1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3643

"What is the scale of the local shipbuilding industry in Xingdao? Has there been any change in the past two years? Tell me about it."

When Dong Shangyi learned about the recent situation of Xingdao, he immediately thought of the shipbuilding industry. There are many factors that limit the development level of a region's shipping industry, but the most important reason is definitely the shipbuilding industry.

However, what is different from Dong Shangyi's prediction is that the Sing Tao region has always attached great importance to the shipbuilding industry. The scale of the shipyard is definitely second to none in the surrounding areas of Malacca. In addition, due to the cooperation with the special operations division in the past two years, the demand for warships has increased, so the Sing Tao Shipyard has been in a state of expansion.

Similar to the Luzon Region, the shipbuilding industry in the Xingdao Region is also mostly concentrated in the core area. Outside Xingdao, there are no decent shipyards in other areas within the jurisdiction.

But in terms of shipbuilding capacity, Sing Tao is still above Luzon. After all, it is located on the golden waterway connecting the East and the West, and its shipping industry is far more developed than Luzon.

It’s just that compared with the current rapid growth in demand, the local shipbuilding capacity is indeed unable to meet it, which leads to the shortage of shipping capacity.

The emergency measures are not complicated. The first is to find partners with transportation capacity to cooperate and increase temporary transportation capacity; the second is to subcontract shipbuilding orders to regions with production capacity; and speed up the delivery of new ships.

Sing Tao did take similar measures, contacting nearby places such as Cam Ranh Port in Annan, renting local cargo ships and sailors, and ordering some new ships from local shipyards.

However, these measures have not been able to fundamentally resolve the current problems encountered by the Sing Tao region, and maritime transport capacity is still in a stretched state.

Dong Shangyi heard this and vaguely guessed why he was given special treatment. Perhaps Xingdao had learned about his visit to Luzon and believed that Fujian could help Xingdao solve its shipping problems to a certain extent, so it showed unusual enthusiasm for his visit.

This is certainly a good thing for Fujian. If Sing Tao happens to need Fujian's assistance in shipping, then Dong Shangyi can save a lot of trouble and no longer have to negotiate cooperation terms with the other party in a roundabout way.

Since this was the case, Dong Shangyi attached great importance to this meeting. He quickly took a shower and changed his clothes, and even took a two-hour nap after lunch to get enough rest. Then he personally sorted out the various gifts he brought to Sing Tao, and seeing that it was almost time, he went to the banquet with his entourage.

This welcome banquet specially held to welcome Dong Shangyi was held in a banquet hall not far from the guesthouse.

According to the store owner, this was originally a venue for official receptions, but it was generally only used to receive foreign heads of state and domestic senior officials, and was usually only used a few times a year.

At least this year, it was the first time that a banquet was held here with the attendance of two big figures, Luo and Tan.

Dong Shangyi's rank was at best considered a high-ranking official in Fujian, but if measured in Hai Han, he would be considered a nobody who couldn't even sit in the first three rows at a meeting. But now, the treatment he received in Xingdao was across levels at all times and in all places.

Tan Tianlei had been waiting outside the banquet hall in advance. When he saw Dong Shangyi arrive, he took him in and introduced him to the people attending the banquet today.

The first people introduced to him were, of course, the two local officials Roger and Tan Juren.

The two, one military and one civil, have been in power for more than 20 years and have become the official symbol of Sing Tao. The achievements of Sing Tao today are inseparable from the efforts of the two. Dong Shangyi did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly stepped forward to meet the two with the courtesy of an inferior.

Roger was the first to reach out his hand and support Dong Shangyi who was bowing and saluting: "Master Dong, you have come all the way from Fujian to our remote place. You must have had a hard time on the journey!"

Tan Juren also spoke up, "During last year's National Day, I had a quick meeting with Lord Xu in Hangzhou. I wonder how he is doing these days?"

Dong Shangyi quickly responded, "Thank you for your concern! Lord Xu is also very concerned about you, and ordered me to visit Xingdao. One of my missions is to convey his greetings to you. I have prepared some small gifts, and I hope you will accept them!"

After Dong Shangyi finished speaking, he took the gift list from his attendant and presented it respectfully with both hands.

Roger and Tan Juren did not refuse. They took it, opened it politely, and handed it to the servant behind them, thanking Xu Yuzhuo for his kindness.

The guests attending the banquet were all young faces. After being introduced by Tan Tianlei, Dong Shangyi realized that these young officials were almost all children of high-ranking officials of Sing Tao.

This situation means that the local military and political power is basically controlled by a limited number of large families, which is somewhat similar to Fujian.

At first glance, all of this group are of Han descent. There are no other ethnic groups with obvious physical features. It is not like Luzon, which has a mixture of various ethnic groups.

During the dinner, Tan Juren explained: "The proportion of Han Chinese in Sing Tao is not much different from that in Luzon, and may even be lower. But Han Chinese are generally more educated and have no cultural barriers, so they will have a smoother career path."

Dong Shangyi nodded silently, but at the same time he was thinking that it was not so much a matter of high education, but rather a matter of good family background. No other ethnic groups could have the family background of these young officials present.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Following this topic, we talked about Dong Shangyi's experiences in Luzon and mentioned the Hispanic Administration, which is specifically responsible for managing Spaniards, but Sing Tao does not have such a specialized agency.

Roger explained, “The population structure of Xingdao is complex, and the proportion of ethnic groups other than the Han people is not particularly high, so there is no need for special treatment. Everyone is treated equally under Haihan law!”

At this time, Dong Shangyi discovered that Sing Tao's governing style was obviously different from that of Luzon.

Luzon pays more attention to ethnic differences, even setting up a special management agency and formulating corresponding laws and regulations. On the other hand, Sing Tao Island is deliberately downplaying ethnic differences, neither strengthening management nor giving special treatment, but by firmly controlling the upper power, it has established the status of the Han population.

Dong Shangyi could not tell which of these two governing strategies was better. However, he was sure that both Luzon and Sing Tao were very interested in the assistance Fujian could provide.

After three rounds of wine, five dishes and some small talk, Tan Juren took the initiative to talk about the main topic and asked whether Fujian was interested in expanding the scope of its maritime trade to the Strait of Malacca.

When Dong Shangyi heard that it was a serious matter, he quickly put down his chopsticks and replied seriously: "To be honest with you, Master Tan, I am here for this matter!"