Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 488 The Masterful Strategies of a Realist Master

The three officials from the diplomatic line, with ranks ranging from low to high and seniority from shallow to deep, were all different.

But their expressions of distress, their low spirits, and their uncertainty about the future were almost identical.

None of the three knew what the future held.

“But we can’t afford to offend the professor no matter what,” Liu Kai said. “We need to appease him no matter how he treats us.”

This is also the reason why Liu Kai's distress is even deeper.

Even though others are clearly disrespecting them, they still have no choice but to continue trying to please them.

This kind of fawning is even more exaggerated than the one-sided efforts of a simp.

Even the most extravagant sycophant wouldn't go so far as to send a copy of "A Eulogy for My Nephew."

None of the three people present were of a high enough rank to know about the assassination plan against Lin Ran.

All they could see was that, on the surface, Zhou Shukai and others continued to send gifts to Lin Ran to curry favor with him, even though he wouldn't offer any assistance in Washington.

This feeling is so frustrating.

Given the current turbulent international relations, the atmosphere was extremely somber.

"Representative Liu, Counselor Gao, besides politics, we also have to rely on you economically."

His position is too special. He has chosen not to help us now, but if we ignore him, he may choose to stand against us.

His destructive power is enormous.

Since last year, we have witnessed the application of the semiconductor industry at the military level.

Even earlier, our reconnaissance planes were hesitant to fly over the mainland.

Clearly, they had already applied semiconductors to the military field much earlier.

Three months ago, I accompanied Minister Sun and Minister Li on a trip to Silicon Valley, where we met with General Manager Pan of RCA and Minister Zhang of Texas Instruments.

They all expressed their willingness to cooperate with us and to develop the semiconductor industry in Taiwan.

However, there is an organization they cannot bypass called the Semiconductor Industry Development Committee, whose chairman is the professor.

"Our semiconductor strategic plan will remain on paper forever, just a blueprint, unless the professor signs it off," Chen Wende explained.

Clearly, Chen Wende was no ordinary secretary.

How could an ordinary secretary possibly get the opportunity to go on an inspection trip with Sun Yunxuan and Li Guoding?

His surname is Chen.

Sun Yun-hsuan was transferred to the position of Minister of Economic Affairs in October 1969. Li Kuo-ting was the former Minister of Economic Affairs. After Sun Yun-hsuan took over, he was transferred to the position of Minister of Finance.

Pan Wenyuan is the vice president of RCA, a lithography machine company that held a similar position to ASML in 1970.

Pan Wen-yuan suggested to Taipei that they should skip labor-intensive industries and directly develop high-value-added semiconductor technology.

He spearheaded the transfer of semiconductor technology to RCA and signed the ITRI-RCA technology transfer agreement.

ITRI ​​stands for the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taipei, which later incubated companies such as TSMC and UMC.

Morris Chang was then the general manager of the semiconductor division of Texas Instruments. In 1968, he arranged for the general manager of Texas Instruments to go to Taipei with him to inspect the factory and discuss the construction plan with Taipei officials, and to meet with Li Guoding.

Taipei was originally scheduled to make a formal decision to develop the semiconductor industry in 1974, and ITRI and RCA signed a technology transfer agreement in 1976.

But in this time and space, everything that happened during the Vietnam War, along with a series of events such as Panda Electronics, accelerated this process.

Last year they decided to vigorously develop the semiconductor industry.

This year, they went to Silicon Valley to solicit donations, attempting to attract investment from Silicon Valley.

They want everything, from factory construction to technology transfer.

Chen Wende underestimated Lin Ran.

Lin Ran's exact position is Chairman of the High-Tech Development Committee, and semiconductor technology is just one of the subcommittees under this committee.

The entire high-tech field encompasses four categories: aerospace, semiconductors, advanced materials, and biomedicine.

After listening, Liu Kai shook his head helplessly and said, "Wen De, you're right. The professor is an insurmountable obstacle for America. We need to learn how to deal with him no matter what."

This is unavoidable. Whether we like him or not, we must respect him and flatter him.

Everything was for Dolce & Gabbana.

With pleasant temperatures in Kuala Lumpur in November, Kissinger led a Southeast Asian economic cooperation delegation comprised of officials from the Ministry of Finance and business leaders to Kuala Lumpur and stayed at the Lakeside Hotel.

Kissinger arrived early, waiting for the arrival of the Chinese delegation.

Every contact requires preparation.

When an elephant turns around, it doesn't mean it just turns around immediately.

Historically, negotiations between China and America were paved with ping-pong diplomacy, Kissinger's visit to China, and the lifting of travel and trade restrictions on China.

This timeline is preceded by the China-America Mathematicians Conference and the Lin Rannis talks.

The Nice talks, in particular, sparked a global sex scandal that has become a long-standing news topic.

One of the interesting anecdotes is about "007," which they said they would use as the backdrop for a new series.

The director even revealed the general plot in a newspaper interview: the story would be set against the backdrop of the emotional entanglement between the professor and the princess, with 007 tasked with rescuing the professor from being hunted by General Franco.

Jenny was furious after seeing the news.

Washington has unexpectedly discovered an excellent buffer zone for public opinion.

It was precisely because of the Nice talks that this was the prelude.

The Nice talks were held against the backdrop of a dialogue among Chinese people. Although there were calls for peace, they were not political.

Whether the outside world believes it or not, that's at least what the White House is saying.

Now the attention of the American people has been completely diverted.

While the media was busy sensationalizing royal gossip, the White House took the opportunity to repackage the "two-country contact" as "the Nixon administration seeking a new peace solution for the world." They had conducted a survey beforehand and found that most Americans were not opposed to the two-country contact.

Against this backdrop, the meeting between the two sides no longer needed to be a secret meeting like in the past, but a high-level meeting in the open and aboveboard.

This is highly political.

This is also the source of the pessimism of Liu Kai and others.

Watching yourself being sold is a terrible feeling.

On the eve of the negotiations, a torrential downpour hit Kuala Lumpur, the tropical monsoon carrying a humid and oppressive atmosphere over the city.

Inside Kissinger's suite, a secret document was delivered containing the latest diplomatic developments of ASEAN member states.

ASEAN member states privately conveyed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration's vision to America's diplomats, expressing their desire to make Southeast Asia a "zone of peace, freedom and neutrality" and demanding that external powers respect and guarantee the region's neutrality.

Who else could be the major external power?

Naturally, these are the two parties involved in this negotiation: America and China.

In addition, there was Soviet Russia, far to the north.

The idea for the Kuala Lumpur Declaration first came in 1968.

It's worth mentioning the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956, in which the US and the USSR clashed with Britain and France. Britain and France suffered a major defeat, their international influence plummeted, and they were reduced from global powers to regional powers.

Then in 1968, England chose to withdraw all its troops from the Suez region. In addition to withdrawing its troops, it also withdrew its defenses from Malaysia and Singapore, leaving a security vacuum in Southeast Asia.

This was accompanied by the fierce fighting of the war.

Asian countries have deeply felt the risk of being drawn into conflicts between major powers.

Nobody wants to snatch chestnuts from the fire; most likely, they'll end up burning themselves instead of getting any chestnuts.

After all, not everyone is as reckless as that.

Against this backdrop, Abdul Razak of Malaysia first proposed the concept of neutralization.

He believes that we must detach ourselves from great power competition and achieve self-protection.

This concept later evolved into the Kuala Lumpur Declaration initiative.

It was originally scheduled to be signed in 1971.

But by a stroke of luck, it happened this year.

All the major powers capable of intervention have arrived; if not now, when?

Therefore, diplomats from five countries appeared in Kuala Lumpur at the same time.

If the major powers had no objections, then they would proceed to sign the Kuala Lumpur Declaration in the presence of representatives from both countries. Kissinger sat by the window, and after reading the declaration, he was very satisfied.

This is exactly what America wants.

In the past, the White House would obviously not have been satisfied with such a declaration.

After struggling in the jungle mud for almost ten years, America really didn't want to invest any more energy in this area.

It can generate economic benefits, sow discord along the way, and ultimately build a cross-ideological cooperation model. This cross-ideological cooperation doesn't just involve two countries, but multiple countries. There's simply no more perfect strategy than this.

For America, an economic solution was preferable to a military one.

The Kuala Lumpur Declaration solved the biggest problem: how to find the greatest common denominator in the Southeast Asian region.

Kissinger looked at the city lights being washed away by the torrential rain and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

ZOPFAN.

This is exactly the political buffer we need.

They are actively creating a non-ideological space to legitimize our engagement with China within the framework of regional consensus.

They are not taking sides; they are fighting for a better business environment.

The Chinese delegation consists of top-tier politicians who will understand that this presents a far more enticing diplomatic breakthrough than a purely ideological debate.

The negotiations did not begin immediately, but rather a week after multilateral diplomacy, with the Malaysian government coordinating the talks between the two sides in the conference hall of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building.

Prior to the formal talks was the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

Therefore, this meeting was publicly positioned as an "international discussion on the ZOPFAN principle," with the aim of "ensuring an environment conducive to regional economic development."

“Dr. Kissinger, we are pleased to see your interest in the Southeast Asian economy.”

“Washington’s interests are always linked to stability, and we are more concerned with whether this ‘stability’ can translate into regional prosperity.”

The Chinese side did not waste time on pleasantries and went straight to the core political obstacle.

"Dr. Kissinger, prosperity is predicated on sovereignty and security."

In Asia, the biggest destabilizing factor is your country's ambiguous attitude and its military intervention in Southeast Asia.

We believe in the potential of economic integration.

However, we believe that without a clear political commitment, any economic cooperation could become a tool for exploitation.

Your country's obstruction at the United Nations is the best proof of this.

Kissinger knew this was a moment that would come at a price.

He did not use abstract academic theories, but rather the most naked language of great power politics: interests and threats.

"Our core interest is global strategic balance."

Currently, our deployments in NATO and Southeast Asia are both under common threat from the north.

We have seen your country's concerns about security.

We see the threat to the Kremlin.

We and your country share strategic interests that far outweigh our differences in the face of threats.

Regarding past disagreements, Washington has recognized that this is an inevitable historical trend and a prerequisite for maintaining long-term stability in Asia.

We can assure your country that on many issues we will adopt a stance of no longer obstruction, and at the same time, we will fully respect your demands.

Kissinger's promise was a huge concession, but also a fatal betrayal of Taipei.

Placed on the original timeline, this is sufficient.

But at this moment, that's not enough.

"Dr. Kissinger, no longer hindering only removes some of the hostility; true cooperation requires mutual trust."

Your country's proposed concept of Asian economic integration will give the people of Asia unprecedented economic momentum and hope for the future.

We are willing to believe that shared economic interests can transcend ideological disputes.

We are willing to explore unconventional cooperation models for the stability and prosperity of Asia, based on equality and mutual respect.

Washington needs to demonstrate more sincerity and concrete actions to prove that its country has truly abandoned its Cold War mentality and is ready to embrace a new Asia focused on economics and development.

Kissinger nodded and said, "Ten billion US dollars. America is willing to invest ten billion US dollars to establish the Asian Investment Bank."

To achieve the regional economic integration proposed by the professor, a completely new and equal leading financial institution is necessary.

He paused to make sure the other person fully understood the weight of the concept.

"We should not rely on the existing World Bank or Asian Development Bank, which are dominated by the West."

These institutions are burdened with too much ideology; their loan processes are slow and come with obvious political strings attached, which contradicts your country's advocacy of development autonomy.

The Asian Development Bank was established in 1966, with Japan as its main investor. Japan was the largest shareholder and obtained the position of president and other important positions. In just six years, from 1966 to 1972, Japan invested $300 billion.

America only contributed 125 million.

The president of the Asian Development Bank has always been Japanese.

Clearly, it's a good thing that Japanese financial institutions aren't trying to trip up the regional economic development alliance led by China and America.

"The funding for this institution will come from joint contributions from Asian countries. We will provide an initial $10 billion and attract long-term development capital from America, Western Europe and China."

The key is that its decision-making and voting structure will be centered on regional development needs, rather than being determined unilaterally by economic size.

It will be a highly efficient capital transfer machine.

It will provide financing for infrastructure construction, energy projects, and the introduction of high technology to countries willing to join the economic integration framework at an extremely rapid pace.

Its sole criterion is economic viability and rate of return, not ideology.

This institution will inevitably grant your country an unprecedented dominant position in the Asian economy.

Through cooperation and investment, it can establish a set of economic standards and trade networks centered on Asia, effectively countering the political and economic influence from Soviet Russia and weakening the exclusion of your country by the existing world order.

It is not just a bank; it is the backbone of an economic community and a political declaration of sovereign equality and common development.

This is the most solid, concrete, and unconditional concession we can offer to the new Asia.

"We and our neighbors welcome the inflow of funds because we need to develop."

However, we cannot accept the traditional financial institutions' approach to pre-loan investigation, risk assessment, and post-loan supervision.

These procedures are common practice in the West, but in our political context, they are not considered economic activities, but rather violations of sovereignty, interference in national economic planning, and may even be seen as transgressions.

I think we cannot allow an institution dominated by Western funding to send personnel deep into our state-owned enterprises, scrutinize our financial reports, or even interfere in our project decision-making process.

This is fundamentally incompatible with our principle of economic independence.

Kissinger was well aware of this; he intended to use China's status as the initiating country to resolve this ideological crisis of trust.

"You've pointed out the crux of the problem, and that's why this institution can only be established through cooperation between both of us," Kissinger responded.

"It is easy to get countries in the socialist camp to agree to accept funding because development is a necessity."

However, it is almost impossible to get them to accept the traditional Western pre- and post-loan investigation methods and transparent risk management.

Therefore, the leader of this Asian Development and Investment Bank cannot be America, nor can it be any single Western country.

It must be a mixture.

If your country can act as the main promoter and endorser of this institution, leveraging your political credibility and influence in the socialist bloc and Third World countries to design a new and acceptable set of investigation and review standards, then all the problems will be solved.

The operation of this institution can be carried out by your country and some neutral Asian countries to ensure that its procedures comply with Asian development culture and sovereignty requirements.

What the West provides is simply pure capital, without any political conditions attached.

We provide the capital; you provide the trust.

Only your country possesses the political capacity to transcend ideologies and lead this institution.

Only through our cooperation can we provide a double endorsement for this development and investment banking.

It has both the financial strength of the West and the guarantee of Asian autonomy.

This is a strategic combination that no other major power can offer.

Clearly, Kissinger, as a top-tier master of realism, is not merely someone who echoes Lin Ran's sentiments.

He found a concrete implementation path at the level of Lin Ran's strategic planning. More importantly, he found the way to persuade Yanjing and opened the door to lay the foundation for cooperation.

(End of this chapter)