I have to admit that every time an international economic and trade conference is held at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, which needs to be absolutely closed to ensure that there is no insider trading leak, the material enjoyment provided to the participants is really good.

Gu Biao has also held many top-level luxury parties in his own home, but he still has to admit that the conditions provided by the Plaza Hotel have their own unique decency.

A restrained, dignified smell of old money.

If you think about it carefully, these are all as it should be - the people who came to the meeting this time are all dignitaries at the level of finance ministers and business ministers of the five countries, as well as their staff and advisers.

Many parts of the agenda were discussed in separate groups. For example, when the Americans play with themselves, the Germans will be idle, and conversely, when the Americans play alone with the Germans, the same will be true for the Americans.

As for the Bretanians and the French, there is even more free time.

The same is true for the Americans, who are experts on the issue of this issue and experts on the German issue.

Since it is possible that these people will be empty at certain times during the two weeks and will not be able to leave the hotel, it is necessary to provide the most luxurious service so as not to make the guests feel that they are being imprisoned.

The proprietor of the Plaza Hotel has dealt with such scenes many times, and naturally knows how to serve these distinguished guests.

The self-service cocktail lounge is lit up 24 hours a day, from Australian lobster, Newfoundland cod, Alaskan king crab to Hokkaido bluefin golden gun Kobe Wagyu, all of which are strictly replenished every two hours, and if they are not finished after two hours, they are disposed of, ensuring that guests can always eat fresh when they want, even in the second half of the night.

Because these people who are engaged in finance, their work and rest time are very weird. Just like the Fed in later generations, Greenspan had a quirk that he had to wake up at four o'clock in the morning every day to soak in the bath, and his brain was most sober.

The hotel's indoor bowling, indoor tennis, billiards, and swimming pools are also closed to conference VIPs. The only regret is that you can't watch live live cabaret performances, only watch videos and listen to CDs - it's not that the hotel can't afford to hire a singer or pianist, it's just a need for confidentiality, so the entertainers won't be allowed in.

Therefore, there will be no escort service of women, and it is very innocent. All the waiters and chefs have not been replaced for two weeks, and the only channel of communication with the outside world is the freight elevator that specializes in delivering fresh ingredients, and everything only enters and does not leave.

In previous years, there were only so many entertainment facilities for this kind of conference, but in the past two years, there have been some new gadgets, and that is the game console, which was a big killer against the closed house life in the era when there was no Internet access.

It's just that most of the attendees are old and virtuous, and they are not used to playing with young people's things, and would rather read books, listen to CDs, and do sports to pass the time.

……

The day after Gu Biao came to the Plaza Hotel.

During the lunch break between meetings, US Treasury Secretary James Baker finally found a little time to meet with Gu Biao, along with Peterson and Kissinger.

After all, Gu Biao was only a secret adviser, not a participant, and of course Baker would not talk to him in the conference room, but would take lunch time to find a private room.

Eating silver cod and king crab and tasting Romanée Conti, everyone spoke very directly.

"Gu, I know that you are the person who cooperates most closely with Sony, and you helped to pull the strings together with Akio Morita into the circle of Watsengton politicians.

Therefore, I think that after the appreciation of the yen, you should be the most professional in the outlook for procurement substitution in the Japanese electronics and semiconductor fields, so please be sure to speak freely. ”

James Baker got straight to the point and named the purpose of inviting Gu Biao to quarantine for two weeks this time - just to ask Gu Biao about this aspect and help the team make a risk assessment, that's all.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Gu Biao did not participate in the negotiation of the Plaza Accord, he only provided advice on a professional point. And throughout the process, there may be dozens of consultants like him who provide advice.

As for why the topic started with Sony, it is also natural - because at the moment Sony is indeed the best-selling brand in the US market.

Gu Biao didn't want to show that he was betraying his friend, but he couldn't help but answer, so he considered the wording:

"I think Sony's problem is not the core technology, but the brand and the design experience, don't you think - Sony is just an integrator that manufactures end consumer goods.

However, Sony's brand and experience are really good, and most American consumers don't realize that Sony is a brand. In the future, with the appreciation of the yen, there will definitely be more overseas acquisitions by Japanese capital-

His Excellency Peterson should know this better than I do, Akio Morita, who became his client under my guidance, and the Blackstone Fund should be looking at a number of potential U.S. acquisitions for Sony.

I think it's better to play the card of national pride than to rely on the technology to fully follow up on Sony's experience, and let the media focus on promoting and reminding the American people that Sony is actually a product after some acquisitions are established. ”

When James Baker heard this, he was stunned.

He didn't think about this angle at all, maybe it was too "dark under the light", but he ignored it.

"You say, most American consumers don't know that Sony is a brand, but they are still buying Sony products?"

Gu Biao looked indifferent: "You are all people who live in the temple, of course you all have this insight and know that Sony is a Japanese product." But you don't seem to really get to the bottom of the American hierarchy to see how ignorant they are — actually, I don't want to remind you of that.

After all, today I taught you how to tell the people at the bottom of the United States that Sony is a Japanese product, and tomorrow you will have to draw a gourd in the same way, telling the people at the bottom of the United States that 'Tiankun also has a background in Chinese capital', to come back to me. ”

Gu Biao's words were really too vigorous, which suffocated the atmosphere in the arena, and in the end, Kissinger came out to play a round as an elder: "Uh...... Xiao Gu is really honest, rest assured, Treasurer Baker is not that kind of person. Beck, Xiao Gu's words today are enough to prove that he loves the United States. I believe that only the four of us know these words today, and there is no need to sink to the executive level. ”

James Baker also came back to his senses and knew that he had to take a stand at this time, otherwise who would help you in the future:

"That's that, that's it, I'm already convinced that Sony is not a big threat in this regard, and it can be designed to extinguish at any time - then, let's move on to the next segment, semiconductors.

Gu, I would like to know where the current preparations for the construction of Xiangji have reached - according to our investigation, Xiangxi has not yet purchased a lithography machine or other unique high-precision Japanese equipment necessary for semiconductor technology.

Even many basic equipment with options from suppliers from other countries have not even started to inquire and have not been contacted. You can't really use Zhang Zhongmou as a cover to make money in the financial and land markets!"

Gu Biao pretended to be slightly stunned for a while.

"Haha, that's ...... How to say this, of course I want to do a good job, but now the plant has not been built, and the interior decoration has not been done.

Of course, I'm not completely ruling out financial operations and land speculation to make some money. Money is the same all in the world, and it's unreasonable to work hard but decent money to earn, and easy-money to pick up, right?"

"What an extremely self-interested Grande!" James Baker couldn't help but complain in his heart, defining Gu Biao's sex.

He adjusted his mood and said with a little dissatisfaction: "That means that after the yen appreciates, for at least a year and a half, your Xiangji will not be able to provide a replacement for Japanese semiconductor production capacity?

"This ...... It's your business. I just happened to speculate on Texas Instruments last year, and then by chance I started investing in new projects. How can you count on me?" Gu Biao shook the pot with an innocent face.

Fighting against the Japanese monopoly on semiconductor technology is the task of your American uncle! Don't you like to lead the free world and save mankind? Why is it up to my brother at this time?

James Baker was speechless, and Peterson gave Baker a slightly apologetic look, as if apologizing for not intervening earlier.

In fact, Peterson, as the president of the Blackstone Fund, is under no obligation to apologize. But he was also the U.S. business chief when the previous president was in office, and after he came down, he often dealt with some things that were inconvenient for the current business chief to come forward. So he's apologizing for not doing enough of his stealth identity.

In the end, Kissinger, who was still like an old god like the sea god, opened his mouth to set the tone:

"Xiao Gu was also treated unfairly in China and lost the possibility of continuing to climb up in the political circles, so he gave up on himself. Young people, it's normal to want to make money.

Beck, if you think he's slow, you should help him figure out a way, have you ever seen a second young man in the world like Gu, who started from scratch in seven or eight years?"

Kissinger let it go, and of course James Baker had no choice but to change his attitude.

He sighed: "Now I say that the strongest semiconductor process should be NEC, followed by Toshiba and Fujitsu." Sony, as mentioned earlier, is nothing in terms of semiconductor processes. After this meeting, you should contact NEC or Toshiba as soon as possible, and don't seem to be in a hurry, but you must be in a hurry.

The U.S. has finally forced up the yen exchange rate, and that is to reduce the trade deficit. If the yen rises for a short period of time, but the deficit is even larger, then it will be troublesome. ”

Gu Biao was not in a hurry at this time, he said very businessmanly: "If you go with the flow, it will be smoother to buy things." If I act too eagerly, I'm afraid that I won't let go, and the price will be too high.

Of course, if you have your support, I am also confident that this industry will see the possibility of profitability in a shorter period of time, and I am really willing to increase investment.

However, I definitely have to do my research first to see if the opponent has any loopholes, or leverage, or quid pro quo, to drive down the price - I hope you understand this. I don't have much contact with NEC, but I don't have a good relationship with Toshiba.

At the beginning of the year, I wanted to join TNC and do some environmental charity to pave the way for the environmental impact assessment of the Xiangji Development Zone in Xiangjiang. At that time, I approached Toshiba, which has invested a lot in TNC and China's environmental protection circles, and wanted to serve as a co-branded guide.

But Toshiba was jealous of me and wary of me at that time, so I ended up choosing Sony's old partner Akio Morita. Now, Toshiba clearly knows its subsequent trade advantages, but it is too difficult for me to buy high-precision equipment and industrial machine tools. I can only choose NEC first. ”

Gu Biao complained step by step, and gradually laid out the contradictions between him and Toshiba, so that the American treasurers and business ministers could have a bottom in their hearts and be witnesses in the future.

lest that when Gu Biao suddenly broke out a piece of black material about Toshiba through some channels that day, these people couldn't react, and they regarded Gu Biao as a conspiracy theorist calculating Japanese tech giants.

Now I have to remember clearly: my brother never had the idea of calculating Toshiba or NEC, but you forced me to think of it "on the fly".

I thought of it for you gentlemen, not for me.