Spark

Chapter 215 Are They Upgrading?

On the other side of the sea, in the secret office of the May Society.

Houston never imagined that one day he would be able to replace Paine and take the chief seat in the conference room.

He used to think that if he wanted to sit in this position, he would at least have to wait until Paine was too old to think anymore, or until the threat from his own side disappeared completely and May would become a tasteless department. Then he would have a chance.

But unexpectedly, the development speed of the other party far exceeded the expectation of the other side.

The forced adjustment is not because the opponent is no longer threatening, but because the opponent's threat is too great.

It was so big that even Paine didn't make a mistake, just slowed down, which led to the end of his own complete defeat.

Of course, it was this ending that gave him the hope of entering the core decision-making level.

On a certain level, I should thank Paine.

Although he is sorry for the country, he is really worthy of himself.

Anyway, hope he's doing well on his ranch in Texas.

Houston breathed a sigh of relief, put down the report he had finished reading, and said to the assistant on the side:

"Are you sure this is their latest plan? They want to make efforts in the field of construction machinery?"

The assistant nodded and replied:

"Yes, the confidentiality level of this plan is not high, and it has even been made public to the relevant participating departments."

"According to the information we have obtained, they should be planning to give priority to solving problems in the fields of shield machines, heavy excavators, and bridge erecting machines. A newly established working group called the Civil Affairs Office is in charge of coordinating .”

"The authority of this working group is very high. It is said that it may be at the same level as the Reinstallation Office, or even above the Reinstallation Office."

"We suspect that the Civil Affairs Office is related to the mysterious working group we speculated before, and it is likely to be their spokesperson in the field of civilian technology."

Hearing what the assistant said, Houston frowned slightly.

"You mean, their working group zero?"

"That's right."

"But it's a little unreasonable. Working group 0 has been responsible for scientific research in the military industry. If it is now turned to civilian use, the span will be too large."

"They don't have technology accumulation, and they don't have a reliable talent pool. If they adjust their direction rashly, can it really work?"

The assistant shook his head and replied:

"This point, we are not particularly clear."

"But what is certain is that the previous Sky Whale project is related to the No. 0 working group."

"On this project, they should have already accumulated some civilian scientific research experience, which is enough to support them to start a large-scale civilian scientific research project."

"No, certainly not enough."

Houston interrupted the assistant and said:

"No matter how rich the project experience is, it is impossible to completely bridge the gap in technology. This is an objective law."

"But intelligence can't be wrong, it's even semi-public."

the assistant said suspiciously.

Houston sighed, his expression gradually becoming serious.

He took a blank piece of paper and wrote a few words on it one by one.

military industry.

civilian use.

Fighters, missiles, electronics.

Ships, high-speed rail, infrastructure.

Then, he turned the paper towards the assistant and asked:

"Did you find anything?"

The assistant shook his head, still bewildered.

".It's so obvious, why can't you see it?"

Houston glanced at the assistant helplessly, then continued:

"They're making up their gap step by step, and they're taking the shortest path."

"The development of military industry is to expand our influence to the greatest extent during the window period when our energy is involved in the Middle East, to establish a relatively stable external environment, and to establish international influence at the fastest speed. .”

"And all of this is actually paving the way for the development of their civilian technology."

"After all, civil technology requires a lot of capital and market support. If they don't have the right to speak internationally, their domestic market alone will not be able to support the goal of rapid development."

"So, the military industry is the first step."

"After that step has been taken, and they've reached a level of 'enough', they then move on to civilian use."

"The high-speed rail is their first water-testing project. The Sky Whale, which followed immediately, is a mixed military-civilian project. The current construction machinery project, in their words, is nothing short of hopeless."

"They want to quickly create a powerful complex economy based on the foundation established by the military industry."

"Now, their GDP ranking is only sixth, but if this trend continues, they are likely to enter the top five within two or three years, and enter the top three within 10 years—or even second. "

"At that time, the economic advantages will feed back to the military, and the whole situation will be completely revitalized by them."

"So, what they are doing now is, in the final analysis, just one thing."

"They're upgrading!"

"upgrade?"

The assistant repeated subconsciously.

"That's right. This is like a board game. You must collect all the elements required for the upgrade to complete the upgrade."

"And once the upgrade is successful, your strength will increase a lot in an instant."

"Obviously, the elements they are collecting now are infrastructure."

Houston got up suddenly, and said firmly:

"We must not sit idly by, otherwise, we will make the same mistake as Paine."

"Before, it was very difficult for us to intervene in the military, but in the economy, there is much more room for us to operate. Do you have any ideas?"

Hearing Houston's question, the assistant was obviously taken aback.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he answered:

"Trade protection, sanctions, monopoly, dumping, technology blockade. These are the only ones I can think of."

"However, in terms of heavy machinery, we actually don't have much say in the world. Mitsubishi and Hitachi are the largest suppliers of each other."

"It is not feasible to achieve the goal through sanctions."

"In terms of technology blockade. You also know that the technical strength of the zero working group is not bad. Now that it is proposed, it is almost impossible to rely on external technology. This is contrary to their original intention."

Houston nodded in agreement, and after thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"If none of these things work, then we can only use trade protection + dumping?"

"If this set of strategies is implemented, we can destroy their domestic and international markets at the same time."

"At that time, no matter how advanced their technology is, the things that cannot be sold will only rot in the warehouse."

"As long as the funding chain for research and development is broken, they will no longer be able to pose a threat to us."

The assistant on the side nodded silently.

In his heart, he actually did not agree with such a plan.

After all, relying on "dumping" to occupy the market is actually not the most "economical" approach.

But now, if you really want to curb the opponent's "upgrade" trend, it seems that there is indeed no other better solution

A few days later, Caterpillar headquarters.

Chairman Qian Ning looked at the man opposite with a serious face, and asked:

"Are you serious? Are you sure you want us to cooperate in implementing the price reduction and dumping strategy?"

"Do you know that once the price of a product drops, it is not they who will be hit first, but our own domestic market!"

"Our profits will plummet, the capital chain will be broken, and even bank loans may not be repaid. Is this what you want?"

Houston shook his head calmly, and replied:

"of course not."

"In fact, we value your own profits more than you. Even a small reduction is a huge tax loss for us."

"So, you can rest assured that the official is definitely not trying to embarrass you this time. On the contrary, we will provide a lot of convenience."

"One of the most important ones is the tariff subsidy."

"All the tariffs paid by your products exported to China will be subsidized by us."

"But in return, you have to cut the price of your product by 20 percent."

Looking at Houston's expression of course, Channing was speechless.

20% reduction?

You must know that when their heavy machinery is exported to China, the highest tariff they pay is only 13%.

Now, you demand a 20% reduction in one breath, where will the other 7% come from?

Aren't you just taking my money to do your business?

Thinking of this, Qian Ning shook his head and said:

"Sorry, sir."

"We cannot meet this requirement."

"You know, the construction machinery industry itself is a low-profit industry. If the price is reduced by 20% as you said, it will cause all our export products to suffer losses."

"This is absolutely unacceptable - not only for me, but also for other investors in the company."

Houston seemed to have expected Channing's answer a long time ago. He took the document from the assistant at the side and handed it to Channing.

"I guess you have such concerns."

"So, before coming, we have visited all the investors of Caterpillar in advance."

"Here's a transcript of our conversations with them -- including several preliminary white papers of intent."

"Obviously, these investors have a longer-term vision than you."

"They all agree with this plan and think that it is actually beneficial to us to be able to seize that huge market."

Qian Ning took the document suspiciously, and after opening it, he saw those very familiar signatures on the document.

"Mr. Blackwater Fuller also agrees?"

Channing asked in disbelief.

You know, Fuller Kepler of Blackwater Capital is the most cautious investor he knows, let alone a risky move, even if it is just a normal strategy change within the company, he will call again and again Consult yourself.

But now, he actually signed the white paper of intent without going through himself?

This is very unreasonable.

"Of course, he's the most aggressive one."

Houston replied with a relaxed expression.

Channing frowned. He knew that these letters of intent could not be forged.

In fact, there is no need for the other party to forge the letter of intent.

After all, the letter of intent represents only "intent". If you disagree, it can only stay on paper.

Of course, the other party can sign these intentions, and the pressure on myself is indeed not small.

"How did you convince them?"

Qian Ning put down the document as if resigned to his fate, and asked.

"It's very simple. We promise to provide unlimited financial support for this project until Caterpillar can make more money in the Chinese market."

"financial support?"

Channing was shocked.

"If there is financial support, why is it not directly given to us or the company, but to investors??"

This is a normal logic. If you want to fight a price war, the best way is undoubtedly to directly provide subsidies to the company, and use subsidies to improve the company's interests to support lower pricing.

But now, the strategy considered by the May Club seems a bit complicated

"That's not something you need to think about, Mr. Channing."

"You know, this matter is a confrontation of capital, and you are just a manager of a company."

"You don't have such ability, so it's the best choice for both of us not to intervene."

".Understood."

Channing nodded and picked up the cigarette beside him.

He subconsciously wanted to light one for himself, but he didn't move forward to light the cigarette until the match was burned out.

At this moment, he was a little confused.

It's just a capital game

That being the case, why does it need Caterpillar to participate? ——

Yes, the company is nothing more than a tool.

A tool that acts as a springboard to get them there.

Perhaps, after the "dumping" goal is accomplished, they kick themselves out and replace them with other, closer partners.

At that time, I didn't even have the right to object to myself.

Well, not now.

Thinking of this, he sighed helplessly.

"alright, I got it."

"I'll cooperate but I want to know, what exactly are you going to do?"

"It's very simple."

Houston sat up straight and said:

"Capture the market, destroy all their related industries, and then, achieve monopoly."

"It's like, uh, like what we're doing on a chip."

"Hanxin?"

Channing's heart skipped a beat.

"That's another story—one that doesn't concern you."

Houston replied with a smile.

He reached out his hand to Channing, and as the two of them clasped their hands, a large-scale and far-reaching plan was launched.

Neither of the two parties in the plan can predict its final direction, but there is no doubt that if one party wins, then the other party will be doomed

A few days later, an astonishing piece of news caused a sensation throughout China.

Caterpillar announced that due to the reduction of material costs and the application of new technologies, the cost of some products has decreased. In order to ensure the optimal development curve, the company has decided to implement strategies such as price reductions, discounts, and preferential policies for multiple markets including China.

The comprehensive price reduction has reached 20%.

But the price reduction window period is only one year.

As soon as the news came out, the whole world was in an uproar.

Everyone is discussing why the Yankees suddenly started doing charity.

Some people think that this is a normal decision made purely to seize the market, which is essentially a trap.

However, no matter which side's point of view it is, it cannot change the fact that:

All domestic manufacturers who need construction machinery have begun to fully advance their procurement plans that were originally expected to be placed in a few years later.