Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

But there is a problem. The taste of our canned food is very different from what they want. We are currently having a headache over this issue.

Canned food is the main product of this Harbin International Trade Fair.

Among the letters of intent reached so far, the canned food contract alone is worth about 4000 million US dollars when converted into US dollars.

This is a staggering amount of money.

And everyone is happy that this is just the beginning. Looking at the current situation, canned food export business is definitely a good business. The Ministry of Foreign Trade has even made a prediction that China's canned food exports to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe can easily exceed $100 million in sales in the future.

In addition to mineral products, canned food will become China's flagship export product.

"You can ask them to send someone over and we'll change the taste according to their requirements."

Wei Hongjun doesn't care about these things.

It's nothing.

Since it's for export, of course it has to be made to suit their tastes. Let them send someone over to help adjust the taste, and make whatever flavor they want.

But Wei Hongjun thought of something and asked: "Minister Yang, is it because our cannery has limited production?

yes.'

Yang Lisan, the Minister of Light Industry, replied: "In preparation for this Harbin Trade Fair, the Ministry of Light Industry has been integrating canneries across the country for the past six months. However, my country's food industry has always had a weak foundation, and there are only a few canneries in the country. But this time we have too many canned orders,

Therefore, our Ministry of Light Industry is planning to build some large canning factories across the country."

"Minister Yang, do we have money at the moment?"

There is a lot to do, but very little money.

This is the current financial situation of New China.

Now, because there are too many factories built with Soviet aid, the central government’s finances, not to mention the large amount of bank funds, are flowing into these Soviet-aided factories. It seems that it is a simple matter to expand a few canneries in the future. But in the current New China, it is not a simple matter to expand a few canneries.

It's as easy as that.

"The Ministry of Light Industry is preparing a report."

Yang Lisan was still very confident.

After all, these were export orders. New China currently lacked foreign exchange. Therefore, even if the country was short of money, export orders were the first priority. To ensure these orders, funding for the cannery construction should be no problem.

But Wei Hongjun shook his head.

"The Ministry of Finance is completely broke right now, and this year's budget is in serious deficit. If we allocate funds to build a cannery, it would be a huge burden," he said.

Wei Hongjun is the Vice Premier of the State Council and Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group.

Although he wasn't in charge of the Ministry of Finance, he had a clear understanding of the current financial situation. Mao Zemin, standing beside him, nodded and said, "A total of 32 Soviet-aided projects have begun construction this year, totaling over 170 factories of all sizes. Building so many factories has resulted in a serious fiscal deficit."

The Soviet aid projects are good.

After all, these are basic industrial projects that must be built for industrialization.

But it is also a heavy burden for New China. After all, machinery and equipment can be imported, but building a factory costs a lot of money, including the salaries of experts and professors coming to China. Because New China's finances are really short of money, many infrastructure projects are currently

The central government had no choice but to let the army build the railway. For example, the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, the central government simply couldn't come up with the funds. So the troops from the Southwest Bureau were replaced by the Construction Corps to build the railway, even having to cut the sleepers themselves in the mountains.

"So what does Vice Premier Wei mean?"

"Borrow money."

Wei Hongjun said: "We have so many orders in hand, which are the best collateral. We can use these orders as collateral to borrow money from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries to build a cannery. I believe they will agree. After all, with canned food orders, they are not afraid of not getting their money back.

“But we’ve already taken out so much loan.”

Yang Lisan frowned.

Previously, loans from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries were made by the Chairman and the Premier on behalf of the country. However, according to Wei Hongjun, the Ministry of Light Industry would now negotiate with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries independently.

“It doesn’t matter how much the loan is, as long as you can pay it back, it’s not a problem.

Wei Hongjun didn't care how much the loan was. As long as he could repay it, the loan wasn't a problem. So he said, "Your Ministry of Light Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade should write a report together. The central government should agree."

“I think this is a good idea, too.”

Mao Zemin nodded and said, "Compared to asking for money from limited fiscal funds, borrowing from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries is a better solution."

"Okay, let's go back and make a plan."

Since Wei Hongjun and Mao Zemin both thought it was okay, Yang Lisan did not object.

The Ministry of Light Industry is now short of funds.

If we could get loans from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries to quickly build a cannery, that would be a good thing. Although Wei Hongjun used export as an excuse to ask the Ministry of Light Industry to invest heavily in the cannery.

But Wei Hongjun is thinking about more than just exports.

And then there's the ensuing war. If fighting breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, canned food will be crucial military rations. Historically, China's canned food industry boomed after the Korean War. However, due to a lack of preparation, large-scale supply to frontline troops didn't begin until 1951.

If we start expanding the cannery's production now, there will be no shortage of canned food for the troops when the volunteer army enters North Korea.

"Old Wei, after taking a turn, do you feel anything?

Mao Zemin asked Wei Hongjun as they walked.

Wei Hongjun said: "The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries have begun to recover from the trauma of war, and their economies have begun to recover."

"right.

Mao Zemin was very excited.

He said, "I've been chatting with trade representatives from various countries lately, discussing family matters. It's clear that the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries are slowly recovering from the trauma of war, and their lives are starting to improve. This is evident in their demand for canned food."

"Um."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries have a population of 20 million. Their economic recovery is good news for China's exports. If the trade volume between New China and the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries reaches around $ billion, it will have a huge boost to China's economy.

"This Harbin Trade Fair shows that our tastes are different from those of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. If you ask me, we should not only let the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries see what kind of products we have, but we should also take the initiative to understand what products they need. They need

We will produce whatever products are available. We can then display these products at next year's Harbin Trade Fair for the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries to choose from."

It is not enough to just export passively; we should take the initiative to expand exports.

Only in this way can exports be increased.

Mao Zemin said: "That makes sense. After the Harbin Trade Fair is over, I will organize a delegation to visit the Soviet Union as soon as possible."

"We actually have a basis for investigation. There are so many Soviet experts and professors across the country that we can ask questions. We also have so many students and interns currently studying in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. If we compile their opinions, that would also be a huge investigative report."

"Yep."

Mao Zemin said regretfully: "I actually forgot this. We have so many students and interns studying in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, they are a good subject for an investigation report.

Mao Zemin's main work in the past two years has been on monetary policy.

It's not a good thing to be involved in everything.

However, as the RMB's value stabilized, Mao Zemin's attention turned to foreign trade. Mao Zemin felt that if Wei Hongjun had not been a soldier, he would definitely be a good businessman. So the two of them made more contacts with Soviet and Eastern European trade officials and discussed how to expand

Foreign trade of the New China.

Just at this time, news came from the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union successfully detonated its first atomic bomb.

819 Visit to the Soviet Union

At the end of August 1949, the Soviet Union successfully detonated its first atomic bomb.

The successful explosion of this atomic bomb is of extraordinary significance.

To be honest, the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Japan put a lot of pressure on the world. After all, before that, although the world had entered the era of firearms and the power of guns and artillery was great, there had never been a super bomb with the lethality of the atomic bomb.

One bomb can destroy a city. Two atomic bombs were dropped, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people in Japan.

It’s scary to think about it.

After the Cold War and the Berlin Crisis, tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, and between capitalist and socialist countries in Europe and America, grew. The US had already formed a military alliance like NATO, and the Soviet Union, unwilling to be outdone, was planning to form the Warsaw Pact to counter NATO.

It can be said that the two sides were just one step away from a military conflict.

Many countries were worried about a war between the US and the Soviet Union. A war between the two would mean World War III. If other countries were so afraid, the US and the Soviet Union were even more so.

But if they want to go to war with the United States, are socialist countries afraid of the US atomic bomb?

It must be quite fearful.

The same was true of the Soviet Union, the big brother of the socialist camp.

Although Stalin and the Soviet Union seemed to be fearless and ready to confront the United States, they were increasingly wary of the United States, especially the US atomic bomb. The Soviet Union did not have an atomic bomb, which led to the Soviet Union and the socialist

The countries in the camp are all unsure.

But it's different now.

The success of the Soviet Union's atomic bomb gave the Soviet Union confidence.

It also gave confidence to the countries in the socialist camp. Wei Hongjun received this news in Harbin. At that time, Sino-Soviet relations were quite good, and Harbin had undertaken a large number of Soviet-aided projects.

Therefore, there are many Soviet experts in Harbin.

Upon hearing the news of the successful atomic bomb explosion, the Harbin government and Soviet experts celebrated together. The entire city was filled with joy. However, Wei Hongjun's face turned solemn after hearing the news.

The successful explosion of the Soviet atomic bomb will gradually lead to a nuclear balance between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The possibility of a large-scale full-scale war between the two sides is decreasing because the United States and the Soviet Union are wary of each other. However, the lack of a full-scale war between the two countries does not mean that there is no competition or conflict between them. The full-scale confrontation between the two countries will lead to more and more local wars.

frequently.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula will continue to deteriorate.

So Wei Hongjun ended his trip in Harbin as soon as possible and returned to Beijing. After the Harbin Trade Fair was a complete success, Wei Hongjun mainly did coordination work. The orders in the Harbin Trade Fair must be completed with quality and quantity. Only by completing them according to the contract can the new

China's reputation in foreign trade also guarantees the reputation of the Harbin International Trade Fair.

At the same time, Wei Hongjun submitted a report to the Central Committee and the Military Commission on developing China's own nuclear weapons. Wei Hongjun suggested that the Central Committee establish a Nuclear Industry Bureau within the Second Ministry of Machine Building to begin preliminary work on developing nuclear weapons.

Wei Hongjun said that China could make a ten-year atomic bomb plan.

The central government also attaches great importance to the atomic bomb.

Although the Soviet Union successfully developed the atomic bomb, it belonged to the Soviet Union. China is not like those socialist countries in Eastern Europe. Not only is it a small country, but its establishment was also due to the support of the Soviet Union.

China is a big country.