In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 247: Stealing 617's business and even having someone train the customers?

"Cooperate with the Pakistani military? Xie Wei, our tank project integrates the most advanced tank technology in the country!"

Boss Zhu's expression turned serious as he looked at Xie Wei.

Clearly, he didn't want their most advanced tank, developed in the country, to be sold abroad before it was even used by their own troops.

"Yes, this is not only against the national interest, but also does not benefit national defense and security in any way!"

"How about we downgrade the technology we're currently developing and cooperate with Pakistan?"

The entire tank team leader did not want to provide the tank currently under development to foreign customers with its current technical performance.

"Gentlemen, even if such a tank were developed, it wouldn't be suitable for the troops. Leaving aside the cost, its performance alone wouldn't meet the troops' development needs. The tanks provided to our troops would require further performance improvements. That's my thinking..."

Therefore, Xie Wei once again brought up the technical specifications of the 99 major overhaul.

"Is this... a bit too difficult?"

Upon hearing Xie Wei mention the need for a diesel engine of at least 1000-1500 horsepower, with room for upgrading to a 1500-horsepower gas turbine; the requirement for main armor protection to reach a thickness of 1000mm homogeneous steel armor; the need for a relatively high level of informatization; and the need for a fly-by-wire control system…

Even though they were all top experts in tanks in China, everyone felt their scalps tingle as they listened.

That's way too difficult!
"It's definitely going to be difficult. With the country's reform and opening up, everything has to give way to economic infrastructure development... Given the continuous cuts in military spending, the military won't have much funding to procure advanced weapons and equipment for the next ten or even twenty years. Besides, there are specialized design and manufacturing units like the 201 Institute and Factory 617, who can provide the transitional models the military needs during this period..."

After Xie Wei finished speaking, he observed the reactions of the crowd. Seeing that they all nodded in agreement, he quickly changed the subject: "The cooperation with Pakistan is a joint research and development project... It was finalized several months ago. They have also sent technical personnel to participate in the research and development, and helping them train technical personnel is also part of the cooperation..."

Xie Wei emphasized to everyone that this was no longer a matter of discussing with them.

Even if General Manager Zhu were to object, it wouldn't be possible.

Seeing Xie Wei's tough attitude, Boss Zhu frowned and was about to say something, but Xie Wei didn't give him a chance to speak at all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the main source of funding for our tank project is Pakistan. Although $8000 million is not a huge amount for an advanced tank development project, this large sum of foreign exchange not only allows the country to import more advanced technology and equipment, but it is also the largest source of funding for our tank development project at present..."

When Xie Wei, with a serious expression, uttered these words, everyone's expressions became complicated.

No one raised any further objections.

If they don't cooperate, and don't even have funding, how can they oppose it?

"Everyone, there's really no need to worry. The tanks we're developing right now are designed for the international market from the very beginning. It's essentially a technology verification process. When the military needs them, we can use this as a foundation to design and develop even more advanced tanks. At the same time, the technology development costs will be further reduced, making the tanks supplied to the military in the future cheaper..."

When will the Pakistani personnel arrive?

The boss did not raise any further objections.

Xie Wei's statement is true. As long as the technology can be developed and the military has the funds, it can obtain tanks with better performance and lower prices.

Although Pakistani engineers and technicians are not highly skilled and lack experience, they can alleviate the problem of manpower shortage in projects.

Harbin Institute of Technology is not a dedicated research unit for armored vehicles; even its vehicle engineering program was newly established.

The manpower is naturally not comparable to that of Institute 201 and Institute 617, and even less than that of Factory 541, which is not yet completed.

"The original plan was for them to arrive at the school on August 22nd, but now all the international students are undergoing intensive language training at the Capital Foreign Language School, and they won't be able to come to the school until after the National Day holiday at the earliest. We don't need to consider them for now. Even if they join the program, their primary focus in the early stages will be on their studies..."

I know that Boss Zhu plans to utilize the engineering and technical personnel transferred from Pakistan to alleviate the project team's manpower shortage.

Pakistan has no tank industry, and its most experienced personnel are tank mechanics.

The engineering and technical personnel involved in the design and development are different from international students, and the project team cannot communicate in a foreign language during the design and development process.

Given the already severe shortage of translation talent, it is impossible for schools to allocate a large number of translators to participate in the tank design process.

"Is that so? Xie Wei, why don't you talk to the school and ask them to borrow a group of technical personnel from Factory 541? At present, Institute 201 and Factory 617 have a lot of tasks, and there are not many technical personnel who can support us. Too few people will seriously affect the progress."

Boss Zhu made the suggestion to Xie Wei.

After Xie Wei followed Principal Li Rui to find them, Principal Li borrowed some technical backbones from 201 and 617.

Even with the participation of teachers and students from relevant majors at the school, there is still a shortage of manpower.

"it is good."

Construction of Factory 541 has been halted, and it is impossible to continue construction in the future.

Currently, we have begun to utilize the factory's equipment and technical foundation to shift our focus, and we are currently working on a 130 light truck, but we don't know if it has been successfully developed yet.

"Would they agree to borrow personnel from Factory 541?"

Xie Wei immediately went to find Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao.

It wasn't that Xie Wei didn't want to approach the school's vice principal in charge of labor relations, but trying to "borrow" their technical staff from 541 was no easy task.

The 541 base, which was initially positioned as the largest tank production and manufacturing base in Asia, will definitely not continue construction.

But neither the military nor the factory thought that way.

Even the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry, which was in charge, did not believe that the 541 Tank Base would eventually stop producing tanks and instead completely transform its operations.

The fact that a subordinate unit of the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building borrowed core technical personnel from a core unit of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, and that they didn't intend to return them, is something that a deputy head of a subordinate unit could not possibly resolve.
The only option is for Principal Zhang to contact Principal Li through Secretary Liu.

"Construction at Factory 541 has been suspended. The factory not only has a large number of technical backbones transferred from Factory 617, but also many technical backbones who studied in the Soviet Union and the first batch of tank experts in China..."

Xie Wei reminded the two, "The school definitely doesn't have enough manpower to complete the tank design and development project as soon as possible. And the experts and technical backbone at 541 don't have any research and development tasks because the factory isn't fully completed yet..."

"Then we'll contact Principal Li immediately; only he can solve this problem."

Zhang Mingqiu knew Xie Wei's purpose and did not hesitate at all.

He knew he couldn't handle this.

"That's fine."

Xie Wei was about to leave when Zhang Mingqiu stopped him: "Xie Wei, why don't you get involved in the negotiations with General Ahmed?"

"What else is there to discuss? We already reached an agreement last time. Do they want to change the terms of the cooperation?"

Xie Wei was stunned. Could it be that the Pakistani side was dissatisfied with the previously agreed cooperation terms?
When we met with General Ahmed a few days ago, they didn't suggest any modifications or adjustments to the contract.

"This isn't about changing the terms of the cooperation... They're also aware of the basic skill level of their own technical personnel, and they're asking us to not only help train designers, but also production managers and manufacturing technicians..."

"Training management and technical personnel for production and manufacturing?"

The demands made by Pakistan are not excessive.

Training technical personnel for the other party is also part of the cooperation, and there was no such clause in the previous contract.

Pakistan's request has created some trouble for Harbin Institute of Technology.

Harbin Institute of Technology only has design capabilities. In terms of manufacturing, it's impossible for all parts to be hand-made in the metalworking workshop. How can it help train others?
Only Factory 617 could provide production and management training. Even Factory 541, which was not yet completed, did not meet the requirements.

Factory 541 currently has no plans to produce more than a few tanks.

"Yes. This is a bit complicated; Factory 617 isn't too keen on it..."

Liu Debao looked melancholy and spoke in a low voice.

Xie Wei understood.

Logically, when cooperating with foreign countries on tank projects, Pakistan's first choice would definitely be Institute 201 or Factory 617. If they choose Institute 201, Factory 617 would also be able to get a share of the design tasks, as both are subordinate units of the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry.

In the eyes of the cadres and employees of Factory 617, Harbin Institute of Technology stole their opportunity to earn funding.

How could they possibly help Harbin Institute of Technology train the technical personnel needed to build a tank production plant in Pakistan?
"Okay, I'll contact Principal Li and go there."

After thinking it over, Xie Wei decided that it would be best for him to go and see Li Rui. If he couldn't persuade Factory 617, then he would have to try to see if Base 541 could solve the problem.

If the 541 base were to fall under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, Xie Wei would not hesitate to persuade his superiors to sell part of the 541 factory's production lines and equipment directly to Pakistan...

"That would be best. General Ahmed and his men are heading to the capital anyway; would you like to go with them?"

Zhang Mingqiu was overjoyed to hear Xie Wei say that he was going to find Li Rui.

Once this issue is resolved, the contract can be signed immediately. The $8000 million will be paid in three installments, with the first installment of $2000 million arriving within ten days of signing the contract.

This is a huge sum of money for the school.

This will not only enable research into tank-related technologies, but also alleviate the school's financial burden.

Shewe did not refuse to go to the capital with Ahmed and the others.

Ahmed wasn't very interested in Shewei, even though he knew that Shewei was so young and had a great influence on the school's decisions. He didn't seem inclined to talk to Shewei much along the way.

Imham and Murita, on the other hand, chatted incessantly with Xie Wei along the way, trying to learn about the school's technical projects from various angles. Xie Wei, however, was waiting for Pakistan to invest in the school's fighter jet project. Apart from keeping quiet about projects assigned to the school by the military and his superiors, he did not hide anything else.

Xie Wei did not even hide his views on the development of advanced international military equipment technology.

With their deliberate efforts, they not only had a pleasant conversation along the way, but their relationship also warmed up quickly.

In the end, even Ahmed took the initiative to ask Shewe about the school's fighter jet project, much to the dismay of the security personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military who were accompanying them.

There was no other reason than that Xie Wei had revealed all the confidential information to the other party!

Even when his companions reminded Xie Wei, he ignored them.

The only saving grace was that, because foreign personnel were involved, the railway bureau specially arranged a soft sleeper carriage for them, with no other passengers in the carriage; otherwise, the accompanying security personnel would have been even more worried.

"Thank you, I hope we can meet soon!"

When they parted at the station, General Ahmed spoke sincerely to Shewe.

The car that picked up Ahmed and his entourage stopped directly on the platform.

"Don't worry, General, we'll meet again soon."

Xie Wei grinned.

Although the other party did not reveal any intention to cooperate in the field of fighter jets, and Xie Wei did not mention it either, Xie Wei could sense from the other party's attitude that it was likely that the two sides would cooperate on fighter jets, or that, as in the past, Pakistan would pay the 611 Institute to help design fighter jets.

It could even happen many years earlier.

"What good news? Look at you, you're so happy you're practically grinning from ear to ear."

At the exit, Li Rui looked at Xie Wei, who had a big smile on his face, and asked curiously.

"Perhaps, our cooperation with Pakistan will soon expand."

Xie Wei didn't think that he shouldn't tell Li Rui just because things weren't even close to happening.

"Oh? The rocket artillery project?"

Li Rui asked, then a look of doubt appeared on his face, "The remaining part of the long-range rocket artillery project should be improving the design and developing new models based on existing technology. There's no need for cooperation, right? It would be more appropriate if they wanted to buy it..."

In Principal Li's view, while the company does need orders from customers, it would never share all of its technology just to secure those orders.

It can already be considered a successful research and development.

Even though the performance is still somewhat poor.

"There's not much to discuss in terms of rocket artillery projects, and Pakistan probably doesn't need long-range rocket artillery much anyway..."

Xie Wei shook his head.

Iraq and large clients are the most ideal customers for China Far East Fire Co., Ltd.

They have plenty of money and low expectations.

"That is?"

Li Ruisheng felt a strong sense of curiosity; he really couldn't understand what other projects the school could collaborate on with Pakistan.

"Fighter jets!"

"what?"

Principal Li's eyes widened suddenly as he stared at Xie Wei in disbelief.

The sound of shock was so loud that it drew the attention of those around them.

Principal Li hurriedly pulled Xie Wei toward the jeep parked nearby.

Once in the car, Li Rui could no longer contain himself. Before the driver could even start moving, he lowered his voice and asked Xie Wei, "Fighter jets are different from tanks. Putting aside the fact that the technologies we're working on are among the most advanced... even if the higher-ups agree to cooperate, can they afford to pay for it?"

Fighter jets are different from tanks.

Without hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, it would be impossible to design and develop an advanced fighter jet!
Otherwise, the J-9 project wouldn't have been cancelled.

Especially now that the school is working on turbofan engines and fire control systems, not to mention that the price of an advanced fire control system and radar system used in a third-generation fighter jet is far higher than that of any domestic fighter jet currently in use.

"Don't worry, if we can cooperate, they will definitely be willing to pay."

Xie Wei wasn't worried at all.

The JF-17 Thunder fighter jet only cost 450 million yuan to develop, which is less than the development cost of the Type 99 tank.

(End of this chapter)