After a day of preliminary consultations on the 18th, Daming basically figured out what the U.S. industry can mainly provide, which items are definitely open to supply, and how much is required; which items are currently in limited production and require each company to transfer The production model when entering the war; which things can be fully provided by one or two companies; which things require the US official to coordinate the joint production of multiple companies across the United States...
By the end of the negotiation that night, Shen Rongxuan had basically decided on the purchasing idea.
He sat together with the Minister of Industry, the Minister of Commerce, the Minister of Mines and Energy, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, the Minister of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and held a small cabinet meeting to determine the general direction of future purchases from the United States.
"In addition to a few large-scale finished products such as cars, artillery, and large aircraft, we try our best to focus on semi-finished products and those scattered items that have little technical content but consume huge amounts of money. We try to make the best use of American industry. Our huge production capacity provides us with primary and intermediate processing, while we focus our production efforts on assembly and high-tech core finished products.
"In short, in addition to cars, artillery, and large aircraft, we should try our best to purchase steel, cables, armor plates, various metal materials, communication equipment, semi-finished parts, chemical industrial products, etc. from the United States, and also gradually import machine tools and automobile assembly lines to enhance our country’s self-production capabilities.”
The Mines and Energy Minister added:
"We also need to import a large amount of oil drilling and mining equipment. At present, our country's production capacity of such products is far from meeting our new needs. Putting aside the war, our production capacity of oil drilling equipment is still quite weak. Many of the previous In 2006, our Ming Dynasty was an oil-poor country. We basically relied on imported oil and did not need to extract oil ourselves. Of course, our oil refining equipment has a large output and our technology is very mature. This is because we have imported oil for a long time and only need to process the finished products ourselves. Oil is enough, but upstream oil production is almost blank.
"Last year we acquired a large new oil field in East India, and we need to produce oil ourselves. However, the development of this heavy industry cannot be caught up overnight. Now the United States is the world's largest oil producer, and the oil production industry is very developed. If If we want to digest the East India oil fields as soon as possible, we must step up cooperation with the United States in this regard. We don’t know when this war will end, and war is a bottomless pit for burning oil. If we hold large oil fields while still It would be too ironic to import large amounts of oil.
"As for mining equipment, it is said that our country's production capacity is relatively strong and its technology is mature. After all, non-ferrous metals are one of our country's traditional pillar industries. But now that the north has just been unified, we suddenly got such a large area of land, and non-ferrous metals The mining area has nearly doubled, and the core strategic resources of iron ore and coal mines have increased more than ten times. Calculating this, our current mining capacity is only at the kindergarten level. If we want to develop it as soon as possible To turn these sleeping underground minerals into national strength and national wealth, we urgently need to import a large amount of mining equipment and equipment to produce mining equipment. That is, the import of entire factories."
The Business Secretary took over and said:
"That's right. Since the end of our unification war, representatives of relevant companies from the United States and Australia have been lobbying us. The mining industries and mining machinery industries of these two countries are the most developed in the world. Now People have also noticed that we have acquired the vast north, and we definitely need to expand our mining capabilities, and they all want to rush to dig for gold. Those mining machinery companies want to come here to seek big orders, and those mining companies want to come here to seek investment opportunities."
Shen Rongxuan nodded and said:
"I know this too. Although this is not our topic tonight, it is quite relevant and important. Their calculations are very precise, but they are also correct. First, the many minerals in the north depend on Our own existing capabilities simply cannot bear it. Secondly, the current severe international environment and the severe domestic employment environment have determined that we must rapidly expand the mining industry and turn these underground minerals into war capabilities and national wealth as soon as possible. and employment opportunities. Then, we must draw on the power of the international community.
"We can use a more common method: or let foreign mining companies invest directly, sell the mining rights to them for a certain period of time, and then collect a certain tax every year. When the period is up, the mines will be taken back and sold to our country's mining companies. Operation. Or the government first sells the mines to domestic mining companies, and then lets domestic mining companies and foreign mining companies form joint ventures. Our company provides the mines, and the foreign companies provide funds and equipment, and then they are divided according to the equity ratio every year. Which method is used specifically? Each method depends on the specific situation. This is the only method that can transform these mineral resources into wealth and power in a short period of time."
…
After two days of discussions, the two parties basically determined the quantity of the first batch of orders. These are the numbers that are as conservative as possible, and are the numbers that determine what the United States can supply. The first batch of supplies totals:
Arms - large and medium transport aircraft: about 100; anti-tank guns of 37 mm and larger caliber (including ammunition): 120 in total; 12 mm and 14 mm anti-tank guns: 500 in total;
Communication equipment - field telephones: 1,500 units; 7-core telephone lines: 15,000 kilometers; various vehicle and airborne radios: 800 sets;
Mechanical equipment - various metal cutting machine tools: about 100; large electric furnaces: 10; forging equipment: about 500,000 US dollars; industrial diamond: about 50,000 US dollars; various abrasives: about 30,000 US dollars; graphite electrodes: 40 tons ;
Special Envoy Smith looked at this huge purchase letter of intent with a smile on his face and a happy heart. This is not all, it is just that it will be supplied to Daming within the next month, two months at the latest. In other words, it is only the first In the future, such supplies may be available every month, and may reach several times the amount listed in the letter of intent. Although this shopping list is not large, it is rare to have it every month in the future. This will undoubtedly bring benefits to the sluggish U.S. economy. Give a shot in the arm.
Moreover, this did not include vehicle purchase intentions. Shen Rongxuan told him that the Ming Army did not need to negotiate with U.S. officials for the purchase of military vehicles. They could directly negotiate with the two largest automobile companies in the United States - General Motors and Ford.
…
In the next few days, the Ming government and the military negotiated with the bosses of the American delegation. The two parties quickly and concisely solicited bids, negotiated prices, and drafted contracts. On June 22, the first cargo ship on the east coast of the United States It was loaded with semi-finished metal products and headed south to the sea.
At the same time, every move between China and the United States over the past few days has been clearly seen by Moscow.