Therefore, behind the glory of Fulong fixed-line switches, there is a potential crisis. The drought and flood in the field of mobile communication procurement has forced Fulong to bet on more advanced technologies. It must make the right move, otherwise if it makes a wrong step, the company will probably only have a short history of a few years.
Therefore, Fulong carried out RF design and development in Chengdu, introduced the Indian software management system to tackle core software, and developed core technologies with eight domestic universities...
Cheng Ran knew that the route chosen by Fulong was correct. Now the question was whether this layout could be fully implemented. There were still two or three years before the 3G standard was perfected. The height that Fulong could reach during this period would determine whether it could turn around from being suppressed in the field of mobile communications.
The present situation still makes Cheng Ran feel that the world is unpredictable. Cheng Feiyang founded Fulong and built an iron army. Seeing the warship taking shape, Cheng Ran originally thought that he could just lie down and enter the peak of his life. However, he did not expect that the bigger world would stir up another storm.
Even a steel battleship can be easily torn to pieces if it crashes into something by mistake or two in the storm.
The air in Washington, D.C. was chilly, and there was a layer of frost on the windows outside the cafe. Cheng Ran could feel the chill, as well as the same situation that Cheng Feiyang was in, where he was high up and had nowhere to lean on.
It is said that no one knows a son better than his father. The reverse is also true for Cheng Ran. The domestic telecommunications industry is changing with each passing day. In the future, it may even become the place with the most drastic changes in the world and a place with endless market opportunities. However, there are already strong international manufacturers standing at the top.
Fulun had just won the fixed-line switch market, but at this time, the changes that were already foreseeable were happening. The entire industry was comprehensively upgraded, and an almost cruel elimination process began.
All Fu Long can fight for is just one or two years.
This was Cheng Feiyang's battle, but Cheng Ran was wondering if he could do something in it.
When the lights came on, they went to the agreed dinner place. When they arrived, Vice President Tian Feng met them at the door. The dinner place was one of the high-end restaurants. There were waiters at the door with a wide variety of bow ties for them to choose from. This is the specialty of the restaurant. Every diner is required to wear a tie to show formality. To put it bluntly, it creates a sense of ceremony.
It is said that countless congressmen and government officials have dined in this restaurant. Perhaps a state senator or a minister is currently sitting at one of the tables.
Most of the people who entered to dine were indeed dressed in formal attire. The banquet of Fulong Company was held at a long dining table, which accommodated the senior executives of Fulong, Sun Guangzhen, the director of Santa Clara Institute, and several partner companies. The next one was Robert, who was related to this lobbying, and an official from the Ministry of Commerce invited by Robert.
Cheng Feiyang taught himself English in college, and he still hasn't given it up after all. After all, he is engaged in research and development, and he has to follow it closely. However, his listening and speaking skills are a little weaker, and his spoken English level is not much better than that of Mr. Lei from Areyouok.
Sun Guangzhen was responsible for translating next to him, and they were able to communicate by half listening and half talking.
The official from the Ministry of Commerce who was vaguely heard as Benjamin was not active, and his words were neither aggressive nor cadenced, but every time he spoke, the representatives of the American partner companies, led by Robert, would silence their voices, causing everyone on the Fulong side to stop talking and listen to each other even if they were communicating in circles.
This is not condescending, but rather top-down, natural, without any pretense or self-righteousness.
The whole rhythm is in the hands of the opponent.
This situation itself might have been expected by everyone present. The U.S. Department of Commerce is extremely powerful. Although it is also responsible for meteorology, oceanography and fisheries, its main power is reflected in international trade, export controls, anti-dumping fines and investigations. It also holds several important things that can strangle Fu Long.
The first is patent review, the second is technical review, and the third is telecommunications industry entry standards.
And because of bilateral ideological issues, the other side raised many questions, some of which were close to interrogation, and even did not hide certain biased assumptions and conjectures.
It can be seen that during this dinner, the Fulong side had been trying its best to communicate, and the official named Benjamin, although still having a tough attitude in the end, had less words to attack.
However, Cheng Ran knew that he believed everyone in Fulong was aware that prejudice had existed for a long time and was difficult to eliminate. There were many officials in the Ministry of Commerce who held the same attitude as Benjamin, and the prospects were not optimistic.
The dinner was over and Benjamin left. All the senior executives of Fulong felt the pressure of being scrutinized and distrusted. They were all in a bad mood. When the bill came, the meal cost more than 2,500 US dollars, including a bottle of wine that Benjamin liked, which cost more than 800 US dollars.
Later, I learned from Robert from the lobbying company that officials like Benjamin probably earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, which is considered middle class, but he has to support his family. Benjamin's eldest son is at Princeton University and has a high student loan, so he would definitely not spend so much money out of his own pocket. Naturally, people like Fulong and the lobbying company pay for it, which is why these high-end restaurants near K Street are doing a booming business. So there is a saying that many American laws are not made on Capitol Hill, but are finalized in these restaurants.
Fu Long had paid for the interrogation, and he also had to hope to gain some "understanding" from the other party, so that the other party would relax his attitude towards him in the future.
Spending a lot of money, or even paying a high price, having others interfere and control at will, seeking market access in a way that is almost undignified, and having to face difficulties and prejudice, this is the norm faced by many domestic companies going to the United States.
Cheng Feiyang and his delegation also met with some American officials and congressmen in the next two days. Information from all sides began to come in. Now, there are Chinese companies on K Street, not only Fulong in Chengdu, but also some other companies are active.
This is not surprising. Lobbying is not a low-key behavior. Sometimes it even has to be high-profile. On K Street, where consulting is well developed, the thing that people least worry about is information.
Even the content of Fulong's lobbying on K Street may be known to others.
Three days later, Cheng Feiyang received an invitation as expected.
Along with the invitation came a man in a suit and tie who said he was from the Chang'an Society.
Cheng Ran thought of the "Chang'an Economic and Trade Group" he met at the airport on the day he arrived in the United States. There were reporters and media waiting, and Cheng Ran also read about it in the newspaper the next day. Some of the participants in the economic and trade group were not unfamiliar, and this group of people was also a rare domestic group that was very popular in Washington.
Because many of them... to put it bluntly, they are compradors. Some of them have their origins, which can be seen at a glance from Cheng Ran's two lives. Most of the people behind them are elites in the eyes of ordinary people. These people have backgrounds and resources, and they are also very capable. However, what Cheng Ran did not expect was that because of Cheng Feiyang's activities, the other party still came to him.
The person who came clearly introduced to Cheng Feiyang the relevant member units of the Chang'an Association, the goals and purposes of the entire economic and trade group, and finally implicitly expressed to Cheng Feiyang the intentions conveyed by the Chang'an Association.
Fulong Company's attempt to seek cooperation in the research and development of key technologies in the United States may give some people in the United States who are exaggerating the "Republic threat theory" an excuse to make a fuss.
Of course, the impact of Fu Long’s activities may not be that great, but it will always give the other party more leverage. This kind of thing should be avoided as much as possible.
The other party also talked about the critical juncture of the country's grand strategy to join the WTO. It is understandable that Fulong wants to move towards the industrial chain. However, although its ambition is great, it is overestimating its own strength. Nowadays, the most advanced upstream technologies are still American companies, and in this regard, there are many eyes in the U.S. government and Congress that are watching very closely and will not allow any threats to appear.
Fulong should first clarify its division of labor and avoid touching the nerves of the major American interest groups that want to dominate the upstream of the industry under the framework of international trade. Otherwise, Fulong's activities in the United States may put many companies in the Changan Association group into a passive situation in negotiations with the United States, causing others to distrust it.
The person who came brought the message, Cheng Feiyang heard it, but also politely declined the invitation to attend the Chang'an banquet. Obviously, the other party had drawn the line at the beginning, and Cheng Feiyang would not act according to the other party's "guidance", so even if it was for the sake of business to be harmonious, especially in a foreign land, there was no need to attend the other party's banquet.
After declining the offer and the other party smiled and left, Cheng Ran gave Cheng Feiyang a thumbs up and said, "Dad, you are so tough!"
On the one hand, Cheng Feiyang is tough in not dealing with the comprador group. On the other hand, there are still companies in the same field as Fulong active in K Street, all of which are old rivals of multinational corporations. Naturally, they do not want Fulong to master the core technology, and they intend to use organizations like the Chang'an Society to intimidate or persuade Fulong to change its mind. Of course, this is also one of their means.
But... Cheng Feiyang refused.
Moreover, he didn't even attend the meeting.
The attitude is clearly stated.
Huatong, the predecessor of Fulong Company, actually started out as a comprador agent, but what was the final outcome? China was divided into seven countries and eight systems by foreign capital, with huge profits of tens of thousands of yuan in the first-tier cities. The essence of capital is Business is business, with morality on both sides and profit in the middle.
Cheng Feiyang saw it very clearly, so even in the face of such a threat, he would never let Fu Long make the same mistake again.