Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The British Labour Party delegation and the British industrial and commercial delegation were very happy to hear the Chairman say this in person.

Their visit to China was partly to test the waters for the Geneva Conference three months later, to see if Sino-British relations could be taken a step further. They would first test China through a private visit, and then meet formally at the Geneva Conference to discuss more important matters.

Another is to strengthen trade with China.

Currently, Chinese merchants in Guangdong enjoy excellent cooperation, including some British traders, who have made considerable profits in the process. British merchants in the Commonwealth and British colonies are currently facing difficulties. The influx of American goods into these regions has caused British merchants to suffer losses. Consequently, British merchants are hoping to leverage China's cheap labor to reduce costs and compete with American merchants.

Moreover, British businessmen have seen many business opportunities in the process of cooperation with China.

China is currently in the process of industrialization, so its demand for various machinery and equipment is huge. However, China's current import channels are relatively limited, mainly from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

But seriously speaking, Western countries have an advantage in technology. Britain also produces a lot of machinery and equipment.

Many of them are needed by China.

If they could earn hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars from China, it would be very beneficial to the British economy. British factories would be able to recover quickly thanks to these orders. That's why the British industrial and commercial delegation accompanied Attlee to China.

They all want to do some business with China.

They are actually very worried about China's attitude.

After all, China had just fought a war with Western countries in the Korean War. Moreover, China is a socialist country, and in the context of the current Cold War, relations between the two sides are very tense.

But the Chairman gave them a very clear position. That is, there is a fundamental contradiction between China and the United States, because the United States supports Chang Kai-shek and Taiwan. But there is no such fundamental disagreement between China and Britain and France.

Attlee was also relieved.

So the question is: "Can China coexist peacefully with the socialism advocated by the British Labour Party?

The British Labour Party also advocates socialism.

However, the socialism they advocated was completely different from the socialism of China and the Soviet Union. Upon hearing Attlee's question, the Chairman smiled and said, "I believe they can coexist peacefully. But there's a problem here. Is it only this kind of socialism that can coexist, and not other things? Can non-socialist things like capitalism, imperialism, and feudal states coexist? I think the answer is yes. It just requires one condition: both sides are willing to coexist, both sides have the intention to do so. As long as both sides have the intention to coexist peacefully, then we believe that different systems can coexist peacefully."

"Just like us and you, can we coexist peacefully? I think it's absolutely possible. First of all, we can avoid war. We won't fight the Labour Party, and we won't fight the Conservative Party. Although we're on different paths, we can be friends and cooperate. Whether it's economic or political, we can cooperate. Don't the UK, the US, France, and the Soviet Union often hold foreign ministers' meetings now? It's because we have common needs. As long as there are common needs, we can cooperate."

Since its days in Yan'an, the Communist Party of China has consistently sought cooperation with countries around the world. Even if it has chosen to lean toward one side politically and diplomatically, this was a political and diplomatic choice made by the People's Republic of China and does not mean that China cannot coexist peacefully with other countries. This was the first time that Chairman Mao explicitly expressed his desire for peaceful coexistence between different systems to a Western politician.

China is unfamiliar, or rather, the CCP is relatively unfamiliar to the Western world.

Now that the Chairman has so clearly expressed the idea of ​​peaceful coexistence, it is a great reassurance to Attlee and his colleagues. A country like China is a force that no one can ignore, no matter where it is located.

Much of Southeast Asia was once a British colony. Although now independent, it still maintains deep political and economic ties with Britain. China's participation in the Japan-Japan Treaty of Peace is due to its proximity to Southeast Asia, and its influence there is undeniable.

If Britain can coexist peacefully with China, then there will be many guarantees for its future policies in Southeast Asia.

So Attlee continued: "So how does China judge the development of the international situation?"

"I think the current international situation is good. China is a backward country that is beginning to change its appearance. It is a poor industrial country that lags behind Western countries economically and culturally. We are now working hard to change this situation. But it will take thousands of years for an agricultural country like ours to develop into a powerful industrial country. And in this process, we need help from many aspects and a peaceful environment. Constant war will not build a good country, and maintaining too many troops will hinder economic development. If you agree, we should sign some peace agreements. I believe this is also what Britain and France need."

"If you agree to peace, then we can sign a peace agreement. A peace agreement that will ensure decades of peace. If anyone disrupts peace, we will oppose him. Although our country is a backward agricultural country, we have an asset that no one else can match: the support of our people. We have 60,000 veterans who support our cause of peace."

"Countries like ours, including China and the Soviet Union, are primarily focused on the domestic market, not the international market. However, this doesn't mean we don't need international markets or do business with them. On the contrary, we hope to increase our connections and trade with the world. Peace and trade are what we are very much looking forward to at this stage."

"Great powers like China, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union should come together to maintain world peace. This includes the United States. We should bring it in and work together to maintain peace. After all, if a major power like the United States doesn't want peace, then the world and no one will be at peace. You still need to do work in this area, because there's a lot of verbal abuse between us and the United States. The Americans don't act properly. They sent the Seventh Fleet to block China's reunification, which violates the international situation and international peace. You should persuade the United States to withdraw the Seventh Fleet. Tell the United States to stay out of Taiwan's affairs and not to enter into any mutual defense agreements. This is very detrimental to peace."

The Chairman has always discussed Britain, France and the United States separately.

The United States is currently the enemy, while Britain and France can become friends.

Seeing the good atmosphere at the meeting, Jack Perry, head of the British industrial and commercial delegation and chairman of the London Export Company, said, "Mr. Mao, I have some policy matters I would like to consult you on."

"Mr. Perry, you are an old and good friend of the Chinese people. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."

The Chairman saw that Jack Perry had a better attitude.

The Jack Perry family had been doing business with China for many years. Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, their family continued to do business with China, and their trading company continued to operate in the new country. After the outbreak of the Korean War, the United States imposed an embargo on China.

But the Jack Perry family has always been engaged in import and export business with China. Despite the US embargo, Jack Perry still came to China to do business, so Jack Perry is hailed as the "icebreaker" of Sino-Western trade.

In anger, the United States cut off all business with the Jack Perry family and prohibited members of the Jack Perry family from entering the United States. Jack Perry was told that unless the Philippines cut off its business with China, the United States would continue to blacklist him.

But Jack Perry not only disobeyed the US, but also formed a British 48 Group Club to strengthen trade with China. This Group Club continued to do business with China throughout the s and s. Historically, sanctions against Jack Perry were lifted only after Nixon's visit to China. After Nixon's visit, trade between China and the US was initially handled by Jack Perry because the Chinese government trusted him.

Many of the machines and equipment used in the famous Plan 43 were imported through Jack Perry's trading company.

The chairman knows his name.

"Mr. Mao, before I came here, many British businessmen were interested in investing and building factories in China. But they were not familiar with the Chinese government's policies. So I would like to ask whether China would allow businessmen to invest and build factories in China."

This is not the first time that this question has been raised. The first to raise it were Chinese businessmen.

Therefore, in order to solve the problem of foreign capital investment, the Chinese government has also come up with many ways. After all, being able to directly use foreign capital is a very good thing for the economic development of rival country A.

Therefore, the Chairman said: "I will ask our Vice Premier Chen Yun to explain this to you."

Chen Yunyun is one of the current leaders of China's economy.

So Chen Yun said, "Currently, my country has three ways to accept foreign investment. One is through loans. We can provide loans to certain specific industries through banks that we both agree on. Repayments are based on market interest rates and are based on the company's financial situation. What's different about corporate loans in Western countries is that we won't default on loans for any reason."

After cooperating more with Chinese businessmen, the government has gradually figured out ways to cooperate with them.

The most common one is a loan.

In fact, it's not just Chinese businesses that are getting involved. British banks are also getting involved. For example, HSBC in Hong Kong has loans in China and has already provided over 10 million pounds in loans to China in the past two years.

Because loans in this era were issued by the Chinese government using state credit, Chen Yun calmly explained, "The second type is fixed investment. Investing in a company gives you a fixed shareholding. However, you don't participate in management; you only own 1,000 shares. Shareholders can send personnel to oversee finances and receive annual dividends based on the proportion of 1,000 shares."

This is currently the main way for many overseas Chinese to invest in China.

The Overseas Chinese Trust and Investment Company, which has been established recently, does just that. It pools funds from overseas Chinese, invests them in certain companies, and then acquires a portion of these companies' shares. The profits of these companies are then distributed as dividends based on the shares held.

The dividend money first goes to the Overseas Chinese Trust and Investment Company: then the Overseas Chinese Trust and Investment Company distributes the dividends according to the proportion of the overseas Chinese's investment in the Overseas Chinese Trust and Investment Company.

This was how overseas Chinese investment was attracted throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, and it continued until 1970.

Currently, the overseas Chinese trust and investment companies established at the provincial level across China own shares in numerous companies within their respective provinces. Currently, these companies have invested over $100 million in domestic companies, and thanks to the recent strong growth of the Chinese economy, they have also distributed substantial dividends. Seeing profits from their investments, overseas Chinese are investing more and more, and the asset size of these provincial overseas Chinese trust and investment companies is also growing.

Of course, these overseas Chinese trust and investment companies in various provinces do not only have shares held by Chinese and overseas Chinese.

Most of the shares of overseas Chinese trust and investment companies are split in half, with half being state-owned shares or provincial investment, and the other half being funds from overseas Chinese.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, based on current development trends, before 1960, the funds invested in China by overseas Chinese through the Overseas Chinese Trust and Investment Company will exceed US$ million.

"The third option is direct investment in a factory. However, this type of investment must be established in partnership with a domestic state-owned or collective enterprise. The UK can also send personnel to participate in management. However, the state has clear regulations on how to share the profits of such companies."

Because there are too many Chinese businessmen who want to directly invest and build factories.

After the Chairman returned from Guangdong, the Central Committee discussed this issue several times.

In fact, shareholding enterprises have existed since the beginning of the socialist reforms, when the People's Republic of China was open to overseas Chinese investment and capitalists were given shares. Thanks to investment from foreign and Chinese businessmen, shareholding enterprises continued to exist in China until 1971. However, due to the lack of widespread publicity and the relatively small scale of investment from foreign and Chinese businessmen, it is often assumed that shareholding enterprises ceased to exist after the socialist reforms. This is not the case.

In addition, there are now cooperations between collective enterprises and between state-owned enterprises and collective enterprises. As long as these cooperations continue, new models of shareholding systems will inevitably emerge.

However, this shareholding system is different from the original one.

China is a socialist country that supports the public ownership and collectivization of the means of production. Therefore, stock cooperation between collective enterprises, stock cooperation between state-owned enterprises, and stock cooperation between state-owned enterprises and collective enterprises are all in the exploratory stage.

Now, both Chinese and British businessmen want to invest directly in building factories, but the government will never agree.

Therefore, the central government came up with a compromise plan.

You can invest and participate in management, but you must partner with domestic state-owned or collective enterprises to establish a factory. A company cannot simply let you invest and build a foreign-owned factory.

Chen Yun continued, "The profits from this kind of factory should be divided into three parts. One third should be used as workers' welfare, one third should be retained by the factory as industrial accumulation, and the remaining one third can be distributed as dividends to the management."

In fact, it was just the "rent and interest reduction" plan implemented by Wei Hongjun and Mao Zemin in industry and commerce in North China.

The factory's profits cannot be taken entirely by the capitalists. They must be divided into three parts.

It is necessary to ensure the workers' treatment and the development of the factory, and finally leave a portion of the profits to the capitalists.

Jack Perry was not disappointed after hearing Chen Yun's introduction, because he knew before coming that China, as a socialist country, would have many differences in policies from capitalist countries.

Being able to allow funds to have three investment channels is already quite remarkable. For business people like these, as long as they are given an investment channel, they will be able to find a way to make money.

So Jack Perry immediately wrote it all down.

The meeting lasted over three hours. Although it was our first meeting, the conversation was quite friendly. The main reason was that, aside from the Hong Kong issue, there were no serious issues between China and the UK.

When both sides ignored the Hong Kong issue, the conversation between them was of course smooth.

927 Canton Fair

Attlee stayed in Beijing for three days and then, like Khrushchev, visited some other cities in China.

Attlee was quite surprised.

Attlee had originally thought that the People's Republic of China, having been established for less than six years, would be a very backward and poor country. However, this time, when he looked around China, he saw a vibrant and prosperous New China.

Urban construction, factory construction, water conservancy facilities construction, road construction, construction is going on everywhere.

Passing through Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, and other places, Attlee saw many newly established factories. Although they were technologically behind those of Western countries, they were still heavy industrial factories.

Attlee knew that China was following the Soviet Union's path.

What was the biggest shock the Soviet Union gave the world? It was that within just a dozen years, it rapidly became the industrial paradise of Asia. In Attlee's view, China was trying to replicate the path the Soviet Union had taken.

The Soviet Union was terrible.

It still puts a lot of pressure on Europe.

If China could become like the Soviet Union, it would be a formidable power in the future. Of course, the greatest impact on Attlee wasn't the factories in China's major cities. It was the road construction in New China. He saw an invincible force. The common people of New China, men, women, and children, all joined in the effort. The Tian family had virtually no machinery or equipment; everything was done manually. Although the work was tiring, Attlee could see the genuine joy radiating from them.

This is a yearning for life and trust in the government.

The Prime Minister accompanied Attlee the entire time. Seeing Attlee's keen interest in the road construction along the route, the Prime Minister made no secret of his feelings. He told Attlee that China's plan was to use two five-year plans to ensure that all counties in the country were connected by a "county-to-county highway" accessible by car. At the same time, rural roads suitable for oxen and horse carts would also be built between villages and towns.

Compared to countries like Europe, which have already begun building highways, China's so-called "county-to-county highways" are nothing more than dirt roads, which are very backward. But Attlee listened very carefully.

Because this is not a simple project for a backward agricultural country like China with such a large land area.

It requires the joint efforts of all the people across the country.

After hearing the introduction, Attlee gained a deeper understanding of how big China is and how large its population is. He had only seen cold statistics before, which was completely different from what he saw with his own eyes.

In Attlee's view, China, with a population of over 600 million, possessed the power to "destroy heaven and earth." Seeing how diligent, trusting, and organized the Chinese people were, Attlee felt a sense of panic. He suddenly understood why Southeast Asian nations were so afraid of China.

Because China is a truly great power.

So he cautiously asked the Premier, "If China can no longer feed its large population, will it choose to expand outward?" This is a question many countries around China have. The Premier smiled and replied, "If China cannot feed its population, it will expand outward. That's what Hitler's fascism and Japanese fascism did."

We in China are a peace-loving country and will not take such a militaristic path.

China will increase its domestic grain production to feed its people. We also hope that countries around the world can help China complete agricultural industrialization as soon as possible and help China increase its grain production so that China can feed so many Chinese people.

Attlee nodded.

Expressed willingness to contribute to the development of both China and the UK.