Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 126：Forced with No Choice

Ren Zhengfei and his team made another trip to D Country. Although D Country's chip technology was not particularly advanced, the urgency of the situation led them to believe that even a limited purchase from their country could temporarily alleviate the crisis.

However, they still underestimated the overwhelming influence of the Beautiful Country.

After their visit to a chip company in D Country, Lei Jun could no longer hold back his frustration.

"Damn it, the Beautiful Country is truly despicable! Not only are they refusing to sell us chips, but now they are also pressuring other countries to do the same."

"We'll check with other countries. I refuse to believe that the Beautiful Country can control all of Planet Blue!" Lei Jun continued defiantly.

Ren Zhengfei shook his head. "Forget it. The countries with decent chip technologies are all part of the EU. With one word from the Beautiful Country, who would dare disobey?"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Go back and wait for bankruptcy?" Huang Zhang, CEO of Meizu, said, unwilling to accept the grim reality.

"I think our only option is to seek assistance from our government," Ren Zhengfei responded.

"But we can't even produce chips ourselves!" someone objected.

"We'll figure it out when we get back," Ren Zhengfei sighed, and the group reluctantly boarded their flight home.

Upon returning, Ren Zhengfei and his colleagues immediately reported the issue to the national business department. A response meeting was convened by the relevant authorities, who then forwarded the information and recommendations to the country's top leadership, designated as Leader One.

After reviewing the report, Leader One addressed Minister Wang Wenhai of the Ministry of Commerce: "Minister Wang, for those enterprises affected by the Beautiful Country's chip sanctions, we must offer tax reductions and facilitate bank loans to ease their burdens."

"Leader, this will only provide temporary relief; it won't resolve the core issue. The economic sanctions imposed by the Beautiful Country are far more severe than we initially expected. In just ten days, the market share of our domestic mobile brands has plummeted from 65% to 20%, resulting in a direct loss of around 2 billion yuan. Meanwhile, Apple from the Beautiful Country and Samsung from South Korea have seen their sales surge. At this rate, within a month, 80% of domestic mobile brands in our country will face bankruptcy. And this is just the impact on the mobile phone industry. While the computer and television industries have yet to be severely affected, within two months, we will face similar problems."

Leader One's brow furrowed as he listened to Wang Wenhai's report. This was indeed far more serious than he had anticipated. Just a week ago, he had been informed by Director Zhang of the third research institute that progress on the chip research was still nowhere near promising.

"Leader, what should we do next?" Minister Wang asked.

"Go back for now. I need to consult with a few other leaders and come up with a feasible plan," Leader One replied.

After Minister Wang left, Leader One and a group of senior officials gathered for a lengthy three-hour discussion, but they were unable to come up with a concrete solution. Finally, they agreed to initiate talks with the Beautiful Country to gauge their stance before making further decisions.

The following day, Leader One engaged in an informal phone call with Foster, a senior official from the Beautiful Country.

Foster: "Your Excellency, it's a pleasure that you've contacted me so quickly! Haha..."

Leader One: "Mr. Foster, let's get straight to the point. Your country's chip sanctions against us violate the World Trade Organization's regulations! I demand that you lift the restrictions on chips immediately!"

Foster laughed at the bluntness of Leader One's demand. The World Trade Organization, he knew, was merely a tool for the Beautiful Country to protect its own interests.

Foster: "Your Excellency, do you think what you're saying has any meaning? If you provide us with the ITER superconducting magnet technology, we'll be happy to resolve this issue!"

Leader One: "Mr. Foster, give us a different condition, one that doesn't involve the ITER technology!"

Foster: "I only want the ITER magnet technology drawings!"

Leader One: "I've already told you, we will not give this technology to any country. Please understand."

Foster: "It seems that your country hasn't yet been pushed to the brink. But I believe that in less than three months, your chip industry will collapse entirely. I look forward to the day when you come to beg me for a solution. Ha ha..."

After hanging up the phone, Leader One clenched his teeth in frustration but felt helpless. Given the current situation, Foster's three-month estimate was overly optimistic. Still, he was unwilling to part with the ITER magnet technology.

Soon after, Leader One held another meeting with senior officials to discuss the phone call.

"The Beautiful Country is bullying us mercilessly! They're nothing but thugs!" one of the leaders exclaimed.

"But what can we do? We can only blame ourselves for not mastering the chip technology and allowing them to dominate us," another official lamented.

"If worse comes to worst, I suggest giving them part of the ITER magnet technology. We can use that to temporarily relieve the situation," someone suggested.

"That's impossible! The Beautiful Country won't lift the sanctions unless they get all the technology," another official argued.

"But if we do hand over the ITER magnet technology, they will accelerate their development in high-tech fields like aerospace, controlled nuclear fusion, and maglev trains..."

"However, even if they receive the ITER magnet technology, it will take them a long time to integrate it into these high-tech projects. In a year's time, our country's controlled nuclear fusion research will succeed, and at that point, we will be able to crush the Beautiful Country!"

"I believe we should focus on surviving this crisis for now," another official suggested.

After much deliberation, the officials reached a painful decision: to hand over the ITER magnet technology to the Beautiful Country. In return, the Beautiful Country would provide chip technology, which would help alleviate the current crisis and prevent future chip-related sanctions.

Soon after, Leader One contacted Foster once more.

As soon as the call connected, Foster's smug laughter filled the line.

Foster: "Ha ha... Your Excellency, it seems you've made a wise choice!"

Leader One: "As part of the deal, you must provide us with the 7-nanometer chip technology!"

Foster: "The 7-nanometer chip technology is out of the question. Your people are quite ambitious. We'll give you the 11-nanometer chip technology instead. How does that sound?"

Just as Leader One was about to respond, his phone rang. Instinctively, he reached to hang up, but upon seeing that it was Director Zhang from the Third Research Institute, he paused.