In the world before Roland crossed over, the "eel effect" was common knowledge. However, in the world of Varess, this is still a strange story, and Kuntiliang can listen to it. Although he had never heard of a fisherman in the North Bay transporting herring in this way, and was not sure if it was actually feasible, it was not difficult to understand Roland's point in telling the story.

"Your Highness is saying that our domestic industrial and commercial owners lack the motivation to innovate and need to introduce a few fierce 'eels' to give some stimulation to those who are used to living a stable life?"

Roland bowed his head slightly, and there was no smile on his face.

"The Far East has only been founded in just two years, the growth of domestic industry and commerce in the past two years is not unfast, the vast majority of people who have the courage to start a business have not made less money, I do not deny that their success is mainly due to their own courage and wisdom, but China's trade protection policy is also an indispensable factor, it is because of the high tariff barriers to keep imported goods out of the border, local enterprises have a relaxed growth environment, to gradually grow and grow, but two years of trade protection policy down, there are also some bad signs, It is worth reflecting on and being vigilant. ”

"If you compare the industrial products of the Far East with similar foreign goods, you will find that our products are generally of worse quality and more expensive, we understand that it is not easy for local factories to start a business, and frequently publicize and support domestic products to the people through newspapers and periodicals, and the general public is also based on simple patriotic feelings, take out their hard-earned money to buy domestic products of inferior quality and high price without complaint, but how do our industrial and commercial owners repay the love of the people?" Roland's face turned cold, and there was anger in his words, "A large number of industrial and commercial owners occupy a monopoly position in the domestic market, take the support of the people for granted, and take the government's trade protection policy for granted. If we do not change this inertia and are only satisfied with living behind closed doors, why should our national enterprises go abroad and compete with their foreign counterparts? What can a country that is only satisfied with shoddy things do to catch up with the world powers, and on what basis does it occupy a place on the international stage! ”

Kun Tiliang broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. Roland's criticism was indeed widespread, and he himself complained to Zinovi about the bad atmosphere of industry, but he never realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Your Highness's criticism is very insightful, in the past two years, some industries in the country have indeed been accustomed to a comfortable life of lying down and making money, and they should be given some stimulation, but it should be moderate, it is not good to go too far, we can't stuff sharks into a barrel full of herring." Kun Tiliang said half-jokingly.

"A master of diplomacy, the metaphor of a 'shark' is apt." Roland expressed deep admiration for Kun Tiliang's language arts, and said with a smile: "As you said, we can't open the country to import without restrictions all at once, which is equivalent to introducing sharks into our own fish ponds and killing ourselves." ”

The stimulation should be moderate, which not only serves the purpose of stimulating the crisis awareness of local enterprises, but also does not overstimulate the so-called "shock therapy".

"If we compare the level of manufacturing in our Far East to a herring, who is a shark in the manufacturing industry of the world in Varess today?" Roland asked Kun Tiliang.

"Fijen?"

"This is the most ferocious great white shark."

"Aquamarine?"

"It's not as fierce as Fijin, but it's also a shark."

"How is the manufacturing industry in the Assanian Empire?"

"Big but not strong, broad but not refined, more like baleen whales than sharks."

"Then only Canaan is suitable to be this catfish." Kun Tiliang couldn't help laughing.

"To say that Canaan is a catfish is to underestimate it, but Canaan's geographical environment and resource endowment determine that its national strength is difficult to break through the bottleneck, only in terms of manufacturing, Canaan's technical level is slightly stronger than the Yashan Empire, and the volume is far inferior to the empire, and the comprehensive strength ranks at the end of the four major powers, and the gap with our country is the smallest, which is the most realistic learning and catch-up goal."

The experience of the earth has taught Roland that backward countries must remain sober and have full self-knowledge of their own size and resource endowments when trying to catch up with the first-mover countries. The so-called "late-mover advantage" needs to meet many necessary conditions before it can be called "advantage", such as the population factor, which can only be transformed into a labor advantage if it reaches a certain level of education, and hundreds of millions of illiterate people will only become a burden on the state. It is possible for a smaller country to devote all its efforts to focus on the development of one or two high-level industries, so as to "overtake in the corner" and quickly complete the so-called "leapfrog development", but a huge country can only gradually advance upwards from the low end of the industrial chain and establish a complete industrial system, otherwise it will develop into a top-heavy deformity, and the slightest wind and grass will fall and roll all over the ground.

"I'm afraid that the fish in Canaan is too big and fierce, and once it is put in, I don't know how many small fish will be swallowed alive." Kuntiliang still lacks confidence in the local manufacturing industry.

Roland smiled and patted the Foreign Secretary on the shoulder, "Mr. Kuntiliang, trade is not a game on a chessboard, if we factor transaction costs into the trade framework, you will find that imported goods are not as competitive as they seem on paper." ”

"Transaction fees?" Kun Tiliang is very unfamiliar with this word.

"To put it simply, it is the cost of the buyer and seller to complete the transaction, such as the import of a batch of new spinning machines from Canaan to Korrasburg for sale, the cost of long-distance transportation is not low, the transportation and storage costs are included, the price advantage of imported goods is not so significant, in order to cut freight, most of the goods can only be sold locally in the southern Xinjiang market, and only a few particularly competitive goods can enter the Far East inland market after removing transaction costs, Such high-quality and inexpensive goods can not only improve the quality of life of our people, but also bring competitive pressure to our manufacturing industry and inspire our entrepreneurs to catch up. ”

"Indeed, as you say, this is a good thing." Kun Tiliang smiled with relief.

As the airship crossed Mount Mochizuki, Jennifer gradually lowered its altitude and the clouds moved away from the portholes, returning to view the flat Gobi Desert. Roland and Quintiliang look out the window, the ancient city of Canaanite Medes towers like a giant at the end of the horizon, and the white walls cast a dark silhouette into the earth, inspiring first-time visitors to the foreign country.