Feng Xiaochen and Qi Ruicang were naturally the rescuers invited by Wang Zhenbin. Qi Ruicang left Yubei five years ago and is still returning to work at the National Development Research Center. During his years in Yubei, he personally participated in the process of revitalizing the old industrial base, and combined with his knowledge of economics, he put forward a theory on the choice of industrial revitalization path. He teamed up with his master's classmate Ding Shikuan to refine this theory and summarize it as a so-called "industrial revival curve". After their paper was published in international journals, it received widespread attention, and the curve they proposed was also named the "Qi-Ding Industrial Revival Curve", or simply the Qi-Ding Curve.

Since the 80s of the last century, European and American countries have had the problem of industrial transformation of old industrial bases, such as Detroit in the United States, Birmingham in the United Kingdom and other old industrial areas in the United Kingdom have encountered difficulties, the local industry has withered, the population is decreasing, and many social problems have emerged. Although the theory of choosing the path of industrial revitalization proposed by Qi Ruicang and Ding Shikuan is a summary of China's experience, it also has some enlightenment for Western countries, so not only the academic community is interested in this theory, but also official institutions such as the European Commission are also studying this theory.

Emmeline is an economist background, and she also does some theoretical research work in the European Commission, so she knows about the Qi Ding curve, and she is also very familiar with the name Qi Ruicang. After she reminded Bovard, Bovard also remembered this, and it was inevitable that she would have to look up to Qi Ruicang.

Gao Lei and Qi Ruicang are both scholars who are somewhat famous in the Western economic community, but their fame is different. Gao Lei's fame lies in the fact that he is good at criticizing China's system, and occasionally exposing some fierce information, which can satisfy the voyeurism of foreign scholars. Qi Ruicang's fame lies in the fact that he put forward a set of theories on industrial revitalization, which is not only inspiring for developing countries, but also for developed countries in the West.

One is professionally dismantled and the other is professionally dismantled, and how the academic community views these two is another matter, for a substantive department like the European Commission, it is natural to have more respect for the latter. Anyway, the latter can do something, and what can the former do except show off his tongue?

After Feng Xiaochen and Qi Ruicang sat down, Wang Zhenbin briefly briefed them on the situation just now, and then showed them the newspapers and copies of the documents that Bovard had brought. Seeing that the other party actually got a copy of the internal documents, Feng Xiaochen and Qi Ruicang were also speechless, what is the matter with this special meow.

"Mr. Bovard, I heard that you just mentioned the issue of government subsidies, what are your questions?" Qi Ruicang spoke, he had been in the United States for several years, and his understanding of international rules was better than that of Feng Xiaochen and Wang Zhenbin, so this problem should be dealt with by him.

"Yes, we note that the Chinese government has subsidized the first set of insurance for its own manufacturers, which gives Chinese manufacturers an additional advantage when competing with European companies," Bovard said. We believe that this subsidy policy is unreasonable and contrary to the provisions of TO. ”

"Which rule is it violated?" Qi Ruicang asked.

"The principle of national treatment in the TO and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Bovard said.

Qi Ruicang shrugged his shoulders and said: "Mr. Bovard, what you are talking about is a general provision, and there is an exception clause in the TO principle, that is, if it is a government procurement, it is not subject to the principle of national treatment. ”

"We know this, but is your country's first set of policies only for government procurement projects?" Bovard asked rhetorically.

"That's for sure. Feng Xiaochen took over, "If it's not government procurement, what reason does the NDRC have to provide subsidies to enterprises?"

"But your professor Gao Lei said that this subsidy is universal and is not limited to government procurement projects. Bovard argued.

Feng Xiaochen smiled and said, "Mr. Bovard, some people's words are not credible. You will never forget that a few years ago, someone at the United Nations General Assembly took a bag of laundry detergent and said that it was evidence of chemical weapons found in Iraq, and as a result, you turned Iraq into a ruin, and no chemical weapons were found, what is your comment on this?"

"This ......" Bovard's face was a little ugly, of course he knew what Feng Xiaochen was talking about, and the Western public may still believe Powell's nonsense back then, but Bovard, as an EU official, could not understand the cattiness of this. At the beginning, Powell claimed that he had obtained evidence from "people of conscience" in Iraq, but it turned out that this evidence was completely false. What is different now that the EU is using evidence provided by Chinese "people of conscience"?

"I don't think these two things can be simply compared. Emmeline exonerated Bovard.

Feng Xiaochen said: "Then let's take a specific example. I just read the newspaper you brought, in this report, the reporter mentioned the bidding for subway engineering equipment in Huoyuan City, China, the subway project is completely led by the government, if such a project is not considered government procurement, what is government procurement?"

"Indeed, in the case of this project, it is indeed an act of government procurement, and it is permissible for manufacturers to receive government subsidies. Emmeline replied that they had pondered this flaw before they set off, saying: "However, in the TO exception, it is stipulated that the financial support provided by the government in the procurement project can only be used to cover the manufacturer's losses, and not to make the manufacturer make additional profits." Can you prove that the insurance subsidy promised by the government to Chenyu in the Huoyuan subway will not make Chenyu any additional profits?"

"Absolutely. Wang Zhenbin also interjected, "Regarding this project, we have carried out strict calculations. In fact, the price of the shield machine provided by Chen Yu Company for the Huoyuan Metro Project is far lower than the general market level, and it is more than 40% cheaper than the similar models of the German Prometheus, which is completely unprofitable. If they had to pay the full premium, they would have incurred serious losses, and government subsidies were used to cover these losses. ”

"However, the purpose of lowering prices is to gain a competitive advantage over Prometheus, which is a business practice. Bovard said.

"No, it's all about the public good. "Their aim is to reduce the cost of the Huoyuan subway to benefit the city's 2 million residents." ”

"The construction of subways can effectively reduce the pressure on ground transportation, alleviate urban congestion, and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by urban transportation, which is beneficial to global climate control. Feng Xiaochen gave another lofty reason.

This time Bovard was speechless. In recent years, the European people have become more and more virgin, and things like economic development are regarded as backward and outdated concepts, and topics such as global climate and animal protection have absolute justice, and no one can challenge them. Feng Xiaochen said that Chenyu provided cheap shield machines for the Huoyuan subway for global climate control, which is obvious nonsense, but Bovard firmly believes that if Feng Xiaochen is willing to go to the European media to express this opinion, he will definitely be able to get a group of supporters. The European Commission itself has a bunch of bad things, how can it have the spirit to cause this trouble.

"Under the same conditions, it is also the principle of TO to give priority to the procurement of industrial products from developing countries. In the case that Chenyu shield machine and Pumai shield machine have the same cost performance, not only Huoyuan subway project should give priority to the purchase of Chenyu company's products, but even European subway projects should also be the same. Qi Ruicang said leisurely.

"Perhaps...... , uh, I mean, there's a little bit else that we need to know. Bovard confessed. He realized that Chinese government officials already had a lot of expertise, not what they were decades ago when China first opened its doors. Chinese officials have pondered the rules for TO very thoroughly, and this first set of documents from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has been written so thoroughly that no one can find flaws.

As EU officials, Bovard and Emmeline both know that the so-called observance of the TO rule is actually a policy at the top and a countermeasure at the bottom. All member countries talk about strictly abiding by WTO rules, but in action they are trying to exploit loopholes, and as long as others can't grasp the handle, they can't help it.

Right now, the European Union and the United States are engaged in a trade tussle over aircraft subsidies. The United States accuses the EU of heavily subsidizing Airbus, while the EU flatly denies it while accusing the United States of heavily subsidizing Boeing. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the subsidies on both sides are real and violate the WTO agreement. But neither side acknowledged it, and kept debating various regulations. No one expects this kind of debate to come up with a result, and everyone's psychology is the same, that is, to use the time to rush to grab the market, and when the market is in hand, it will be a big deal in the future to cancel subsidies or even pay some fines, and so on? You must know that this kind of international trade will not be a problem for 10 or 20 years.

In contrast, this subsidy engaged in by the Chinese can only be regarded as a small case. After all, the Chinese are still honest, lack of experience in the international market, and have limited right to speak, so they are still a little cautious in doing things, and do not dare to act as recklessly as Europe and the United States.

Speaking of the Huoyuan subway, in fact, Bovard and Emmeline knew before that they couldn't find anything wrong, and they were betting on whether Chinese officials would be bluffed by them. Now, it seems, that hope has been dashed. Others don't say it, at least Qi Ruicang, who proposed the "Qi Ding Curve", must have seen some of the world, and it is really impossible to bluff him with a newspaper and a few copies.

"If that's the case, then we'll take our leave. Bovard stood up, "We will convey your comments to the experts of the European Commission for further judgment." If we have any other questions, I'm afraid I'll have to bother you again. ”

"Waiting for you at any time. Wang Zhenbin also stood up and said with a smile.