Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 384 Who Gains and Who Loses
The car took Zhai Da to a rather private and upscale restaurant. Zhai Da looked at the sign, which was called "Jade Pavilion," and it seemed to be a Chinese restaurant.

Well done, Bruce! I almost thought I was going to be eating spicy snacks all night!
He'd been away from China for four or five days, and the food in Tokyo had become rather uninteresting. He even thought he'd lost his sense of taste after eating so much kaiseki cuisine.

It tastes bad, that's all. Don't try to explain it to me with cultural concepts.

Tonight I should be able to change things up.

The receptionist led us deeper into the area, where there was an outdoor passageway made of thin bamboo. It seemed that each private room was an independent small building, which matched the word "pavilion".

Inside the deepest, Chinese-style-roofed, glass-walled private room, a man in his forties was already standing at the door, smiling to greet us.

He started in Chinese, but with a noticeable accent and somewhat odd pronunciation: "Mr. Zhai, welcome."

Zhai Da shook hands with the man: "Mr. Li, you've been waiting for me."

This person is currently the head of Samsung Electronics' overseas affairs department, in charge of most overseas cooperation. He is a high-ranking official with real power, and his business is also aligned with that of Zhai Da-liao.

However, he has another identity: the only son of the Lee family, Lee Jae-yong.

Sometimes we shouldn't over-mythologize the so-called "chaebols" depicted in movies and TV shows. Although the Lee family of Samsung is indeed a bit special in this small pond, it's not a big deal for Zhai Da from China.

He's just the son of a business partner.

However, this partner's business is very large.

Lee Jae-yong has a sweet smile, unlike the poker face often seen in Korean news. He is actually a fairly approachable person; otherwise, he wouldn't be placed in a department like the Overseas Affairs Department. If he still had a poker face when he went abroad, he would probably get hammered.

Given his usual style, there probably aren't many people in China who need him to be nice to them, at least not the media.

The private room was laid out in a Chinese style, with only four chairs around the round table, making it feel somewhat empty.

Since Zhai Da went to the banquet alone, without his subordinates or the production team, Samsung only left two translators: one was the Chinese-speaking expert who had received them during the day, and the other was a pretty young woman who was probably also multilingual.

That's all, which makes the subject and object appear balanced.

It's impossible for a business banquet of this caliber to feature a girl group trying to act cute.

They're not even qualified to sell in.

After taking their seats, Li Zairong and Zhai Da exchanged pleasantries. If Li Zairong's Chinese were at the highest level (level 10), it would probably only be at level 3. He would stumble over more complex words. Fortunately, Zhai Da's English was not bad either. With the two sides switching between Chinese and English, they were able to communicate clearly. The two translators became spectators.

"Actually, I had wanted to visit Mr. Zhai in China before, but unfortunately I was in Mexico for the previous two months and missed the wonderful press conference."

"It is indeed a pity, as I had a very good chat with your staff that day."

(Both of the above are lying; please do not follow their example.)

Business pleasantries took up most of the first half of the meeting, and everyone handled interpersonal relationships very well.

Halfway through the meal, the conversation gradually shifted to the actual business aspect.

Lee Jae-yong put down his wine glass and picked up the Samsung phone that had been beside him:
"We have already tried your company's Hongtu OS. Our engineers downloaded your standard package and installed it on Samsung hardware, and it worked very well."

The so-called standard package refers to the basic version that is not specially optimized. Theoretically, it is prepared for a large number of white-label and counterfeit phone manufacturers, and even phone shops that flash ROMs can download it. It is publicly available on the official website of the Mechanical Core Research Institute.

After turning on the device, he showed the animated interface of "TuTu": "In the past year, we have released models of Symbian, Android and WinMobile systems. With the addition of your company's Hongtu OS, with so many products appearing, I'm afraid the operating system market has reached a crossroads."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Then, Mr. Li, which road do you think is the right one at this crossroads?"

Li Zairong hesitated slightly. Generally speaking, business cooperation should not show too much bias, but considering the open source ecosystem model of "Hongtu OS", he really couldn't think of how his excessive enthusiasm would be handled.

In theory, they don't need to talk to Zhai Da about anything when using "Hongtu OS". At most, they just won't get technical support from the Mechanical Core Research Institute.

In fact, in his view, the leading edge of Hongtu OS lies not only in its performance, but also in the ecological atmosphere created by Zhai Da, which has extremely strong commercial prospects and imagination.

So when discussing business, Li Zairong was more frank: "At present, your company's grand plan is the best choice."

Zhai Da picked up a piece of unidentified fish meat, poked it with his chopsticks to make sure it was boneless, and then put it in his mouth.

tasty.

"So, does your company plan to fully integrate, or is it only targeting the Chinese market?"

Not to be outdone, Lee Jae-yong threw back a question: "What does Mr. Zhai think? Which path is right?"

Zhai Da put down his chopsticks, and the female translator beside him tactfully handed him a towel to wipe his hands.

That's about all the translation work is for. Once Zhai Da and Li Zairong realized they could chat directly, the two of them became like waiters.

In Fangha City, she can also be called the Garlic Peeling Girl.

“my country is currently the world’s largest mobile phone market, but it still only accounts for 34% of the global market. Its production volume accounts for 48% of the global market, but feature phones account for more than half of it, and many of these are overseas brands that have set up factories in China.” Zhai Da’s ability to readily cite industry data surprised Li Zairong.

He knew very well that he was not a genius, but he had seen many geniuses. Even after traveling to various countries, Zhai Da's age and the business model he had built could be considered remarkable.
Awesome!
Meeting you today, this feeling hasn't lessened, it's actually increased.

Zhai Da put down his chopsticks: "Mr. Li's hesitation shows that you are still focusing on 34% rather than 66%."

Lee Jae-yong became interested: "Oh? Please explain."

"If Samsung were to integrate with Hongtu OS now, the earliest new phones launched in China would be next year. Considering the abnormal state of the domestic market around the Spring Festival, it would be at least March next year, by which time domestic mobile phone brands would have already been leading the market for half a year."

“I can tell Mr. Li that in the next six months, more than 15 Chinese manufacturers will be using Hongtu OS, including some sizable players. It’s inevitable that Samsung’s original market share will be eroded. Of course, I’ve heard that South Korea works very hard, so perhaps you can be faster.”

Lee Jae-yong probed, "Many of your country's companies source their screens, chips, and semiconductor devices from Samsung. What if we reduce production to buy ourselves more time?"

What production cut? It's just about controlling supply and creating competition.

Zhai Da raised his eyes: "That's a deduction point. Whether it's worth it or not is up to Mr. Li to decide."

It wasn't specified where the points would be deducted, but Li Zairong understood what Zhai Da meant.

He asked this question to test Zhai Da's stance.

Zhai Da continued, "If we look at that 66%, it's a completely different story. It's only been six months, and Chinese manufacturers aren't yet capable of significantly expanding their overseas influence. But Samsung has already established a solid foundation in this area. As far as I know, your company's mobile phone market share has reached second place globally. So, regarding your previous question, my answer is..."

"Simply integrating into the Hongtu ecosystem for the domestic market is at best a way to break even. Going all-in overseas is where the real growth will come from. It all depends on whether your company wants to break even or grow."

Zhai Da used a serving spoon to cut the fish into a larger piece, but instead of putting it on his own plate, he placed it on Li Zairong's plate.

He was saying completely irrelevant things.

"Nokia just fully acquired Symbian last year. Internal paper profits and losses and decision-making inertia strongly restrict them from making a shift in operating systems. Mr. Li, Hongtu OS is an open source system. It can be the wings of all manufacturers that accept it, and it can also be the sword pointed at all manufacturers that do not accept it. Mr. Li has a good appetite, so why not eat more?"

Lee Jae-yong looked at the plump fish belly on the plate, his eyes constantly gleaming.

Finally, with a strange smile, he said, "I understand. Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Zhai. Although I don't have complete decision-making power in this business, I strongly agree with your idea and will report it truthfully to my superiors."

He is still a long way from taking over and needs to follow the decision-making process.

The program was set by my own father.

In return, Zhai Da gave Li Zairong a piece of fish belly, and Li Zairong poured Zhai Da a full glass of wine: "So, if we are to cooperate deeply, where do you think we should start?"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Actually, we are open to cooperating with all mobile phone manufacturers. There is no difference in the model. We just need to send staff to each other and complete the optimization and integration of software and hardware. If your company needs some customized development and technical guidance, we will charge a certain fee, but believe me, we do not profit from this."

"However, for the sake of our shared future, there is one thing your company could pay attention to, which would be good for everyone."

"Oh? Please go ahead."

"The appeal of Hongtu Ecosystem lies not only in its advanced operating system, but also in the rich variety of applications. Chinese internet companies have responded quickly and are not far from building a preliminary comprehensive ecosystem. However, many overseas internet companies may be slower to react."

"As the world's second-largest company in terms of shipments, Samsung is not only the source of many terminals but also an important advertiser for these companies. Perhaps we can help promote overseas internet companies and accelerate their integration into the Hongtu ecosystem. Our developer tools are very useful; just try them and you'll see."

Lee Jae-yong nodded; this was not difficult.

It's not that they have enough power to influence all overseas internet companies, but rather that the ecosystem of Hongtu OS itself is attractive, and the project team has already contacted companies including YouTube, Yahoo, and Amazon.

However, since there are no Hongtu models available overseas yet, everything is still only on paper.

If Samsung goes all-in on its grand ambitions, a little push from behind would be beneficial for everyone.

It just so happens that Lee Jae-yong is currently in charge of overseas affairs.

On the other hand, the research institute's streamlined and efficient structure meant it couldn't afford to be too distracted by trying to win over overseas internet companies all over the world. Zhai Da also had no intention of cultivating relationships with these companies, nor was it necessary for him to.

Just pay your taxes properly from now on.

Lee Jae-yong raised his glass: "Mr. Zhai, meeting you today has shown me what a young talent truly is. Perhaps we can become good friends in the future."

Zhai Daye raised his glass: "Mr. Li, to my friend."

There are no friends forever. But isn't it nice to have a brief period of friendship and enjoy each other's company?
Hongtu can become Samsung's wings, and Samsung will also become Hongtu's wings, flying to a wider global market.

Who wins and who loses will be revealed in time.

　I'll post one chapter now; there should be more tonight.

　　We haven't quite adjusted our pace yet, but we'll try our best to get back to a "healthy" and "stable" update schedule as soon as possible, and make up for what we owe everyone.

　　If you borrow and repay easily, it's easy to borrow again!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)