Sail across the sea

Chapter 497 No More Lanxiang Vocational Schools in History
Zhang Wei had originally intended to discuss business matters with Gao Fan, but Mo Xiaobo's interruption veered the conversation off-topic. Not wanting to ignore Mo Xiaobo, he turned to him and said:

"I heard some things about Maolin Province's financial difficulties during my meetings with the American boss and provincial leaders these past few days. The current national policy direction is marketization, and I estimate that the proportion of fiscal revenue will further decline in the future."

"However, I think our country's officials should also change their mindset. Things like investment are usually done by the private sector in other countries, but in our country, it is still controlled by the government."

"For example, the province wants to develop a 30-ton synthetic ammonia plant, but says it doesn't have the money. I think the province should find a big entrepreneur like Mr. Gao to invest. It's only a few billion yuan, Mr. Gao can definitely come up with the funds."

“Old Zhang’s become an American, and he speaks with such arrogance,” Gao Fan said. “A mere few billion. For an international giant like your Fair Chemical, coming up with a few billion is a piece of cake. For small domestic companies like ours, let alone a few billion, we’d be bleeding money if we invested even a few million.”

Zhang Wei was struggling to steer the conversation back when Gao Fan mentioned Fair Chemicals. He immediately chimed in, "Fair Chemicals can certainly come up with that much money, but it seems that domestic policies don't allow foreign capital to invest in fertilizers, so there's nothing we can do. Actually, my American boss came to China this time specifically to invest here."

"Are you investing in fertilizers?" Mo Xiaobo asked with concern.

As an official in the Finance Department, Mo Xiaobo had also heard about the province's plan to develop a large-scale fertilizer project. The investment in this project was enormous, and the province had assigned the Finance Department a task to raise the necessary funds. The department had held numerous meetings regarding this matter.

Zhang Wei nodded: "Yes. As long as the province agrees, Fair Chemical can immediately come up with several hundred million US dollars to build a large fertilizer plant in the province, and all products will be sold in the province. Some leaders in the province support this, but they say the obstacle is on the national side, mainly the issue of fertilizer monopoly."

Zhang Wei's words were not directed at Mo Xiaobo. He and Skelly had already met with officials from the Finance Department without any results, and he didn't believe that Mo Xiaobo, a deputy section-level cadre, could possibly accomplish anything if even a division chief in the Finance Department couldn't do it.

His purpose was to say this to Gao Fan, because he knew that Gao Fan's father, Gao Yiping, was now the general manager of the provincial fertilizer company and had some say in fertilizer issues.

In addition, he also knew that Gao Fan had some dealings with the vice minister of the Ministry of Chemical Industry in the past. There were many rumors about this in Cangtang County, and some people even said that the vice minister of the Ministry of Chemical Industry might want to recruit Gao Fan as his son-in-law.

Zhang Wei told Gao Fan about this, just to try his luck, even if it might not work out.

Gao Fan was unaware beforehand that Fair Chemicals intended to enter the domestic fertilizer market. Upon hearing Zhang Wei mention this matter, he was immediately reminded of some events from his later years, and a sense of vigilance arose in his heart.

From the mid-1990s to the first decade of the new century, China first engaged in negotiations to rejoin GATT, then shifted to negotiations to join the WTO, and subsequently fulfilled its WTO commitments, resulting in a sharp increase in the degree of economic openness. At the same time, the potential of the Chinese economy began to be recognized by Western countries.

In a short time, a large amount of foreign capital flocked to China to seek its fortune. They either invested in building factories or acquired existing domestic enterprises, frantically expanding their market share. According to data released by a reputable think tank, by the end of 2005, foreign capital had acquired majority control of 21 of the 28 key industries that China had opened to foreign investment.

Another source indicates that around 2000, foreign companies had captured 95% of China's excavator market, leaving only one domestic enterprise producing small excavators, barely maintaining the remaining 5% market share. Fair Chemical's intention to build a fertilizer plant in China is clearly not a coincidence, but rather a manifestation of foreign capital's attempt to gradually erode and dominate the Chinese market.

Foreign capital controlling the excavator market might only result in some lost profits. At worst, people might simply stop using excavators and start digging with shovels, leading to a complete end to Lanxiang Vocational School.

However, if the fertilizer market were controlled by foreign capital, things wouldn't be so easy. In today's world, where farmers are accustomed to relying on chemical fertilizers for farming, a disruption in fertilizer supply could lead to a 50% reduction in national grain production—enough to cause a country to lose without a fight.

Realizing this, Gao Fan smiled and said, "If that's true, that would be wonderful. My dad is the general manager of a fertilizer company, and I heard him say that the province faces a 30% fertilizer shortage every year, forcing them to import from abroad. If foreign companies were to build factories in China, wouldn't that eliminate the import process?"
"As for what obstacles there are, I think it's simply that some officials are too rigid in their thinking and completely out of touch with the times. Don't worry, Lao Zhang, the country is currently undergoing reforms, and I believe that the policies in this area will change soon."

"I heard that you have some connections in the Ministry of Chemical Industry, Gao Fan. Could you talk to them about this?" Zhang Wei asked tentatively.

Gao Fan patted his chest and promised, "No problem. I'll talk to the leaders at the ministry when I go back to Beijing next time. But, even if I say it, they might not listen to me, a small businessman."

Towards the end, he could no longer pat his chest, and instead adopted a humble demeanor, perfectly demonstrating what it means to be arrogant at first and then obsequious.

Zhang Wei didn't say anything more. After all, he wasn't Skelli himself, and he didn't want to appear too dedicated in front of his classmates. At this moment, students from other classes came over to offer toasts, and some even tried to get Gao Fan to help them find a job at Canghai Chemical. So the conversation started to wander and overshadow the previous topic.

The banquet lasted for more than three hours before everyone parted ways, exchanging various blessings.

Gao Fan and Xu Dan had been walking the same route for a while, so they started walking together. After walking a short distance, seeing that no other classmates were following, Xu Dan whispered to Gao Fan:
"Gao Fan, there's something Xiao Pei told me not to tell you, but I think I should still tell you."

Gao Fan laughed: "Dandan, that's not being a good friend. Xiao Pei trusts you so much, and you've already leaked her secret in less than five minutes. Aren't you afraid she'll be angry?"

"I'm doing this for her own good," Xu Dan explained. "I'm afraid she'll fall for someone's tricks."

"That serious?" Gao Fan's joking expression vanished as he asked, "What happened? Did she run into a scammer?"

(End of this chapter)