Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 125：Bumping Into a Wall

GaoTong Technologies, Inc., located in the Beautiful Country, is a leading company specializing in the production of chips, with an annual revenue of $24.2 billion. It ranks among the Fortune 500 companies. Its chip business spans the globe, and in recent years, as the People's Republic of China has rapidly developed, China's chip business has accounted for 35% of GaoTong's annual revenue. This means that China now imports chips worth 42 billion RMB from GaoTong every year. GaoTong is just one of the many companies from the Beautiful Country supplying chips to China. When considering other suppliers, China's total import of chips from the Beautiful Country reaches nearly 300 billion RMB annually.

At the GaoTong reception today, several individuals with East Asian features were present. They were the owners of Chinese domestic mobile phone companies.

"Mr. Lei, how much has your company lost this time?" asked a portly middle-aged man.

Lei Jun, the owner of Xiaomi, wore a troubled expression and replied, "Sigh, conservatively estimating, 50 million. Fortunately, I made the wise decision to import an additional 50,000 chips recently. But, honestly, it won't last much longer."

"50 million? We've lost nearly 100 million in just one week. If we can't get any chips, our Meizu phones will go out of business," said another businessman.

As the group discussed their companies' struggles, an elderly man sat silently, not speaking a word.

Lei Jun, noticing his silence, moved closer and said, "Mr. Ren, you are the eldest among us. The profits from previous years should have been enough to keep your company afloat for some time. This crisis, you can't just watch us go under."

Ren Zhengfei, the CEO of Huawei Technologies, smiled wryly but remained silent.

To the outside world, Huawei was seen as thriving—being the top-selling domestic mobile brand in China, one might assume it was flush with wealth. However, all the profits from Huawei's rapid expansion had been reinvested into chip research. Ren Zhengfei had been determined to develop China's own chip technology so that Chinese mobile brands would no longer have to rely on the Beautiful Country.

Unfortunately, before his research had made significant progress, the Beautiful Country had imposed a chip embargo on China. Without chips, Huawei's factories had been forced to halt production, leaving a backlog of unfinished products. In just one week, they suffered a loss of 500 million RMB. Not only had the company lost its profits, but its chip research was also draining funds daily. Ren estimated that in a month, Huawei would be forced to declare bankruptcy.

Ren Zhengfei, despite the dire situation, could not show any sign of weakness. As the leader of China's domestic mobile industry, if Huawei fell, it would spell disaster for the others. Moreover, with over 100,000 employees depending on him, Ren had to remain strong.

After waiting for over ten minutes in GaoTong's reception area, the CEO of GaoTong, Paul, and two executives entered the room.

"Apologies for the delay, gentlemen," Paul said, shaking hands with the visitors.

Ren Zhengfei stood and greeted him with a warm smile, speaking in English. "Mr. Paul, we owe you an apology for not informing you in advance of our visit."

The others quickly stood and exchanged pleasantries with Paul.

Once the formalities were over, Ren Zhengfei addressed Paul directly. "Mr. Paul, the reason we are here is to discuss the issue of chips. I'm sure you understand."

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Ren, but regarding the chip situation, I'm truly powerless," Paul responded. "As you know, this is a decision made by our government."

"But we signed a contract. You've always placed great importance on honoring agreements," Ren Zhengfei countered.

"Yes, we did sign a contract, but the situation is beyond our control," Paul replied. "This is an irresistible force, so the contract is void."

Under normal circumstances, a breach of contract would involve compensation, but in this case, GaoTong held the monopoly on chip technology. Huawei had no leverage in this matter. They couldn't afford to upset GaoTong, as doing so could mean being cut off from all chip suppliers, which would be disastrous for their company.

This is precisely why Ren Zhengfei had invested billions every year in chip research. He didn't want his company's fate to rest in the hands of foreign corporations.

Lei Jun, sensing the impasse, smiled and spoke to Paul. "Mr. Paul, the government has its policies, but surely there's some room for flexibility. As the saying goes, 'there are strategies to counter every policy.'"

"I don't quite understand what you're implying," Paul replied, looking at Lei Jun with a puzzled expression.

Lei Jun inwardly cursed, as he had always found Paul to be shrewd in business dealings but now seemed to be playing coy. Nevertheless, he kept his composure.

"We're businessmen, after all. Our goal is to make money. You could channel the chips through a third country, then have them sent to us. This wouldn't violate your country's policies, and you could still make a profit," Lei Jun proposed.

"No," Paul flatly rejected the idea.

Lei Jun was undeterred. "We could increase the price by 50% over the current rate."

This time, Paul ignored Lei Jun completely and turned to Ren Zhengfei. "Mr. Ren, let me convey my government's stance. If you wish to buy chips, you'll need to give us the ITER magnetic material technology in exchange."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Paul, but that's something we cannot do," Ren Zhengfei responded firmly.

"In that case, I believe there is no need for further discussion. Please leave," Paul said, dismissing them without any further pleasantries.

Lei Jun was about to protest, but Ren Zhengfei stopped him. Together, they left GaoTong's office.

"Once China develops its own chips, I'll make sure we never buy another chip from you again," Lei Jun muttered angrily.

They then visited Micron and other chip companies, but encountered the same situation.

The U.S. government quickly became aware of their visit, and a meeting was held.

"Mr. Foster, should we just find an excuse to detain these Chinese businessmen?" a government official asked.

Foster waved his hand dismissively. "No need. We still need them to return to China and pressure their government. I'm confident that China won't be able to hold out much longer. Eventually, they'll offer the ITER technology in exchange."

"Indeed, your foresight is remarkable," the official replied, acknowledging Foster's wisdom.