Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 316 Tencent's Response... Behind the Pricing
noon.

Fiyta Building, Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

Tencent General Office Meeting.

In the smoke-filled conference room, Ma Huateng forced a cigarette butt into the sword mound, where there was no way to put it. Liu Chiping next to him raised his hand to try to put it in as well, but when he found that there was no room, he impatiently asked someone to empty the ashtray in front of him.

This meeting has been going on for five hours.

The presentation started early this morning with a full replay of the Kirin launch event, which everyone had watched countless times before. Then, the presentation began to analyze the "Starlink" demonstration scene frame by frame, followed by a discussion of Chen Xuebing, Singularity Technologies, and even Gu'an Group.

Few people delve into the "Guan Group" level when studying Chen Xuebing, but they now realize that a comprehensive understanding of this man is essential.

Over the course of the week, the name Chen Xuebing gradually became a heavy burden on the minds of Tencent's senior executives.

Going back six days, Tencent held a meeting specifically addressing stock security.

The fact that Wang Jianzhou appeared at a mobile phone launch event was a shocking piece of news to those in the know, and naturally, some people had gathered information about it.

What kind of company is China Mobile? Why would they casually endorse a mobile phone product?
There were even leaders from the Ministry of Information Industry!
This could indicate some wind direction.

As a key partner of Tencent, China Mobile naturally needs to pay attention to this.

Therefore, less than two hours after the announcement of the Kirin launch event, some reports were already in Ma Huateng's hands.

The first name that came to mind, Chen Xuebing, made his heart skip a beat.

He had already heard that Mr. Chen, who had tried to poach Liu Chiping, was "rising rapidly" in the investment world.

Before long, it became "at its zenith".

Recently, they have been frequently making moves in the internet sector.

This incident made him feel very embarrassed, as he had previously advocated for the banning of this stock security company, but he couldn't do anything about it since those internet companies wanted to accept investment.

Even Jack Ma accepted investment from Long March Capital, so how could he possibly destroy Jack Ma?
I said those things simply to warn the employees and companies that wanted to poach my talent.

Chen Xuebing's frequent moves in the investment world have also created another awkward situation for him—people came to poach Liu Chiping, probably to have him work for a capital company, but he threatened to blacklist him on the internet, which is completely irrelevant.

He deliberately downplayed the matter, never mentioning it to anyone, and skipped over any information about Changzheng Capital he saw online, intentionally blocking out this person from his mind.

However, the moment he saw the description of "Starlink Software" in the official press conference report gathered by his subordinates, he immediately put aside his personal pride and convened a meeting of Tencent's highest command headquarters, the "General Office" (General Manager's Office).

At the meeting, everyone was quite perceptive, recognizing that mobile communication services had always been a key battleground for them and that they all felt it was necessary to address it.

Relevant departments have begun drafting a plan.

As a result, the event gained more and more attention, and within two days the video of the press conference was released, showing a software demonstration that was simply amazing.

A mobile app that has features that even PCs don't have!

That voice messaging feature, and that unimaginable internet phone, made Tencent's top management feel not that the future had arrived, but that it was the countdown to the disruption of QQ.

They quickly convened another urgent meeting at the general office to discuss the press conference website and video.

At the meeting, Ma Huateng brought up the previous poaching incident for the first time, indicating that the company might be hostile to Tencent, and demanded that a countermeasure be discussed as soon as possible.

Liu Chiping was a little embarrassed because he also knew that Chen Xuebing was gaining popularity, so he chose to remain silent as well.

Their shared predicament led them to choose the quickest and most expedient solution—to partner with a mobile company.

In June of this year, China Mobile demanded that "Mobile QQ" and "Fetion," a new product that China Mobile was developing and testing, merge their businesses and revise their revenue-sharing agreement; otherwise, they would remove Mobile QQ from their mobile internet business.

They're still struggling with this issue, since Mobile QQ charges for information and services through the Dream Network.

Now, Star Alliance has emerged.

They didn't hesitate any longer and called the head of the mobile data department.

As a result, the person in charge told them that the originally agreed business merger had changed, and China Mobile might have to reorganize its software department to develop new software. The previous cooperation on the mobile network might continue for some time until the development of China Mobile's 3G business platform was completed.

This news was a thunderbolt!
Time returns to the present.

COO Zeng Liqing took off his glasses, slammed them onto the table, and rubbed his eyes, saying with some lingering resentment:
"New software! Even China Mobile thinks theirs is new software! So what are we supposed to do? Are we just going to accept being dust in the wind?"

CTO Zhang Zhidong waved his hand: "I've already said that developing a Linux-based software is not a technical problem, but we need their SDK (Software Development Kit) to be open to us. Otherwise, it might not work. No, it definitely won't work. Apart from that machine, no other machine can use it like that. Even Motorola's full touchscreen models can't do it, and HTC's Windows machines might. They might be able to, but the effect won't be good."

"Now that the software development is settled, I think you should all think about the SP business. He's directly reported us to the Ministry of Information Industry, and we might face fines and have some projects suspended! It's a formal complaint! What a grudge!"

Liu Chengmin, the head of wireless business responsible for SP business, sighed.

By making a formal complaint, that Mr. Chen is undoubtedly their enemy.

Liu Chiping coughed and glanced at Ma Huateng—the decision to send people to secretly attack Qidian's official website was made jointly by them.

They had only been working on it for half a day when they received a notice from the Ministry of Information Industry requesting their cooperation in an investigation. Only then did they realize how formidable that General Manager Chen was.

Connections that reach the highest levels!

Tencent is still practically a child in the eyes of the authorities. The two of them spent the whole night asking around, but they still didn't know which leader had ordered the investigation of them!

I only learned from Yang Fei, a partner at IDG who had previously invested in them, that Chen Xuebing seems to be an important figure in the TD industry, with complex local connections and the ability to directly contact many leaders. He may have gotten himself into big trouble because Foxconn secretly reported them before!

It's simply unbelievable.

A large Taiwanese-owned factory with hundreds of thousands of employees, surprisingly...
After further inquiries through local connections in Shenzhen, it was learned that Foxconn is now dutifully repairing the production line for Singularity.

Hearing this news, they both felt extremely disheartened.

It feels like we've encountered something beyond our control.

But it's not easy to tell everyone.

Liu Chiping recalled the scene when he taught that General Manager Chen a lesson and made him buy Wudaokou textbooks, and felt a wave of fear.

"How about I go find that General Manager Chen? We overreacted to what happened back then and didn't give him any face."

They not only showed no mercy, but the three headhunters who sent them to collect information on Liu Chiping were all reported to the police and detained for several months. One of them, a pregnant woman, escaped but paid a fine of more than 10,000 yuan.

It wasn't originally about leaking business information; it was just poaching people, not this serious. But they used their connections to make things worse, as a warning to others.

But then again, who knew Mr. Chen would have such influence?

They even seized upon their weaknesses and ruthlessly trampled on them.

SP business still accounts for a quarter of Tencent's revenue. If it were to stop because of this, everyone would have a hard time this year.

But Ma Huateng was extremely unwilling to see his beloved subordinate back down, especially since the other party had harbored designs on Liu Chiping.

The ambition and discontent of a figure belonging to the era gradually rise, and he grits his teeth and slams his fist on the table.

"Alright! That's all we can do for now!"

Everyone was startled.

Then came an eerie silence.

Why are you slamming the table if you're admitting defeat?
Ma Huateng only softened his stance a moment after he opened his mouth, because the SP business couldn't be cut off. Seeing everyone's expressions, he coughed lightly:
"Martin, just give him a call! Hold him off for now! We need time to transform our business!"

"From now on, we can't afford to give others such a weakness to exploit!"

"Tony, start developing mobile QQ immediately. Since China Mobile doesn't want to be tied to us, let's take this opportunity to gradually break free from their control! If Fetion QQ is no longer going to be developed, that's perfect, we'll create our own online QQ!"

"Right now, it's still the era of keyboard phones. New full-screen products are just a niche market. We need to upgrade the functions of keyboard phones and cultivate mobile users' habits while developing a full-screen product for the future. Let's call this product QQ Xunlian!"

A name represents one's way of thinking.

This product is specifically designed for "Starlink".

"Apple is also making full-screen phones, right? More and more manufacturers will make these kinds of phones, and I believe QQ Xunlian will definitely find room for growth! With 600 million users, as long as we find a place to stand firm, we can easily eliminate this Xinglian with a flick of our little fingers!"

"Also, we need to add voice input functionality to our PC version! Since everyone likes this feature, we must let QQ users experience it first!"

At a meeting, Tencent set the tone for the mobile internet: to adapt all its products to current mainstream smartphones and to accelerate its mobile strategy.

The online sales of Kirin phones have become a hot topic for media reports.

On the afternoon of November 10th, the fourth day of pre-sales, Lu Weibing hurried into the chairman's office. As soon as Ren Ying opened the door, he excitedly exclaimed, "Chairman! Five!"

Chen Xuebing, holding his phone, raised his other hand to stop him from speaking, and continued laughing into the phone: "Mr. Liu, you're overthinking it. I reported you because you deserved to be reported. You guys have that QQ pet that doesn't replenish in-game currency on time, yet you still allow feeding on credit! People's QQ accounts have been hacked for ages, but their pets are still alive and well, and they've been charged for months for no reason! You even used a J2ME vulnerability to block the second confirmation process for unsubscribing via SMS. If I hadn't been scammed by you too, and if you didn't have a bunch of technical staff, would ordinary consumers have discovered these tricks? How could they seek justice?"

"Hehe, there's no such thing as 'showing leniency.' Don't treat me like a thug. I don't have time to keep an eye on you every day, and the Ministry of Information Industry's final punishment decision won't be affected by me."

"Star Alliance? I'll do my thing, you do yours, do I have to report to your company?"

"System? Open! Our ecosystem and SDK are open to all developers! Once we release them, you can naturally join!"

There was a long silence; the person on the other end seemed somewhat shocked.

"Alright, alright, Mr. Liu, tell Mr. Ma that he doesn't need to treat me like a thief. My boss and I are working very well together and have no interest in poaching people. However, I regret the opportunity you missed."

"By the way, I bought a few textbooks of the Wudaokou course you recommended. I benefited a lot from it and realized that the Internet market is still worth investing in. I will pay more attention to it."

"That's all for now, I have other things to do."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Chen Xuebing hung up on the once arrogant President Liu.

Lu Weibing recognized who was on the other end of the phone and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Did Tencent's CEO Liu call to surrender?"

He was there when Liu Chiping was recruited. At that time, he was a little uneasy, afraid that the new president would be too domineering, so he specially studied Liu Chiping's information.

As a result, the boss's offer of a salary several times higher was rejected, and the company he was working for was not attractive to him, which made him feel somewhat disappointed.

However, in just one year, the tables turned, and the difference in their abilities became immediately apparent.

Tencent's profit for the first three quarters was approximately 800 million yuan, averaging less than 100 million yuan per month.

Singularity alone is already close to, and will soon surpass, that number!
Chen Xuebing wasn't thinking about catching up; he was hoping to cripple the penguin company by next year.

He doesn't say he doesn't have time to keep an eye on Tencent; he keeps an eye on Tencent every single day.

Such a formidable opponent, running on the same track as him, if you can kill him, don't give him a chance to breathe.

It's really not easy to do things right now. It would be good enough if we could find a place where the other side can't retaliate and grow stronger.

Chen Xuebing thought for a moment and said solemnly, "Don't underestimate the enemy. This is the most dangerous time for Qidian. Our mobile phones are not online yet, but our cards have already been played. When they copy us, they will not hesitate at all. I have temporarily caused them some trouble. The Ministry of Information Industry has sent people to investigate. This should be able to distract them. If we do not expand the market capacity of mobile phones and ecosystem as soon as possible and take absolute initiative, once they learn how to play, they will be able to deliver a punch with the power of 5.8 million users."

user.

Tencent's greatest strength is not its ability to make money, but its ubiquitous user base.

In comparison, Lu Weibing felt that today's good news seemed to have lost its luster.

"Our pre-orders have already exceeded 50,000 this morning! We've officially announced 70,000! We held a strategy meeting this morning and are planning to hold another experience exhibition in the next two weeks! We'll have some people bring Nokia and Motorola's high-end models from the last two years for comparison, and we'll also get some media coverage! We aim to sell over 100,000 units before the pre-orders end!"

"Riding the wave?" Chen Xuebing grinned and chuckled. "No need to. They've already called me. Mr. Wang from China Mobile just called me. The Nokia N95 will be released in China two months ahead of schedule, in April next year, just before us."

Lu Weibing was stunned, his brows furrowing in disbelief: "Nokia is targeting us? That can't be!"

That was a global powerhouse! Nokia controlled one-third of all mobile phone sales worldwide!

One-third of China's stock also belongs to Nokia!

Even the pirated phones sold in Huaqiangbei are one-third Nokia!

Nokia, with its three major players and daily sales of hundreds of thousands, would have paid much attention to a small manufacturer like Singulato.
"It's not targeting us, it's a contract phone," Chen Xuebing shook his head.

"Back in 04, China Mobile launched a 'cunning' project, bringing in Nokia and Motorola to produce contract phones. Nokia partnered with China Mobile and was optimistic about the future 3G contract phone market. Now, China Mobile has ordered 30 contract phones from us and has publicly announced it. Nokia also wants to participate, but they don't have the TD standard technology that's currently available. Huawei, which has the capability to provide TD technology support, also wants to break away from the joint venture and establish its own company. So, they're in a hurry and want to use the N95 to flex their muscles in China, looking for new communication technologies and OEM partners. With this move, we've become the chicken in the 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey' scenario."

He then chuckled lightly, "Mr. Wang relayed to me the exact words of the CEO, Karasworth, who said, 'The Kirin phone simply cannot withstand a one-meter drop test; it's just a glass toy.'"

Wang Jianzhou relayed this statement with a hint of jest, but in reality, he still expressed optimism about the intelligent operating mode of Kirin phones.

Lu Weibing, the president of Qidian, hesitated with genuine uncertainty upon hearing this: "N95, huh?"

That phone was launched in four locations around the world this year, including China, at the Hangzhou Grand Theatre. The level of domestic media coverage and fan attention was unprecedented.

Dual-slider design, 500-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus camera, Symbian 9.2 operating system, built-in GPS, 320MB RAM, 332MHz CPU, and 2GB memory expansion capacity.

Its aesthetics and ergonomic design are impeccable.

Moreover, it is equipped with WIFI and 3G networks, can connect to VPN to handle emails, process Office documents, and download third-party software, and is known as a mobile office in the pocket of Wall Street elites' suits.

He's quite formidable.

Of course, the price is also staggering. It costs 550 euros in its European home market, over 750 US dollars in the United States, and the price in China will be significantly higher, possibly exceeding 8500 yuan.

Despite its exorbitant price, fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating its release, with almost no dissent regarding the price; everyone is waiting to snap it up.

It's important to understand that such a premium isn't something everyone can afford. Samsung has always wanted to make high-end phones, and this year they released the E918, which was made in collaboration with the audio brand B&O and was handcrafted. It sold for over 10,000 yuan, but it was heavily criticized online, with "Anycall" being called "An Ni Kou" (a vulgar expression implying cheapness).

Sony Ericsson also released a music smartphone, the W950, which runs on Symbian 9.1. The Walkman series still has a considerable fan base, but with a price tag of 7,000 yuan, the market response has been lukewarm.

In the high-end market, Nokia is the best and most comprehensive player, Motorola broke through with its ultra-thin design, and Sony Ericsson relied on music and imaging. They all clearly defined their fan base and controlled user mindset.

HTC, on the other hand, has been developing stylus phones with computer-like features, but these phones have been met with a lukewarm reception from the market due to their user experience shortcomings.

It's not that people haven't seen full-screen displays before; in fact, they're tired of seeing them all, and the user experience has always been poor.

The reason Kirin has generated so much buzz is because its system and software show a clear and obvious difference from today's so-called smartphones, which makes people willing to learn more about it.

Otherwise, no matter how well you develop a capacitive touchscreen, no one will try it.

Nokia, on the other hand, doesn't need any advertising to have countless fans who blindly follow it.

It's normal for Lu Weibing to feel a lot of pressure.

However, Chen Xuebing knew that the N95 was Nokia's last moment of glory.

He didn't even want the N95 to have a moment of glory.

After hesitating for a moment, he took out his phone and called someone on the other side of the ocean who shared his ideals.

It was midnight in Silicon Valley, but the person on the other end answered the phone immediately. There were some sounds coming from the other end, as if they were working overtime.

"Steve, I have some news for you. The N95 will be launched in China two months ahead of schedule. It seems they're targeting me because I secured a 30-unit contract with China Mobile."

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"Then let God protect you."

Chen Xuebing grinned: "At a time like this, you're not planning to leave me unhelpful, are you?"

The other person uttered a single word: "HOW?"

"I'm going to send people to contact Apple's supply chain. You'd better increase your support, otherwise I can't handle it alone and will have to surrender."

Chen Xuebing smiled confidently.

Everyone knows who wants to kill Nokia more.

When Jobs was in China, the topic of conversation between the two was Nokia, and their collaboration was partly due to Nokia.

On this point, everyone shared a common goal: to break down user perception barriers and dismantle Nokia's pricing system, only then could the next era truly begin.

It is essential to cultivate a large number of consumers accustomed to touch interaction, so that Nokia's weaknesses can be exposed as soon as possible.

Jobs believed that as long as a global touch ecosystem was built, Nokia's Symbian system, with its bloated structure, was doomed.

Apple's price of $499 and Kirin's corresponding price of 4000 yuan are both low prices achieved at great cost. In fact, some of Apple's business functions are directly comparable to the N95.

The current supply chain is still too expensive; the next step is for everyone to continue lowering prices.

Although they were all aiming to make high-end machines.

But is 4000 yuan the price of a high-end machine?
Even if it's five thousand, what difference does it make?
With Nokia's formidable user base looming over them, they'll never be able to reach the high-end market.

High-end is something that is widely recognized and used, not just something that is considered high-end by a few people.

If we wipe out Nokia together, then we can finally play the real high-end game.

How high you want it is up to you.

(End of this chapter)