Chapter 1491: Dawn Of A New Era
Jiang Chen didn’t spend too much on the negotiation of “UA members.h.i.+p” since the two already agreed on the island. They were now just putting what they discussed onto paper.
As a businessman, Trump respected the contract; he did not renege after he became president. After he confirmed that the treaty was the same as they had originally agreed, he quickly signed his name on the doc.u.ment.
Based on the agreement, the UA would fulfill the commitment within two months, without any conditions, and submit an application to join the Earth Defense Alliance and leave the North Atlantic Treaty.
In fact, NATO only existed nominally the moment UA was defeated. An alliance that relied on Britain and France (Germany had already withdrawn) could not compete with the Earth Defense Alliance, especially after Celestial Trade mastered nuclear defense methods, the strategic balance between the two parties had long been out of balance.
Now that the UA was “withdrawing from the group”, it only confirmed the expectations of the international community for the disintegration of NATO.
“Now you are satisfied?” With the two agreements, Trump put away one of them and looked at Jiang Chen, “I have a suspicion now that you expected this to happen.”
“I just considered the possibility,” Jiang Chen sipped the coffee in his cup and said slowly, “You should know that B City Consortium and I have always wanted to push Democratic Party’s Joseph Kennedy to the presidency. You are the additional bargaining chip for Morgan and Rockefeller. They think you will fight with me and start a new round of the Pacific Rim arms race, and this is in their best interest. I thought so at the time. However, if I pay a certain price to reach an unexpected consensus in the diplomatic meeting that no one expected to go well, I might be able to solve this problem once and for all.”
“And now it seems that I am right,” Jiang Chen smiled lightly when he said this. “The only thing I didn’t expect was that they would take action so quickly, right when you were on your way back. This made Vargas in North Colombia misjudge the situation and provoked the war that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
After Trump heard Jiang Chen’s version of the causes and effects, he opened his mouth, but not a word could come out for a long time. Although he had suspected that his crash was involved with Wall Street, he did not expect that he would be used on both sides.
After a long silence, he slowly sighed.
“Sure enough…Politics is really not for me. My daughter also advised me not to get into this mess, but I thought I could do it…”
“In fact, politics is very similar to running a business. The only difference is that politicians do not have the slightest contract spirit, and they must not.” Jiang Chen smiled, “You should be thankful that I am sitting in front of you, and not a politician.”
“May I ask one last question?” Trump sighed softly.
“Of course.” Jiang Chen nodded.
“How were you so certain that they would do something to me because of those sugar cubes?” Trump continued, “If they didn’t do anything to me, would you fulfill the Sugar Cube Diplomacy agreement?”
“These are two questions. I will answer your first question first. As I said, I just considered this possibility, and there is no absolute, both possibilities exist.” Jiang Chen smiled, “As for your second question, my answer is yes, I would have fulfilled the spirit of our agreement.”
“Even if it is unprofitable for you?” Tromp also smiled, but there was a bit of helplessness in his smile.
“It’s not necessarily about profitability, but the profit you mentioned is not the same as what I agree with.” After he put aside the coffee cup in his hand, Jiang Chen also sighed softly. “The more we reach for the sky, the more we can feel our own insignificance. A century ago, we were still imagining what the people on the moon would look like, and today, a century later, our flags are already on the moon. In your eyes, I might have made ‘difficult concessions’ that day, but why don’t you look forward and imagine, what can we get from this universe if we work together?”
“And if you really did that,” Jiang Chen paused for a moment before he continued, “Then it should not be difficult for you to realize that, compared to what we are going to get, the part I conceded is minuscule.”
There was a long silence in the room.
After a long time, Trump laughed out loud, got up from the sofa, and adjusted his collar. He extended his right hand to Jiang Chen, who also stood up.
“In any case, you are a respectable opponent.”
“Allow me to make a correction, we used to be opponents,” Jiang Chen said with a smile while he shook Trump’s hand, “Now we are allies.”
Although the answer he got was not what he wanted, after Trump left the Hilton Hotel, he was a little relieved
If the man’s sight was no longer limited to this planet, then those worries in his mind seemed to be unnecessary. At least the people living in this land would not be impacted because of this defeat; the soldiers of Celestial Trade would not always prevail over them. After all, in the eyes of that man, this territory was too small, and a bigger world awaited him to conquer…
Although Trump couldn’t see from his perspective, where the world was.
…
Even if it had been antic.i.p.ated, the international community still expressed a considerable degree of shock and regret about UA’s withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty.
As the UA joined the Earth Defense alliance and became the fifth major member of the alliance, everyone clearly realized that the old era had come to an end, and another new and great era slowly unfolded.
According to the treaty signed by the Earth Defense Alliance, the major member states would contribute 5-7% of GDP based on their territorial area and population weight (non-major member states would contribute 3-4% of GDP) for the development of the aeros.p.a.ce industry.
From the number alone, the GDP ratio of 7% seemed to be high, and NATO’s requirements for the military expenditures of member states was only 2% of GDP. But crucially, a difference existed. The military expenditure itself was a burden, and the money spent would generate no return except for benefiting arms dealers and the creation of a small number of jobs. Military expenditure neither improved people’s lives nor obtained a return on investment.
But investment in the aeros.p.a.ce field was different. Since the s.p.a.ce elevator was built, the aeros.p.a.ce industry had been endowed with economic value in addition to a sense of national honor. Whether it was s.p.a.ce mining or s.p.a.ce industry, companies from all over the world actually saw tangible benefits.
It was precisely because of this that, instead of resisting the GDP contribution quota stipulated in the treaty, many countries consciously decided to exceed the target.
And now, the UA was also brought onto the Earth Defense Alliance’s s.h.i.+p. The original 50% tax (compulsory for non-member countries’ s.p.a.ce industry) was abolished, and the cost of operation for North American aeros.p.a.ce companies also dropped significantly.
Although the country still grieved over the defeat, CA State, M State and other areas with more developed aeros.p.a.ce industries seemed to become the biggest beneficiaries.
Even in UA’s current economic downturn, the aeros.p.a.ce science and technology parks in San Fran, B City, and other places were full of energy. Companies of all sizes had sprung up like bamboo shoots after the rain, and all kinds of hiring notices were spread to universities across the country like snowflakes. With the introduction of the five-year tax reduction and exemption policy for the aeros.p.a.ce industry by the government, the aeros.p.a.ce industry in North America exploded with vitality. It seemed to be on the trajectory to become a pillar industry for the economic recovery of North America after the war…
As for the longer-term effects in the future, only the future would know.