The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Chapter 1297 100 billion, I’ll give you 100 billion!
“Not using U.S. dollars for settlement?”

Perhaps because it was too unexpected, Lin Zuoming and Luo Hairong shouted out almost in unison.

After looking at each other, the former continued:
"Isn't that more sensitive than selling a few fighter jets?"

Luo Hairong also spoke up:
"Academician Chang, forgive me for being blunt... Although our country has made rapid progress in recent years, overall, we are still far from being able to confront the United States head-on."

In the post-Cold War era, the essence of America's status, to put it simply, is the US dollar plus the US military.

Use the dominant position of the US dollar to reap the world market to feed a powerful army, and then use the army to maintain the dominant position of the US dollar in the international arena.

Although the euro did not suffer the severe setback in 2000 in this timeline, its position in the international market is far superior to the same period in the previous life. Even in a brief period at the turn of the century, it had a tendency to catch up.

However, with the launch of two military operations in the Gulf region, the shadow of the US military's previous setbacks in the Balkans was swept away, and the basic foundation of the petrodollar was maintained at the cost of being mired in the quagmire of war.

Especially after 2003, the euro can only maintain its strength at best, but cannot truly replace the dollar as a hard currency.

For the vast majority of countries, Europe and the United States are birds of a feather.

Although the oil-based currency is not as secure as the gold-based currency, it is at least more reassuring than the euro, which is simply backed by the EU industry.

Therefore, if we have to choose one of these two legs as the core, the US dollar may be more important than the US military.

Now you have to consider the US dollar settlement system.

Moreover, in the process of trading with a Middle Eastern oil giant like Saudi Arabia, it is necessary to break away from the US dollar settlement system.

For the United States, this is not as simple as being slapped in the face.

Instead, their ancestral graves will be dug up.

I'm afraid we can't continue to cover it up by giving someone a slap in the face and then giving them a sweet treat as we did in the past.

"It's really not possible to come directly."

Chang Haonan touched his chin and replied:
"It's not just a matter of triggering a fierce backlash from the other side... In fact, our domestic financial institutions have absolutely no experience in this area. Even if the Americans turn a blind eye, it's still difficult from a technical point of view."

Although he hadn't figured out what Chang Haonan was up to yet, Lin Zuoming nodded somewhat helplessly:
"Yeah... Although I don't know much about finance, I know that there is neither a sufficient amount of offshore local currency nor a cross-border trading system. Even if we want to trade in RMB, Saudi Arabia may not be able to raise enough money in a short time."

At this time in 2006, the proportion of RMB in international trade settlement was almost negligible, even lower than the ruble, which had a little commonality within the CIS.

If you ask a wealthy person to take out US dollars or gold, he may not even blink an eye.

But the RMB...

Sorry, I don't have this.

"I don't know much about finance, but this is just a test. We won't be able to use RMB directly in a short period of time..."

Chang Haonan waved his hand:
“The entire order is denominated in U.S. dollars, and then a portion of it is traded in the form of barter, and then a trustworthy and inconspicuous local bank is found to use local currency as collateral… This way, we can bypass the currency aspects of cross-border settlement and currency swap agreements, and will not leave too many hidden dangers.”

Luo Hairong looked relieved after hearing the first half, but then he became confused again:
"Although...but...what's the point of this?"

"I mean... when we exported the J-10E to Thailand before, we also used the form of barter payment. This is not really an innovation, right?"

His ultimate purpose in coming here today is to get a piece of the pie from the Middle Eastern oil guys' big money-spending.

"Simply bartering is nothing, but the settlement method for this transaction can be settled in local currency by a domestic agent bank. That is, the two banks sign a local currency settlement agent bank agreement, set up corresponding clearing accounts, and conduct point-to-point account bank remittance business settlement..."

Chang Haonan had started thinking about this matter a long time ago, so he also learned some relevant knowledge from relevant professionals such as Yang Huimei over the years.

Although he was still a jack of all trades, it was enough to fool the two more pure laymen in front of him:

"The direct value of this round of operations is indeed not great. The main purpose is to provide the domestic financial system with an opportunity to practice and to reserve a loophole to bypass the SWIFT system in case of future emergency...For Mr. Luo, this is definitely a bargaining chip that can impress his superiors."

No one understands the importance of financial sovereignty better than Chang Haonan, a reborn person.

Although the relationship between Europe and the United States is more complicated in this life, the worst-case scenario must still be considered.

It is better to have something yourself than to have it from your parents, especially if it is from a two-faced Swiss person.

The experience of the previous life has proved that when the critical moment comes, no permanent neutrality will work.

However, at this point in 2006, Chang Haonan's preparation was indeed a little too advanced.

So much so that there was obviously some doubt in Luo Hairong's eyes when he looked at him.

It wasn't that he doubted whether Chang Haonan's idea would succeed, but he doubted whether this proposal was really important enough. But he soon figured it out -

Regardless of whether the quantity is enough or not, I have no other choice but to take my chances.

The small amount of money involved in the order can be both a disadvantage and an advantage.

If we let the petrochemical or aerospace industries handle large orders worth tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in this way, it would be too noisy and not flexible enough.

So, after careful consideration, Luo Hairong nodded:
"It's definitely worth a try... At least we can report this idea to our superiors and let them consider the feasibility of this plan."

……

Time flies, and another three days have passed.

The Saudi aerospace delegation led by Sultan has visited all three of China's space launch centers.

They were even allowed to go inside and take a look at the rocket vertical assembly plant and launch tower.

It’s a pity that apart from the Kuaizhou-1 Yao-2 rocket, China did not arrange any other launch missions in the last month of the year, so there was no opportunity to witness the launch of the three main liquid rockets.

Of course, the reason for such a slightly lengthy journey, in addition to proving the strength of China Aerospace itself, is mainly to delay time.

During this period, the National Space Administration summarized the relevant requirements of Saudi Arabia and submitted them to its superiors, and then held a closed-door meeting for two days and two nights. Finally, a condition was finally formed that would not affect the independence of China's aerospace development, but would also be able to show sincerity in cooperation...

After the group returned to Beijing, they almost immediately brought several key leaders of the Saudi delegation to the conference room of the National Space Administration.

Rogge had been working non-stop for the past few days and was almost at his limit. However, he had to deal with this matter before he could rest, so he had to force himself to be alert:

"Dr. Sultan, your superiors have already given a specific response to your country's request to send astronauts to the space station in the future."

Facing the dog owner, he didn't intend to beat around the bush, but went straight to the point:
"The Tiangong-1, which is scheduled to be launched next year, is a single-module space station whose main purpose is to verify technology. In order to ensure the independence of our Chinese manned space program, we cannot directly accept foreign investment, nor do we have the ability to maintain long-term rotation of astronauts... However, as part of the cooperation, we can approve the installation of some scientific research payloads from our partners..."

It was obvious that when Rogge said this, there was a hint of surprise and panic in Sultan's eyes.

Ever since watching the rocket launch in Qiong Province, the response from the Chinese side has always been relatively positive, so when he reported to the country, he always looked confident.

But after returning to the capital happily, why did he suddenly make a 180-degree turn?
"Mr. Roger, could it be..."

Sultan’s first thought was that the hateful Persians had interfered and ruined this cooperation.

But he had barely started to speak when Rogge on the other side reached out and stopped him:

"Dr. Sultan, I know you are anxious, but please wait... Please listen to me."

Realizing that there might be a chance for a turnaround, Sultan calmed down.

"After Tiangong-1, we will consider building a multi-cabin space station similar to the Mir or the International Space Station... The initial scale may not be too large, and then gradually expand outward. Of course, the specific plan depends on the results of the next step of verification..."

After a pause, Roger continued:
"But no matter what the specific plan is, at this stage, we can arrange a separate functional module for our partners, including the long-term rotation of 1-2 astronauts, as well as some basic on-orbit experiments and scientific research functions. Of course, spacewalks and other more complex space experiment projects still require the help of our other functional modules to complete..."

Almost instantly, Sultan's expression changed from gloomy to bright.

Although there was a slight deviation from their previous estimates before the trip, the core purpose was still achieved.

To some extent, it was even a pleasant surprise.

It is difficult to say which option is more cost-effective: investing in a complete module of your own or investing proportionally in the entire space station.

After all, Sultan knows very well that Saudi Arabia itself will not have the ability to operate a space station in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, even if we obtain 50% or one-third of the ownership of the entire space station, we still have to rely on China in terms of operation.

And a separate cabin can accommodate two astronauts...

The extra position can even be used as a bargaining chip within the GCC.

Looking at the interesting expression on the other person's face, Rogge thought that the other person was hesitating, so he added:
"A complete cabin section is indeed more expensive, but we also support multiple friendly partners to jointly invest in its construction and share it..."

Only this time, it was his turn to be interrupted.

"No! No need for joint funding!"

Sultan waved his hand:
"100 billion, is 100 billion enough?"

(End of this chapter)