Sitting in the VIP box of the Bird's Nest and witnessing the shocking performance of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games should be regarded as one of the unforgettable moments in Han Hao's life.

The whole family attended in unison, and when they saw the excitement, the mother and mother-in-law couldn't help cheering, and the father who was in a wheelchair kept clapping his hands, but it was his father-in-law Chen Qizhao, who claimed to be a rationalist, who cried silently alone. Compared with the young generation of the post-70s generation like Han Hao, the generation of parents who were born before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China and grew up under the red flag has experienced more hardships.

Who is best qualified to comment on the quality of China's development path?

Of course, the 1.3 billion Chinese people living in this homeland!

They first sang Dongfanghong to stand up and completely shake off the title of "the sick man of East Asia" on their heads, and then took advantage of the east wind of reform and opening up to build the country into a "global factory" and became rich, and staged the miracle of China's great reversal in just 59 years, which is an indelible proud achievement in modern human history.

Through the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Chinese nation has shown the heritage of an ancient great country to the people of the world, and also sounded the horn of the road to the rejuvenation of the oriental dragon to the world.

"Only when there is a country can we have a home, and when the country is strong, we will not be bullied.

You have done the right thing, you should actively devote yourself to the great cause of national construction! When you have money, you must not forget your roots, our Han family is a Chinese in life, and we are a Chinese ghost in death, and we vow to live and die with the country——"

Seeing the excitement, his father Han Yongfu turned his head and held Han Hao's hand and said these impassioned words.

"Dad, don't worry, I know it. ”

Han Hao was afraid that his father's blood pressure would rise, so he hurriedly comforted the other party, and of course he understood this truth very well.

Hosting the Olympic Games is a huge and systematic super project, which, in addition to the huge investment in people, money, and materials, also tests the overall strength of the government and people of the host country. It is clear that China has delivered a satisfactory answer to the people of the world.

"Wonderful", "unprecedented"......

That's the unanimous comment of anyone who watched the opening ceremony live or on television, and some even unceremoniously said that the next Olympic host country, Britain, is under great pressure because they can't be as perfect as the Chinese.

As one of the main sponsors of the Olympic Games, Chung Hwa Group received many VIP tickets for the opening ceremony, so Han Hao specially invited representatives of Ford and Tata Motors, as well as joint venture partners from Russia, Iran, Vietnam and other countries to attend the ceremony.

Particularly striking is the second phase of negotiations on the acquisition of Volvo Cars, which was specially held in China at the invitation of Han Hao, and the main topic is to officially open the tripartite negotiations between Ford, Zhonghua Group and Tata Motors, and deal with the handling of the Jaguar brand after the acquisition of Volvo.

Volvo's merger process went very well, and on the eve of the Olympics, Ford officially announced that Zhonghua Group was the sole bidder, indicating that it was only a matter of time before the Swedish car brand moved to China.

Therefore, the handling of the Jaguar brand entered the process, and Han Hao planned to sell it to Tata Motors as planned, and only retain the Land Rover brand in the SUV field, so as to have a three-way negotiation with the original owner Ford Motor.

There is a delicate need to keep things completely secret and not trigger a backlash from the British government and trade unions after the news is announced.

Both Bill Ford and Ratan appeared at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and frankly they didn't know much about China as well as they knew about Chinese Han Hao.

The wonderful cultural display at the opening ceremony made them truly realize that Han Hao's success was not an accident, but that he had a motherland that could support his dreams.

After just over a year of absence, Bill Ford found that his impression of the Chinese capital had changed dramatically. Living in the same five-star hotel, the last time I came there was a noisy construction site not far away, this time it has become a bustling business district, and many buildings have been built in place. It seems that the Chinese are industrious worker ants, diligently transforming the land under their feet.

Because of Tata Motors' involvement, and the fact that India and China are both big countries in Asia, it is natural for Bill Ford to compare the two countries in his mind.

Despite its quagmire, Ford still has a strong focus on the car market of two large countries, China and India, and Asia is known to be the next big battleground. Bilford, who visited China and India at about the same time, found a striking contrast between India's big cities and a decade ago, while China's cities are changing every year.

India often claims that it will be the next China, but in Bill Ford's view, at least for the time being, this is a dream, and the disparity between the two sides is rooted not in population and territory, but in many unseen places.

As a simple example, if Han Hao said that a new factory with a scale of 300,000 vehicles will be built in China in a year, then he believes that it will be realized. But if Ratan had come up with the exact same goal in India, Bill Ford would have put a big question mark in his mind and questioned the impossibility of achieving it, and this is where the gap between the two sides lies.

In Bill Ford's view, Zhonghua Group is a suitable successor to the Jaguar brand, but Han Hao made it clear that there is not much energy invested in Jaguar except Land Rover and Volvo.

If the nod does not agree to the marriage, the Jaguar brand may face the treatment of the Chunghwa Group's sealing, which will be even worse for Jaguar, and the transfer to Tata Motors may be a desperate move.

Ratan also assured Ford that he would make Jaguar the flagship of the Tata Group like his own son, which allowed Bill Ford to persuade the rest of the board to accept the three-way deal and agree to sell Volvo to the Chinese.

"No matter how much we turn a blind eye, China and the rise of Chinese cars are already a fact. It is a hundred times better to be friends with the Chung Hwa Group than to be an enemy.

Our biggest threat is the Japanese automakers who have entered the hinterland, not the distant Chinese. In this transaction, we need money, and they need brands, and everyone takes what they need, and they are mutually beneficial.

As for future changes, it can only be left to heaven to decide. ”

There are many voices in the United States calling for the government to save the three major automakers, knowing that the auto industry guarantees a huge number of jobs for the American people, and if it is lost, it will be a catastrophe for the working class.

It is reported that the White House has begun to discuss this issue privately, and it seems that the bailout is not far off.

However, before that, Ford must get more bargaining chips, and it is the first choice to get rid of the burden and slim down to maintain cash flow, otherwise it is impossible to get money from the White House without bleeding from major shareholders and management.

Ratan visited and witnessed the development of the Chinese capital, and he was very envious of Han Hao.

Compared with the Indian people, the Chinese people have more pockets and obviously have stronger spending power, otherwise the Chunghwa Group would not have achieved a single market sales of more than 2 million vehicles. Compared with India's first-tier cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi, China's capital is more modern and international, and has the strength to compete with the metropolises of New York and Paris.

He has already calculated in his heart that if the negotiations go well, he will introduce the Jaguar brand to China in the future, and he will not miss this market with the most consumption power. In addition to the European and American markets, the Chinese market is recognized as a new growth point. Although the sales volume of the Jaguar brand has been declining, the basic market can still maintain about 50,000 units, and if it can maintain the global scale of 120,000 units in the future, it should be able to maintain the level of profitability.

Ratan thought the same as Han Hao, it is very difficult for new car companies to build high-end luxury brands, and now taking advantage of the low price to win the Jaguar brand from British origin is a sure-fire business for Tata Motors. India is a Commonwealth country, so Jaguar can have a leading edge in the Commonwealth with Tata Motors.

At that time, when India's economy develops, Tata Motors, which relies on strong domestic demand, can also become as powerful as Zhonghua Group and rise to become a new giant in the global automotive industry.

Tata Motors has privately approached Volkswagen, Toyota and Hyundai to explore a joint venture plant model in India, after all, the success of the Chunghwa Group has spurred the international giants.

The paper can't hold the fire, and Ratan understands that Han Hao will know sooner or later, so he took the opportunity of this Olympic meeting to inform the Chinese side of the situation, hoping that the other party can understand.

"This kind of thing is normal in China, and it is common for our domestic companies to have multiple joint venture partners.

Ultimately, it's all about the product, and I think our joint venture will have the last laugh. ”

Of course, Han Hao will not mind, in the field of economic automobiles, Zhonghua Group already has a unique advantage, and is not afraid of competition with other giants. The mainstream of the Indian auto market is a contest of cheap cars, and if you want to grab food from the current hegemon Chunghwa Group and Suzuki Motors, you will have to pay a very big price, and it is very likely that you will continue to lose money for many years.

While the Olympic Games were in full swing, trilateral negotiations between China, the United States and India, which were related to the fate of Volvo and Jaguar, officially began.

Compared with the first round of Volvo's offer of up to 4.8 billion US dollars, after the M&A team entered the investigation and learned that Volvo has incurred huge losses, the new quotation of Zhonghua Group is 2.8 billion US dollars, which is about 40% less.

Volvo's situation is not as perfect as Han Hao imagined, the aging Swedish brand has fallen far behind the BBA German top three in the fierce competition in the luxury car market, and even the Japanese top three represented by Lexus can't compare, and if it continues like this, it is likely to be squeezed out of the runway.

Although Volvo is a skinny camel bigger than a horse, it can't resist the siege of wolves, and if it can't find a backer, it may really become yesterday's yellow flower.

Once the decision was made to sell Volvo, Ford did not hesitate, and they approved the new evaluation offer of Volvo by the China Group, opening a new round of negotiations.

As for how much a Jaguar car is really worth?

At the beginning, the purchase price was announced to be 2.36 billion US dollars, and Zhonghua Group acquired two major companies, Jaguar and Land Rover. In fact, excluding the pension benefits that Ford should bear, the transaction price should be $1.8 billion.

For the price of Jaguar cars, Zhonghua Group gave a figure of 1 billion US dollars.

However, Tata Motors did not agree, and they made an offer of $700 million, citing the brand's continued losses and its lack of value as Land Rover.

In short, everyone is interested in making a deal, and the rest is a see-saw bargaining, and a big reshuffle affecting the global auto industry is quietly underway. （）