"That's the case, let you all express your opinions. ”

Qiangui Wuzhi made a general introduction, and then handed over the right to speak to the representatives sent by various enterprises. The Chemical Industry Association is an intermediary organization with no power in itself, and the status of Qiangui Wuzhi lies entirely in the coordinating role he plays in the industry.

"The intention of the Chinese is obvious, that is, they want to take over our outsourcing business, and they make no secret of this. As Qian Guijun just introduced, the two Chinese officials have visited dozens of enterprises in the past few days, and they have discussed the same topics in each of them. The condition they prescribe is also very straightforward, that is, their equipment is cheaper, so cheap that we can't refuse. Mineilongi said.

"We all know this and we don't need to stress it on Vice President Mine. Yu Uchida, sales director of Iketani Productions, said with a reserved smile, "What we need to consider is, do the Chinese have any deeper thoughts besides this apparent intention?"

"What deeper thoughts?" Minai Longyoshi was a little dissatisfied with Uchida Yu's words, and he said with a calm face: "Of course, the purpose of the business is to make money, do you need any other ideas?" Uchida-kun, are you thinking too much?"

Uchida Yuu said, "Vice President Minai, don't you think that the Chinese are encroaching on our market? In the past, they did not have the technology to manufacture large chemical fertilizers, and it was only through the introduction of technology from us that some production capacity was formed. And now, they are asking to be our subcontractor. According to this trend, in a few years, it is entirely possible for them to compete with us in the complete equipment market. ”

Mineilongji sneered, "Uchida-kun, I already said these words a few years ago. At that time, it was you, Uchida-kun, who thought that there was no need to worry about competition from the Chinese, and you said that even if we transferred the technology, it would be impossible for them to master it quickly. ”

"At that time...... That's exactly what I said. Uchida was a little embarrassed, because he had said something like that a few years ago. At that time, the Chinese proposed to import five sets of large fertilizer equipment, and made the transfer of manufacturing technology a condition for import. Some business executives, such as Minai Longyoshi, worry that the acquisition of technology by Chinese will pose a competitive threat to Japanese manufacturers, while Uchida, for the sake of a marketer, insists that Chinese companies have a low level of technology, and even if they obtain the technology transferred by the Japanese side, they will not be able to form production capacity in the short term.

Who would have thought that China is completely different from those countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, China has a large number of experienced technicians and workers, and has a firm determination to digest imported technology. In the past few years, the Chinese side has fully mastered the imported technology, which is embodied in the manufacture of the five sets of large fertilizer equipment, and the subcontracted part of the Chinese enterprises has met the technical requirements put forward by the Japanese side, which is also the confidence that they dare to come to Japan to seek new subcontracting business.

"We've all miscalculated this. Hiroshi Kawabata, chairman of Morimo Iron Works, made a round and said, "We were a little too conceited at that time, and we always felt that only we Japanese people were diligent and intelligent, and it was impossible for the Chinese to master foreign technology as quickly as we did." Now it seems that the learning ability of the Chinese is also very strong, and it is not inferior to us Japanese at all. ”

"That's where I'm worried. Uchida found the steps, quickly picked up the conversation, and said, "We have already made a mistake, and we should not make new mistakes." At present, Chinese companies do not have the ability to undertake chemical projects on a global scale, and their own domestic construction projects are insufficient, and the technology they have cheated from us can only be left there to rust. And if we accept them as subcontractors, we give them a platform to practice their skills, which will allow them to mature their skills quickly. ”

"It's just your imagination. "So far, the Chinese's technology is limited to the part we have transferred, and the core of it is the process design of fertilizer equipment." The patents for these processes are in our hands, and if they want to use them, they must obtain our consent and pay us a royalty. When we transferred the technology, we agreed with them that these patents could only be used for the manufacture of fertilizer equipment in China, and could not be used in China's overseas markets without permission. This means that they cannot do overseas business on their own, but can only act as our subcontractors. At the price they offered, the profit from the subcontracting was very small, and they were almost doing their work for us, so why didn't we accept it?"

"But what if they develop their own core process?" Uchida retorted, "They mastered the manufacturing process by doing subcontracting. If they have their own core technology, won't they be able to get rid of us completely?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say. "By accepting Chinese as subcontractors, we can attract their attention to subcontracting business." As long as they can taste the sweetness of subcontracting, they will not be interested in developing the core process. Uchida-kun, do you really think that the core process is so easy to develop? Even the core process of Japan's large chemical fertilizer has taken decades to develop. And the later you enter, the less you can innovate, and the Chinese are only now starting to enter this field, how can they develop new core processes?"

"I agree with Vice President Mine's point of view. Hiroshi Kawabata nodded in agreement.

The technology of chemical equipment can be divided into several levels. The most basic is the core process, that is, how to realize a chemical process in theory, such as the synthetic ammonia technology in large fertilizer equipment, which includes different processes with coal, residue, natural gas and other raw materials, and can be subdivided into such as Texaco process, Shell process, Kellogg process and so on.

With the core process, the design of the device can be carried out. For example, the process of the Shell coal gasification process is to ball mill and dry the raw coal, then gasify it in a gasifier, and then wet wash and desulfurize the cooling gas to finally form syngas. These steps require a variety of equipment, piping, and equipment arrangement, all of which fall under the umbrella of device design.

Further down is the manufacturing process, that is, how to manufacture a piece of equipment according to the design requirements, which involves material technology, processing technology and so on.

The division of labor of chemical equipment projects is also in accordance with the above levels. The main contractor of the project is the company that has mastered the core processes, and they propose the design of the complete equipment, which is then handed over to the various subcontractors to manufacture. Since the core process is the most basic, the company responsible for general contracting is the most profitable, and the subcontractor is equivalent to the migrant workers who move bricks when building a building, and they only earn a hard-earned money.

The core process is not necessarily a very complex technology, but the most direct and simple technologies have been patented by the first compatriot, and the later ones have either to pay royalties and obtain the authorization of these patents, or they have to find their own way, which means a lot of time and money investment. Of course, with the progress of the overall industrial level, the core process is also constantly improving, for example, it turns out that scientists know that the process under high pressure conditions is better than low pressure conditions, but because it is technically impossible to manufacture a high-pressure device, the process based on high pressure can only be shelved. Once the technology of high-pressure devices is breakthrough, the core process will also be improved.

In fact, the competitive advantage in industry is also sailing against the current, and if you don't advance, you will retreat. Japanese companies have core technologies in chemical equipment, but if they do not continue to develop technology, they will be overtaken by those who come after them. The more advanced the technology, the more difficult it is to develop it, as the executives of the companies present are well aware of. Mineilongi said that it is difficult for Chinese companies to quickly develop their own core processes, and this judgment is in line with everyone's thinking.

So, if Chinese companies do not master their own core processes, let them contract some subcontracting business, even if they become gold medal subcontractors, what does it matter, don't they have to be cheap labor for Japanese companies?

In addition, there is some truth to Mineilongi's argument that giving Chinese a taste of subcontracting can induce them to give up their efforts on core processes. If you can afford to move bricks and buy a fruit machine, you won't want to be a contractor. On the contrary, if you are not even given the opportunity to move bricks, who knows what miracles will be created when you are hungry?

Uchida has nothing to say, and he doesn't particularly agree with Mr. Minei's views, but he knows that many corporate executives, including his boss, tend to accept outsourcing from China. The reason is very simple, that is, the service of the Chinese is too cheap. At a time when all enterprises are facing huge cost pressures and urgently need someone to share the burden, the emergence of Chinese can be described as a relief in the snow. Even if you think that Chinese companies will become a threat to you in the future, it will be decades later, and who cares?

"So, all the monarchs think that they should accept the Chinese's request?" Qian Gui Wuzhi asked when he saw that everyone was silent.

"Nowadays, we have to work with the Chinese, which is the key to improving the competitiveness of our Japanese products. In fact, even if the Chinese do not come to us, we should take the initiative to come to our door to discuss cooperation. Hiroshi Kawabata said.

"It's all to blame on the damn Plaza Agreement!" said Minerongi hatefully.

Hiroshi Kawabata shook his head and said, "Minuchi-kun, it's unfair for you to say that. Even without the Plaza Accord, it is an undeniable fact that labor costs have risen in Japan. Isn't it true that even you, Minei-kun, are salaries several times higher now than they were 10 years ago? We have to find new sources of cheap labor, and China happens to be such a place. ”