away from the US military airport, and the height of the wind turbines is not high enough to pose a threat to the training aircraft. Besides, He Lan made it very clear in the report , In the previous approval materials, the U.S. military has signed. In other words, this time the U.S. government claims that the request was made by the military, which is nothing more than an excuse.”

"It must be an excuse." He Feidao, "It is not the first time in the United States to restrict the activities of foreign capital in the name of national security. Our country's network products exported to the United States have encountered such accusations before. The US government believes that these There may be backdoors in network products that can steal important information in the United States. We just didn’t expect that they could find the same reason for wind turbines.”

"So, what measures should we take?" Xiang Zhe asked.

"I suggest that we resolutely fight back." Yang Chao said, "I support the North American branch's approach and should file a complaint with CFIUS and ask them to revoke this decision."

Lin Zhenhua said: "I'm afraid the matter is not that simple. If CFIUS refuses to revoke this decision, what should we do?"

"Boss Lin is right. If CFIUS refuses to withdraw, even if it is transferred to the investigation process, we can't afford to wait. They can definitely delay it for three to five years." He Fei reminded.

"Old Xiang, what do you think?" Lin Zhenhua asked Xiang Zhe.

Xiang Zhe thought for a while and said: "I think we can take a proper step back. For example, we told CFIUS that we understand their concerns and are willing to cooperate with them, and asked them to provide another piece of wind farm land. The fan was relocated."

"This is also a way of thinking." Lin Zhenhua said, "Our goal is to enter the US market, and there is no need to make the relationship with the US government too rigid. It may be better to keep a low profile."

"Relocating the wind turbine is not a simple matter." He Feidao, "This relocation will completely destroy the foundation we originally built, and the transportation cost is not small. We are at a disadvantage."

Xiang Zhe said: "I just calculated that the cost of the entire relocation is still acceptable compared to the investment in the wind farm. The most important thing is that we can use this method to test the attitude of the US government. If something happens As Yang Chao said, it was an accident, and the other party should be willing for us to change the venue. If it is a trade friction, I think the other party will find other reasons. We can only find out the other party's intentions. Strike back in a targeted manner.”

"Lao Xiang's idea is good. We really need to use this method to test the real thinking of Americans." Lin Zhenhua said.

The decision of the group headquarters was conveyed to the North American branch, and He Lan immediately arranged for a lawyer to contact CFIUS, informing them that Lansell accepted the order of CFIUS and was willing to move the wind turbines to a more suitable place.

As estimated by Hanhua, CFIUS was not satisfied with Lansell's attitude. They replied: there is no suitable place to accommodate a new wind farm, Lansell can only choose to close the shallow mountain wind farm, and cannot choose another place to build.

"Since CFIUS believes that a subsidiary of a Chinese company cannot operate the shallow mountain wind farm, can we sell this wind farm to a purely American company to operate?" He Lan asked the CFIUS official, "We and Christo I have contacted Mr. Wang, and he is willing to buy back this wind farm and continue to complete its construction.”

"No, you cannot sell this wind farm. No matter whether it is a Chinese company or an American company, they can no longer build a wind farm in this place." The CFIUS official replied.

He Lan said: "But our equipment has already been purchased. If we can't start construction, we can only resell the equipment to other wind farms."

The CFIUS official said: "No, these devices are imported from China, and the United States is currently conducting anti-dumping investigations on Chinese wind turbines. Your devices are the subject of the investigation, so they cannot be resold."

He Lan sneered slightly. From these answers from CFIUS, she had already got the answer the group wanted.Obviously, the CFIUS ban is not an accidental event, it is directly aimed at Hanhua fan products.

Just think, if CFIUS only taboos the Chinese to build near US military bases, then it is all right for Hanhua to sell the wind farm to other American companies, or withdraw the wind turbines and sell them to other wind farms.The other party neither agrees to Hanhua's sale of wind farms nor the sale of wind turbines. It is obvious that they want Hanhua's wind turbines to be unable to land in the United States.

Since this is the other party's ban specifically targeting Hanhua fans, Hanhua has no way out.Either withdraw from the U.S. market in despair, or fight back and stir it up.He Lan had already obtained authorization from the group headquarters before, allowing her to take all necessary countermeasures under such circumstances.

Thinking of this, He Lan looked into the eyes of the CFIUS official and asked forcefully, "Sir, can I understand that our investment in purchasing the shallow mountain wind farm in the early stage and the equipment we purchased were all seized by you without compensation?"

"Sorry, Ms. He, we are just following the rules." The other party replied timidly, avoiding He Lan's gaze.

"The United States has always claimed that it is a country that protects private property from infringement, but what I see now is that you are trying to expropriate our property on trumped-up charges. This is against the spirit of American law. You are not afraid of being punished by the law. Do you want to pursue it?" He Lan said relentlessly.

The other party’s official said: “About your complaint materials, we have submitted them to President Cisse, who signed the final ruling document, maintaining CFIUS’s investment ban on Lansell. So, up to now, we have Nothing can change that fact."

"If this is the case, we will choose to sue Xi Sai in the district court!" He Lan said firmly.

　The novel is purely fictitious, if there is any similarity with reality, it is purely accidental, hehe.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)