sovbooks Chapter 370 Seminar
Chapter 370 Seminar
In July, the sun in Beijing was scorching hot. Ling Yun stepped out of the car and immediately felt the intense heat. He was wearing a dark blue short-sleeved shirt and carrying a black briefcase.
Two soldiers in military uniforms stood guard at the hotel entrance. Next to them was a long table, behind which sat two staff members, one flipping through a list and the other handing out name tags. Ling Yun walked over and gave his name.
The staff member searched the list for a while, looked up at him, and then handed him a name tag. The tag had his name and company on it: Xinghuo Group, Lingyun. He clipped the tag to his shirt pocket and walked inside.
The conference room was on the third floor; it was a medium-sized room that could seat fifty or sixty people. It was already more than half full, filled with smoke.
In front was the stage, with three chairs on it, none of which were yet occupied. Below the stage were long tables, four in a row, eight rows in total. On the tables were teacups, ashtrays, and microphones.
Ling Yun found his seat, in the fourth row near the aisle. He sat down, placed his briefcase on the table, and sat next to a man in his fifties wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a thermos in front of him.
The first few rows were filled with elderly people, dressed in white shirts or dark jackets, with their hair neatly combed and file folders in front of them.
The younger people in the back rows were either flipping through documents or talking in hushed tones. Ling Yun noticed that, apart from himself, very few people in the entire conference room were wearing short sleeves.
At 8:55, three people came up to the stage.
The man in the middle was a man in his fifties, wearing a dark gray suit, with gray hair and glasses. He was the deputy director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and his surname was Li.
The man on the left is a director from the Ministry of Information Industry, surnamed Wang. He's in his forties, tall and thin, and wears glasses. The man on the right is a section chief from the General Office, surnamed Zhang, who is responsible for record keeping and coordination.
Deputy Director Li tapped the microphone to test the sound, then began, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've invited you all here today for a symposium. The main topic of discussion is what will happen to our electronics industry after joining the WTO."
"Among those present are representatives from central state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and a few private enterprises. All are business leaders from companies related to the electronics industry, each with their own area of expertise. Today, we won't have a one-man show; everyone is encouraged to speak freely. Please feel free to share your thoughts, difficulties, and suggestions."
"I'll take everyone's opinions back, compile them into meeting minutes, and submit them to the higher-ups. The final decision will be discussed by the leaders. But today's meeting is to hear everyone's true thoughts; let's not hold back."
He paused for a moment, looked around at the audience, and said, "Alright, let's begin. Who wants to go first?"
A few seconds of silence fell over the audience. A man sitting on the left side of the first row raised his hand. He was in his early fifties, with a square face, short hair, and wearing a dark blue jacket. His name tag on his chest read "China Electronics Technology Group, Zhang Jianguo." Deputy Director Li nodded and said, "Old Zhang, you go first."
Zhang Jianguo cleared his throat and said, "Distinguished leaders and colleagues, I am from China Electronics Technology Group Corporation. We mainly deal with military electronics, radar, and communication equipment. We have discussed the WTO issue internally many times. My view is that the military industry absolutely cannot be neglected. This is not just an industrial issue, but a national security issue."
"How many years more advanced are Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in the US? Ten? Fifteen years? If we open up competition, what will we have to compete with them on? Moreover, military products are not market-driven; they are strategic materials. I suggest that military electronics be included in a protection list, prohibiting foreign investment and strictly controlling import restrictions."
After he finished speaking, a man next to him raised his hand. He was a man in his fifties, with a round face and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, sitting in the middle of the first row. He introduced himself, saying, "I'm Liu Weidong from China Electronics Corporation. We mainly deal with civilian electronics, including consumer electronics, components, and complete systems. I don't know much about the military industry that Lao Zhang mentioned. But my view on the civilian sector is a bit different from his. The entry into the WTO will definitely have an impact, but it also presents opportunities. Foreign products are coming in, but our products can also go out. The key is how to respond."
"My suggestion is that the consumer electronics sector could be appropriately liberalized. The domestic market for televisions, audio equipment, and DVDs is already quite large, and companies there are already quite competitive. Changhong, Konka, and TCL are all doing well. Opening up competition isn't a bad thing; competition drives progress. Of course, the prerequisite is that our own companies must be competitive. If we liberalize everything all at once now, a lot of companies will definitely fail. Therefore, I suggest giving a three- to five-year buffer period to allow companies to prepare."
After Liu Weidong finished speaking, a man next to him raised his hand. This man was in his early fifties, with a thin, long face and receding hairline. He said, "I'm Zhao Guoqiang from China Great Wall Industry Group. We mainly manufacture computers and peripherals. The WTO accession had the biggest impact on our sector. Why? Because in the computer field, China has never been very competitive. The CPUs are from Intel, the operating systems are from Microsoft, and the core technologies—hard drives, memory, monitors—are all in foreign hands."
"What are we doing? Assembling. Cases, power supplies, keyboards, mice—low-value-added products. Profit margins are as thin as paper. If we open up competition, foreign brands will come in, lower prices, and we won't even be able to assemble anything. My suggestion is that the computer sector needs protection. I'm not saying we should never open it up, but opening it up now would be killing domestic companies. We should at least wait until we have our own core technologies and our own brands before we can talk about competition."
After Zhao Guoqiang finished speaking, someone next to him immediately raised his hand. He said, "I am Sun Jian from Shanghai Huahong Group. We mainly deal with integrated circuits, chip design and manufacturing. I agree with what Mr. Zhao said about computers. But regarding chips, my view is more serious. With China's entry into the WTO, the most affected are not complete machines, but chips. Complete machines can still be assembled, but what about chips? The chips we design ourselves are two or three generations behind others in performance. The chips we manufacture ourselves are one or two generations behind others in process technology."
"If we open up competition, foreign chips will come in, cheaper and with better performance. Who will still use ours? No one will use them, and there will be no market. No market means no R&D investment. Without R&D investment, we will never catch up. It's a vicious cycle. So my suggestion is that the chip industry must be protected. Not only protected, but also supported. Policies, funding, and markets should all be tilted towards chips. This is not just a matter for one company, but for the entire industry chain."
After Sun Jian finished speaking, a man sitting in the row behind him raised his hand. This man, in his fifties with graying hair, said, "I'm Wang Zhiyuan from China Potevio Information Industry Group. We mainly manufacture communication equipment, such as switches, base stations, and optical transmission. I agree with what Mr. Sun said about the chip industry. But the situation is different in communications. We have a certain level of competitiveness in communication equipment; Huawei and ZTE have done quite well in recent years. In the domestic market, we can already compete on par with foreign brands in switches and access networks, and some of our products are even exported to earn foreign exchange."
"China's entry into the WTO has had an impact on the telecommunications equipment sector, but not a huge one. In fact, it has created more opportunities. With the opening up of foreign markets, our products can be sold. My suggestion is that the telecommunications equipment sector can be gradually opened up. But there is a prerequisite: we must develop our own core chips and operating systems. Currently, Huawei and ZTE use mostly imported chips. If they stop selling to us one day, our equipment will come to a standstill. So, without solving the chip problem, we can't talk about real competitiveness in telecommunications equipment."
Ling Yun sat quietly to the side, listening to everyone's opinions. Currently, it seems everyone is worried about the chip issue. China has fallen far behind in the entire semiconductor industry chain and needs to catch up significantly.