Chapter 874: Stalled Negotiation
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rundi
Jiang Chen gently pushed the doc.u.ment in front of Pritzker.
Pritzker leaned forward and glanced through the doc.u.ment. When he saw the long list of names, his eyebrows twitched and he started the conversation with a nonchalant tone.
“These companies… are you planning to buy them all?”
“Of course not, even with the financial power of Future Group, it’s impossible to buy all of the companies on this doc.u.ment.” Jiang Chen dismissed the idea and said, “We just have the intention. But you know, we have to play by the rules of the game.”
“The rules of the game? That’s the Foreign Investment Commission’s job. The Ministry of Commence doesn’t have control over this.” Pritzker shook his head.
“Mr. Pritzker, let’s be straightforward or else it’ll only be a waste of time for both of us. You have invited us to come here, surely not just to let Future Group go through a series of events and to develop closer cooperation with Silicon Valley for an hour at the opening ceremony, right?” Jiang Chen opened his hands, then gently tapped the doc.u.ment on the table. “My sincerity is already on the table. I hope to see your sincerity now.”
Although the Foreign Investment Commission involved eight administrative departments and seven Capital inst.i.tutions, if there was disagreement, the president would still need to go through with arbitration. However, as long as it did not involve the national defense production capacity of the nation, reselling of military technology to specific countries, or influencing the leading technological position in national security, the final decision would be made only by the Ministry of Commerce.
Jiang Chen, who had done enough homework beforehand, was keenly aware that Pritzker was evading this topic.
This also showed indirectly, the Ministry of Commerce had the intention to intervene to begin with.
Pritzker did not give an answer. His finger tapped on the arm of the chair, and silence continued for a while between the two. Jiang Chen was not in a hurry. He had all morning to solve this problem.
The young a.s.sistant brought coffee for both of them and Jiang Chen touched the cup to sense the temperature.
At this point, Pritzker finally spoke and said softly.
“The Capital is very happy to see your company cooperate with Silicon Valley companies, but for your company’s actions to turn these technology companies into your companies… I am afraid that no matter who is the president, no one will think this as a positive matter.”
Jiang Chen was not surprised.
It would be better to say that for the veteran Minister of Commerce to put the issue on the table and not divert the question, it was already a win.
As long as they were willing to negotiate, it showed that there was still the possibility of agreement between the two parties.
Jiang Chen smiled and pushed his own chips onto the negotiating table.
“As you know, there are more than 1,000+ UA companies and 500+ Hua companies.”
“Of course, the Silicon Valley Summit is targeted toward both North America and Asia.” Pritzker nodded.
“Then you should also know that I don’t have the habit of returning empty-handed.” Jiang Chen also smiled and put up three fingers. Then he said, “I’ll just say it now. Future Group’s future strategic focus is on graphene, smart health, and cloud technology. If there is a stalemate in the North American market, we will s.h.i.+ft our focus to the more cooperative Asian countries.”
Pritzker’s eyes moved slightly, although it was subtle, but with senses far beyond ordinary people, Jiang Chen caught this change.
Disregarding graphene and cloud technology for now, the significance of smart health offered critical meaning for the federal government.
Since the beginning of the Bama era, the Democratic Party had been actively promoting medical reforms to improve the domestic medical conditions. However, it was unfortunate that during the period, he encountered the largest fiscal deficit in the history of the UA, accounting for 12% of the GDP, and it was the highest proportion of the fiscal deficit to the total economic output since the Second World War. There was no money to push health care reform.
Moreover, the reform of the medical insurance system had always been one of the deepest divides between the Democrats and Republicans. The two parties disagreed on the reasons for the sharp increase in the cost of medical care in the country and the solutions to the problem.
The success of Beta-4 medical drones in Penglai caught the attention of all countries. In this Summit, a number of companies in the UA also planned to introduce the advanced medical drones.
For the Capital, while Beta-4 could not be helpful to ease the highest pharmaceutical prices in the world, but it could effectively reduce the cost of medical care for the UA people. If this kind of convenient and efficient drone could be introduced in clinics, UA citizens would be able to see the doctor as easily as calling 911. They would just need to make a phone call to bring the Beta-4 drone deployed in the community clinic to their home.
For companies, the cost of purchasing drones was significantly lower than paying for redundant doctors. For the federal government, the saving was equivalent to the large financial subsidy for medical treatment each year.
Although it would certainly be protested by the Medical a.s.sociation, it would definitely be welcomed by all “people who are troubled by the difficulty of seeing a doctor.”
“You can sell drones completely without problems. The UA is a free market. As long as your products are safe, we will not set too many obstacles for you like some countries,” Pritzker said. “The same applies to graphene and cloud technology, but I don’t understand how this relates to your acquisition plan.”
Of course, it was for pricing rights, sales resources of those companies and some of the technologies that were of interest.
For example, Future Group wanted to sell the Beta-4 drones to major private hospitals. It would be impossible for Future Heavy Industrials to recruit and send out sales to negotiate door to door. This would not only be inefficient, but also very slow.
As far as expecting companies to come to buy their own products, the efficiency would be even lower. After all, not all companies were willing to risk changing their existing business model. Even though the graphene materials were excellent in all aspects, most companies were still making silicon-based electronic devices. Even if Intel bought a patent license from Jiang Chen, it did not completely stop the research and development for the higher performance silicon-based chip.
When Watt invented the steam engine, the textile factory in Great Britain didn’t change its equipment overnight. Even if it was late in the industrial revolution, no one would dare to say that the popularity of steam engines reached 100%.
Speculate first, if worked well on peers, and then adjust slowly. It was the safest approach.
In addition, unlike the Hummingbird drones, the Beta-4 was completely developed by scientists in the modern world, and its technical content was at most ahead. If other companies developed a similar product during this period, even if the performance did not reach the same level as the Beta-4, as long as with great sales team and a low selling price, it could still take a lot of market from Future Heavy Industrials.
Only by occupying the high ground of the market in the shortest time could profits be maximized!
Either seek collaborators or buy directly!
Future Group had the capital, and in order to grasp pricing power, Jiang Chen would certainly choose the latter.
From the Beta-4 drone alone, if Future Group could acquire a pharmaceutical company and use its existing partners.h.i.+p with major hospitals, as well as experience in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries. The promotion of the Beta-4 would definitely be much easier than if Future Group formed a new subsidiary from the beginning.
Graphene and cloud technology would follow the same principle.
It was precisely because of this that Jiang Chen’s negotiations with the Department of Commerce reached a stalemate.