Bao Feiyang believes that when talking about Ma Xi's investment in China, he does value the return on investment, but it is not necessarily necessary to say that it is only for the return on investment.

Although Ma Xi is registered in the name of a private enterprise and usually operates independently, after all, there is a close relationship with the Xincheng government, and Ma Xi's investment behavior must first be in line with the interests of Xincheng, and sometimes he will become the spokesperson of Xincheng's interests.

In the Internet age, there are many criticisms of Xincheng, but in fact, as a small city-state, Xincheng is the only country in the world where the Chinese occupy the dominant position and hold the political power, so it naturally forms a special relationship with China.

On the surface, Xincheng and China did not formally establish diplomatic relations until 90 years, and it was basically the last country in Southeast Asia to establish diplomatic relations with China. However, where Xincheng became independent, Xincheng also voted in favor of developing economic and trade relations with Huaxia and restoring Huaxia's seat in the United Nations.

Politically, at the beginning of Xincheng's independence, when Western countries and some Southeast Asian countries denied Huaxia, they recognized Huaxia and supported the restoration of Huaxia's legal status in the United Nations. On the other hand, however, Xincheng refused to make contact with Huaxia for rectification, did not establish diplomatic relations with Huaxia, and even took restrictive measures against personnel exchanges with Huaxia.

The reasons for this are complex. On the one hand, it was affected by the international situation at that time, during the Cold War era, the two camps confronted each other and were hostile to each other, and Xincheng itself also had a struggle between the left and the right. On the other hand, geographically speaking, the north of Xincheng is Malaysia, and the south is Java, compared to Xincheng, they are all giants, and Malaysia and Java are hostile to China, and Xincheng is naturally very wary of the Chinese-ruled Xincheng, and from the world, the United States, Britain, etc., which have a greater influence on Southeast Asia, were also in the hostile camp with China at that time, and Xincheng could only draw a clear line with China in order to protect itself.

Another reason was that the situation in China was not stable at that time.

Later, after the situation in Huaguo stabilized, the relationship between Xincheng and Huaguo began to gradually improve. On the one hand, since the 70s, the international situation has generally eased, Sino-US relations, Sino-Japanese relations, and Sino-British relations have all improved, and Southeast Asian countries have also established diplomatic relations with China one after another.

Although Xincheng did not establish diplomatic relations with China at that time, the relationship between the two countries had thawed. In 1978, the chief architect of reform and opening up visited Xincheng, and this visit had an important impact on the subsequent reform and opening up of China.

Li Yaoguan, the founder of Xincheng, visited China in 1976 and visited China more than 30 times, and for a period of time, he visited China almost every year.

The total volume of bilateral trade has increased from $400 million in '78 to $580 million in '79, $936 million in '80, and $3.19 billion in '89. In terms of investment, by the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in '91, the cumulative total investment in China had reached 900 million US dollars, making it the fourth largest investor in China after Hong Kong, the United States, and Japan.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, economic and trade exchanges have become closer and closer, and the total trade volume between the two countries has reached more than $8 billion in '98, and Xincheng has become China's seventh largest trading partner. Seazen's cumulative investment in China has exceeded US$30 billion, with an actual investment of US$14 billion, and the amount of agreed investment in China in '98 alone has exceeded US$2 billion, making it the fourth largest source of actual foreign investment in China.

Of course, economic and trade relations do not represent politics, after all, the economic and trade exchanges between the United States, Japan and China are also very close. At some point, economic relations are also subordinated to the political overview.

Scholars generally believe that Xincheng pursues pragmatic diplomacy. As the only Chinese regime outside of China, Xincheng did not regard Huaguo as its suzerainty and protectorate, not only in the decades before the establishment of diplomatic relations, but also in the decades before the establishment of diplomatic relations, Xincheng also pursued a balance of major powers and pragmatic diplomacy, and even related tensions and confrontations in the future.

This is not surprising. The ultimate focus of a country's politics and diplomacy is nothing more than its own interests.

Xincheng is a small city-state, and his position is influenced by both the surrounding powers and the United States, which has great influence in the region. Only by finding a balance can we win the space to survive. Unless China has the strength to provide such space, the pragmatic course of the new city will not change.

For the choice of the new city, as a Chinese, I will naturally not be satisfied. But from the perspective of Xincheng, there is nothing to blame, even a matter of course, and if it is from the perspective of a neutral third party, Xincheng seems to have no other choice.

Talking about Ma Xi's entry into China is also in line with the current situation of increasingly close economic and trade exchanges between Xincheng and China. During the Asian financial crisis, Xincheng has maintained overall stability compared with several major neighboring countries, but the economy is inevitably affected and is still recovering. At this time, they can see the opportunities in China, and they are indeed very far-sighted.

"We very much welcome Tan Ma Xi can come to Huixun to invest, but when it comes to the 10 million ton steel base project, it seems that Ma Xi's investment in this area is not much?" Bao Feiyang asked.

The investment of capital is logical, generally speaking, it is familiar but not raw, just like Warren Buffett, who is known as the king of investment, once said, don't invest in areas that you are not familiar with. However, investment companies with national backgrounds such as Tan Ma Xi tend to be more conservative in their investment behavior.

Most of Maxi's previous investments were concentrated in petrochemicals, energy, shipping, finance and other fields, and almost never set foot in the field of steel production, and the choice of the first major project into China was an unfamiliar field, which is obviously not a good choice.

Li Xianguo smiled and said: "Yes, Tan Ma Xi has not invested in the steel industry before, and we have invested more in the financial field, as well as petrochemicals, shipping and other industries. However, when making specific investments, we will not be too rigid about our previous investment experience, especially when we encounter good projects. ”

Bao Feiyang couldn't help laughing: "So, Mr. Li thinks the Tianjiang Iron and Steel Project is a good investment project?"

Li Xianguo nodded very affirmatively: "Of course, in fact, I don't have a deep understanding of the steel industry, and I don't know much about the steel industry in China, but I am familiar with some Chinese consortia in Southeast Asia, and I know that some investment projects led by the mayor of Bao have been successful, and the investors who have invested with the mayor of Bao have also benefited greatly!"

Bao Feiyang couldn't help but glance at Li Xianguo in surprise, when Bao Feiyang was working in Wanghai County, Wanghai Paper Industry cooperated with Sinar Mas Group in Southeast Asia, including later during his tenure in Haizhou, and cooperated with Chinese consortiums such as the Huang family.

In fact, because of the relationship between the Tang family, Fangxia Group, Tucker Company, and Tangsheng Group have a good relationship with the world's Chinese consortium, and they also have a lot of business contacts. This relationship has also brought a lot of help to Bao Feiyang.

But Bao Feiyang didn't expect Li Xianguo to want to invest in Tianjiang Iron and Steel Base because of this, unlike Sinar Mas Group and Tangsheng Group, which have family colors, Ma Xi is a state-owned investment company in Xincheng, and their investment route is more conservative, and they rarely affect decision-making because of personal relationships.

Bao Feiyang even suspected that it would not be Li Xianguo, the representative to China, who made this decision, but probably someone else, and perhaps the other party knew more about Bao Feiyang, and maybe he took a fancy to the political resources behind him.

Bao Feiyang's relationships on the bright side include Tian Gangqiang, Bao Guoqiang, and even Yan Lao and Wang Hongfeng, not many people know his relationship with the Zhao family, but it is not nothing, with the relationship between the Li family in Xincheng in China, it is not impossible for them to know some news.

If that's the case, Bao Feiyang has to be more cautious.

"Mr. Li, you make me feel a lot of pressure when you say this!"

Bao Feiyang said: "As a local official, it is my duty to seek local development according to local conditions. Now our domestic economic development is still in its infancy, compared with the developed countries, the gap is still very large, and this gap also means the potential for development, talk about Ma Xi at this time to enter the domestic investment, there is a lot to do!"

"When I was in Jiangbei before, I also introduced some projects, which were supported by Chinese enterprises such as Tangsheng Group and Sinar Mas Group, and several projects were quite successful. There is not only domestic policy support, market conditions, but also everyone's support and efforts......"

Bao Feiyang said: "The construction of Tianjiang Iron and Steel Base and Xinpu Iron and Steel is a key project in our Huixun District and Pujiang City. We also welcome investors like Temasek to participate in the ......"

"Of course, the construction plan of Xinpu Steel and the base has not yet been determined, and the total investment, financing method and financing amount have not yet been determined!"

Bao Feiyang said: "But I want to hear Mr. Li's thoughts first!"

Li Xianguo nodded and said: "If the investment of Xinpu Steel can be completed, it will be the first time that we talk about Ma Xi's large-scale investment in the mainland of China, and this is also an attempt for us......

There is not a lot of investment in Xincheng in China, but the investment method of talking about Ma Xi is different, talking about Ma Xi is investment and equity participation, and general foreign capital comes in, and now it is mainly invested in factories, either sole proprietorship, joint ventures, or acquisitions, and the pure financial investment is very small.

Li Xianguo said: "We prefer financial investment in Xinpu Steel, and the investment amount does not exceed 200 million US dollars, and we hope to invest in the main projects of Xinpu Steel......