The 2001 APEC series of conferences is the largest and highest-level international conference hosted by China since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

APEC has a rotating presidency every year, and this year it happens to be China's turn. In addition to the Z-level ministerial meetings held in Shenghai, a series of high-level official meetings will be held in Beijing, Shencheng and other places, and these high-level official meetings have been held one after another since the Spring Festival.

In total, APEC will hold 18 meetings and activities in China this year.

In February, there was an APEC e-commerce and paperless trade seminar, which was attended by Wang Juntao and Ma Xiaoyun. The SME Summit proposed by Song Weiyang last year was discussed and approved at a ministerial meeting held in Shenghai at the end of August this year, and the APEC SME Summit will be officially held next year.

In September, the APEC Technology Expo was also held in Sioux City, and Shenzhou Technology also brought products to participate. Among them, the "USB wireless network card" is the most eye-catching, due to the relatively low price, many manufacturers in China and Southeast Asia have shown their intention to order.

From mid-October until the end of October, the meeting was held for nearly half a month.

The CEO summit attended by Song Weiyang will last from the 18th to the 20th. In addition to Song Weiyang and Bill Gates, there are also Mr. Yang of Lenovo, Mr. Wang of Great Wall, Mr. Li of TCL, Mr. Lu of Tsinghua Tongfang, Hiroshi Zhengtian of Sony China, and Mr. Chen, global vice president and general manager of Intel Asia Pacific.

The main reason for this change is that the other CEOs are unhappy, and Song Weiyang can't let Song Weiyang finish the limelight alone, right?

If you can't be in the limelight, it's a small thing, and it's a big thing to be pressed by Song Weiyang.

In fact, none of this is about Song Weiyang's, and the one-on-one dialogue was proposed by Bill Gates. He still remembers the conversation between the two on the campus of Tsinghua University a few years ago, and was very interested in Song Weiyang, who became the richest man in just a few years, and took the initiative to ask the event party to arrange a face-to-face exchange.

The CEO summit was held for two consecutive days, and Song Weiyang could only make a group discussion and speech. As for those keynote speeches, they are either speeches by leaders in charge, speeches by CEOs of state-owned enterprises or collective enterprises, or speeches by CEOs of multinational enterprises or overseas Chinese billionaires, and private entrepreneurs like Song Weiyang have no chance to show their faces at all.

On the third day of the conference, the "Forum of Eight" was set up as a group topic, and many industry peers and media reporters were present.

A makeshift platform with eight single sofas placed in a semicircle. There is also a coffee table in front of each sofa, with nameplates, tea, melons and fruits, among which Bill Gates and Song Weiyang's seats are in the middle, Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo and Lu Zhicheng, Tsinghua Tongfang's seats are second, Chen Junsheng, vice president of Intel and Zhengtian Hong, Sony China again, Wang Zhi Great Wall and Li Dongsheng's TCL seats are in the outermost area.

Mr. Liu of Lenovo did not come, but he was the introducer of Bill Gates when he gave a keynote speech this morning, and his introductory words were: "Today, here, as a common person, I want to talk about two things that Mr. Bill respects me. One is that he uses technology to promote the magic of today's society...... Second, I respect him because he is a philanthropist, and he and his wife have donated $21.1 billion to the fund, which has made a great contribution to human health!"

There were about 300 people sitting in the audience, most of whom were practitioners in computer, Internet and related industries, and there were also a few leaders and scholars.

The eight of them all arrived in a hurry from other venues, and they did not meet separately beforehand.

Bill Gates didn't speak to anyone, just waved to the audience, and then smiled and sat down.

After all eight of them sat down, the others finally noticed the difference.

Although Bill Gates was wearing trousers and leather shoes, he only had a shirt on his upper body, and the pink tie was taken off at some point. Song Weiyang wore sneakers, jeans and a T-shirt, and a suit on the outside, which was not formal without a suit. After the two sat down, they leaned on Erlang's legs at the same time, mainly because of the problem of the most central seat, sitting in front of them would face the stage, and only by sitting sideways could they face each other.

But in the eyes of the audience attendees, it was Song Weiyang and Bill Gates who behaved most casually. The remaining six people were all sitting upright, fully armed in suits and leather shoes, and even their ties were meticulously beaten.

"Thank you to eight entrepreneurs from home and abroad, as well as hundreds of leaders, experts and colleagues on the scene, and welcome everyone to participate in today's APEC Forum of Eight," an official official served as the moderator, "The theme of this group activity is the current plight and future prospects of computers and the Internet." Mr. Song, Mr. Yang, Mr. Lu...... Each of the seven of you can ask Mr. Bill Gates a question, and then Mr. Bill Gates will ask a question. ”

Yang Yuanqing didn't care about the order of the seats, and said directly: "I'll ask first." Mr. Bill Gates, although the prospects of the Chinese market are promising, the world's personal computer industry has been at a turning point, and many Chinese information technology companies are changing from product-oriented to application-oriented in order to cope with fierce competition. Would you like to give us another word of advice?"

Bill Gates responded with a smile: "It is normal to respond to changes and adjustments in the industry at any time, and the key is whether the company can produce products with better functions at the same or lower price, or create new business opportunities through the integration of different functions." I think that as long as it is ultimately beneficial to the user and the product is exciting, the user will definitely buy it. To do this, companies need to constantly innovate. ”

"Okay, thanks. Yang Yuanqing put down the microphone.

Song Weiyang picked up the microphone and said to Lu Zhicheng from Tsinghua Tongfang: "Mr. Lu, you can ask questions." ”

As soon as these words came out, many thoughtful old fritters in the audience collectively smiled on their faces Since the host did not announce the rules, then the questions should be asked according to the order of seating, Yang Yuanqing rushed to ask questions, which was obviously difficult for Song Weiyang. If Song Weiyang continues to ask questions, he will be dismissed in public, and if he does not ask questions or show displeasure, he will lose his demeanor on this occasion. As a result, Song Weiyang's face was flat, he didn't show any abnormality, and asked Lu Zhicheng to ask questions. In this way, Song Weiyang and Bill Gates are the core, and he takes the initiative to give up the opportunity to ask questions to others, and puts his own questions last.

"Bang bang bang!"

There was a sudden applause from the good deeds, and a round of applause was quickly ensued.

And Song Weiyang and Yang Yuanqing, who were secretly competing, one was light and light at this time, and the other was expressionless.

The vindictiveness between the two is not a personal grudge, but stems from business competition.

Since the spring of this year, the monthly sales of Shenzhou Computer have jumped to the second place, although it is far inferior to Lenovo, but it has enough threatening power. The reason for the explosive growth of Shenzhou computer sales, in addition to Song Weiyang's personal fame and advertising, is the most important thing is to focus on mid-range models.

Now the major manufacturers have completely reacted and are moving closer to the mid-range machine market. However, the ship is difficult to turn around, the ship is small and easy to overturn, and the computers of major brands did not begin to focus on mid-range models until this summer.

At present, the situation of domestic computer brands is that Lenovo ranks first in the sales of low-end and mid-range machines; Shenzhou Computer ranks second in the mid-range and third in the low-end machines; and Great Wall Computer ranks second in the low-end and third in the mid-range machines.

The fundamental reason why Lenovo, which really makes all models sell first, feels threatened is that in the past two years, computer component factories have been continuously transferred to China, and there is no need to import everything when producing domestic accessories. As a result, Shenzhou Technology, which can produce its own motherboards, has to carry out price reduction promotions every once in a while with its cost advantage, and the sales growth rate of mid-range and low-end machines is very scary.

Not long ago, Shenzhou Technology even released the news of self-produced hard disks, all of which made Lenovo feel like a big enemy.

The questions of these CEOs are all decent, and only Wang Zhi, the boss of the Great Wall, is the most interesting. The gentleman, who is also the oldest, asked, "Microsoft's prices seem to be less attractive than Microsoft's products, which is one reason for the rampant piracy." Can I use Microsoft's software and pay for it while using it as if I were on the phone?"

The audience burst into laughter, followed by applause.

Bill Gates calmly replied: "In any market, charging for what you use is much more expensive than paying for it as a one-time fee." For computer users, software should be the cheapest, followed by hardware, and the most expensive is the cost of communication. Even if the price is to be reduced, the communication fee should be reduced. In addition, the pricing of Microsoft products is different, and education, charities and other organizations buy software at special discounts. ”

Song Weiyang was the last to ask, he picked up the microphone, and his voice was slow and clear: "Mr. Bill, what do you think about monopoly?"

Bill Gates finally changed his face, but returned to normal in less than two seconds, and he said righteously: "Monopoly is naturally not allowed, and Microsoft's positioning is not a monopolist, but a leader and pioneer." ”

"Good, thank you. Song Weiyang smiled and put down the microphone.

Bill Gates breathed a sigh of relief, he was really afraid that Song Weiyang would continue to ask, and if he continued to ask, he would not be able to step down today.

Just last year, Microsoft was accused of "abusing its dominant market position" and was ordered to split into two companies. To put it bluntly, anti-monopoly is very common in the United States, take the film industry as an example, in the past, film companies could operate theaters, but after anti-monopoly, they were no longer allowed to operate theaters, and all the big Hollywood companies were spun off.

Bill Gates lobbied everywhere for money, and finally got another court to overturn the ruling and allow Microsoft to continue to operate as a full company. But that's not the end of it, the European Union has also begun to accuse Microsoft of monopoly, ordering Microsoft's systems to provide users with multiple browser choices, and issuing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to Microsoft.

This series of antitrust cases caused a large number of resignations of Microsoft executives, and its stock price plummeted. Moreover, it directly led to Bill Gates resigning as CEO of Microsoft and hiding in the dark as the emperor to avoid the limelight.

At this moment, Bill Gates is no longer the CEO of Microsoft, although he treats the current CEO as a puppet, but he does not dare to jump like before.

And Bill Gates donated a total of $20 billion to charitable funds twice in a row, which happened to be a critical moment in Microsoft's antitrust case. When others accused him of monopoly, he ran out to engage in charity, and this public relations was really slippery, and it always perfectly diverted the public's attention.

Song Weiyang actually asked Microsoft's most sensitive question in public, and stepped on the brakes at a critical time, which made Bill Gates angry and angry, but he couldn't help but be grateful to Song Weiyang for keeping people in his mouth. The old man said with mixed feelings: "It's my turn to ask, and this question is specifically for Mr. Song." You are the most successful businessman in China, what is the most important thing about selling software products in China?"

"Price. Song Weiyang said.

Bill Gates asked, "Do you also think the price of Microsoft's products is too high?"

Song Weiyang said with a smile: "Even if the Microsoft system is only sold for 1 dollar, the vast majority of Chinese users will still think it is too high, and they don't think it is expensive to sell a computer for 10,000 yuan." Because the hardware can be seen, the software can't. I can only say so much, and if I go any further, it will be a trade secret. ”

Bill Gates was thoughtful, and suddenly smiled: "Thank you, I understand, this is the biggest gain of my trip." ”

Except for a small number of people, the rest of the audience felt inexplicable. Song Weiyang didn't say any advanced theories, how could Bill Gates understand? And it was the biggest gain of this trip.

Bill Gates asked, "How receptive are Chinese consumers to handwriting computers?"

TCL's Li Dongsheng replied: "According to the habits of Chinese, handwriting is of course more acceptable than keyboard input. ”

Lu Zhicheng of Tsinghua Tongfang said: "But the current handwriting computer is still not as comfortable as writing on paper, if it can be improved, the handwriting computer should have a good market prospect." ”

Lenovo's Yang Yuanqing also said: "At present, many of China's consumers are middle-aged, they are not used to typing on the keyboard, and I am very optimistic about the prospects of handwriting computers." ”

Bill Gates asked Song Weiyang again: "What does Mr. Song think?"

Song Weiyang said: "Handwriting computers may have a market in China for a few years, but they are destined to be eliminated as a type of product, and Shenzhou Technology will not invest in this area." ”

"Why was it eliminated?" asked Bill Gates.

Song Weiyang said: "Now that I have a calculator, I won't use an abacus anymore, even if it's an abacus that can display the results on the battery." Handwriting computers are for those middle-aged and elderly consumers, and the fundamental reason is that it is inconvenient to input Chinese characters. Instead of painstakingly rolling out handwriting computers, it is better to make it easier and faster to input Chinese characters. Thank you Mr. Bill for the reminder, I will let Sogou immediately launch the input method project, and strive to double the speed of Chinese character input within two or three years. ”

Wang Zhi of the Great Wall said with a smile: "In the eyes of Boss Song, it can be said that there are business opportunities everywhere." ”

The "eight-person forum" was carried out like this, and the netizens who watched the live text broadcast on the website were disappointed, because there was no imaginary verbal sword at all.

Song Weiyang can't help it, there are too many people, so he can only use the question and answer method, otherwise he will definitely quarrel on the spot.

However, there are still discerning netizens who can see through the details, this person first popularized the Microsoft anti-monopoly case, and then joked: "Song Cannon is so aggressive, the first question is about monopoly, but unfortunately there is no video picture, only text live broadcast, otherwise you will definitely see Bill Gates's face is very exciting." It's a pity that Song Cannon stopped the topic and didn't let Bill Gates get off the stage in public. ”

"It should be official, and you have to be merciful on this occasion. ”

Lenovo's Yang was very jumpy, and took the initiative to grab Song Weiyang's question. Lao Song's response can be called a stroke of genius, this guy actually made a cameo appearance as the host, which made Yang Yuanqing lose his temper directly. ”

"Yes, why didn't I see it?"

Before the text live broadcast, there was a description of the live seats, and Song Weiyang and Bill Gates belonged to the main seat. When asking a question, Yang Yuanqing, who was in the second seat, rushed to speak, clearly commanding Song Weiyang's army. Song Weiyang's acquiescence is to lose face, and to oppose is to lose his demeanor, this is digging a pit for him to jump. And Yang Yuanqing was too excited at best, and he couldn't wait to speak when he saw Bill Gates. Song Weiyang's coping method is equivalent to going around the pit and kicking Yang Yuanqing, who was digging the pit, into the pit, and those who understand will naturally understand. ”

"Awesome, awesome, I can't even think of it if you don't say it. ”

"These bosses are also very stingy, doing some children's tricks. ”

"Children's tricks, if you go up and try it, you will definitely fall into the pit before you know it." Anyway, Song Weiyang makes me admire me very much, and he can still adapt to the situation on that occasion, and he can only say that his EQ and IQ are at the full level. ”

"It seems that Song Weiyang can become the richest man, it really doesn't depend on luck, people are born to eat this bowl of rice. ”

"Bill Gates understands, what does he understand? What is Song Weiyang expressing?"

What Song Weiyang means is that don't talk about genuine products with Chinese consumers, and it's useless to talk about it. As for what Bill Gates thinks, it is estimated that only he knows that such a few simple words should affect Microsoft's market development strategy in China, so Bill Gates said that this is the biggest gain of his trip. ”

"Song Weiyang is being a teacher for Gates?"

"Haha, Dr. Ma has students all over the world, and Bill Gates still owes Dr. Ma 500 yuan in tuition. ”