It is Kokang and Changchun

　Chapter 434: New Order in East Asia (5)

　Under the arrangement of the State Guesthouse staff, a group of Japanese Communist Party leaders were arranged into pre-prepared rooms.

　As soon as she entered the room, Ibaraki Huashan was deeply attracted by the layout of the room. From her admiring expression, it was not difficult to see Huashan's evaluation of the room.

　The first impression the room gave her was that it was huge. In Japan, where every inch of land is valuable, many things seem "mini" compared to those in China. Chinese students and tourists studying in Japan should all be well aware of this.

　Therefore, for Ibaraki Hanasu, this was a bit like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. A suite of this size is hard to find, even in Tokyo.

　Secondly, she was drawn to the room's overall style. Glancing around, she offered a positive assessment: "At first glance, it has a sense of ancient Chinese elegance, but upon closer inspection, it's full of modernist features. This blend of ancient and modern feels incredibly natural, perfectly balanced without a single awkward feeling."

　Then, she lay down on the big bed, the touch was even more amazing. But now she was very tired, and did not want to use too many fancy words to praise, but just gave the most simple affirmation in her heart.

　Ibaraki Hanafumi couldn't help but yawn and walked towards the bathroom, "Ah... Let's go take a shower and go to bed. We have important matters to discuss tomorrow."

　----------------

　The next day, at the Qingdao Guzhenkou Military Port, several ship girls gathered around the TV, watching the news channel of CCTV 13, which included news about the Japanese Communist Party's visit to China.

　When the screen showed Hua Shan giving 586 a box of Japanese desserts, Zhao He pointed at the TV screen and shouted, "It's been hundreds of years, and this scene is back again, hahahaha!"

　"What?" The other ship girls were confused as to why Zhaohe suddenly clapped his legs and laughed. They all turned to look at Zhaohe in confusion.

　Zhao He continued pointing at the TV, saying, "Isn't this obvious? It's tribute! The last time Japan paid tribute to China was hundreds of years ago, and now they're finally doing it again."

　"Hey! This is a state gift, not tribute! How can there be such a thing as tribute trade nowadays?!" Danyang was furious after hearing this and quickly clarified Zhaohe's misunderstanding.

　Fenyang calmly explained, "Zhaohe, there's a fundamental difference between presenting state gifts and tribute trade. The latter was a form of unequal diplomatic relations in ancient times. Using tribute trade to describe the Japanese Communist Party's gift-giving behavior is tantamount to demeaning comrades from other countries."

　"Inequality and degradation? In the tributary trade, the recipients are generous and the price is doubled. No matter how you look at it, it is the tributary states that are making the profit, right? They get the advantage but are still ungrateful. It turns out that what our ancestors said is true." Zhao He felt that he was right and argued convincingly.

　"So, Gul'dan, what's the price?" Danyang said, using an anime meme, and then continued to refute: "The price is to submit to the Central Plains Dynasty. You didn't mention that at all!"

　"If you want to enjoy the benefits, you must have obligations," Zhaohe explained.

　"Isn't it unfair to submit?" This time it was Fenyang's turn to ask back.

　"Isn't it fair to give too much and give too little?" Zhao He spread his hands.

　Yixian couldn't bear to listen any longer. He signaled Zhaohe that it was enough and said, "National sovereignty and equal exchanges cannot be purchased with multiple times the amount of money. Zhaohe, think about it from the perspective of modern Chinese history.

　Furthermore, this is modern times, not ancient times. Furthermore, we are welcoming a new Japan, not the old Japan of the past. The idea of ​​paying tribute is indeed inappropriate.”

　Ying Rui also tried to persuade Zhao He, "Although it's hard for me to persuade you, as your elder sister, I still have to say a few words: Don't forget the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

　In ancient times, tribute was morally progressive compared to the bloody colonial rule of the West, but compared to the modern Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, it is reactionary. We should look at things from the perspective of development and progress, okay?

　Just as everyone was arguing about this issue, Yixian called Chongqing, who was on a business trip, and told her about the current situation of the base.

　Chongqing rubbed his temples and sighed. "That's a pretty good attitude. Two years ago, this tomboy played a lot of the China module in Europa Universalis IV, and she came running to my dorm and told me she wanted to set up some kind of 'overseas tributary state,' with the UK being the first to be taken in and treated like a vassal..."

　Chongqing then offered Yixian a suggestion. "Since she's made considerable progress, I wouldn't advocate using corporal punishment first. Just tell Zhaohe, 'China's current basic foreign policy is the modern transcendence of tribute trade.' She'd probably agree."

　If she continues to rant, please record everything she says and does. When I return to Qingdao, everything she says and does will serve as a basis for me to beat her with my ship-mounted oil-paper umbrella.

　Then Yixian followed Chongqing's suggestion and

　Wei polished it up with his own theory and expressed the definition of Chongqing to Zhaohe.

　As expected, Zhao He calmed down. Then Yixian asked Zhao He to apologize to Danyang and Fenyang, and then comforted Danyang, who was still a little angry, and Fenyang, who had been expressionless beside him. The whole thing was over.

　Perhaps because the biggest political resistance had disappeared and the Soviet Union had joined, the results of the free trade zone negotiations were unprecedentedly smooth, and most of the things were basically settled on that day alone.

　Afterwards, the shipgirls launched another topic discussion on these matters. Yingtan raised his eyebrows and said, "If it were a dozen years ago, our industries with Japan, South Korea, and North Korea were highly complementary, and the free trade zone was very attractive, but now there is too much industrial overlap.

　I wasn't surprised that the deal was done, but I was completely surprised that most of the specific projects were finalized within a day. I thought it would take at least three days."

　"Industry overlap is not a big problem. The market can be divided equally, and it doesn't have to be a fight to the death. Huawei is a good example. While having its own chips, it also purchases some chips from friendly companies. It's truly good only when it's good for you, me, and everyone." Ning Hai thinks this is harmless.

　Fenyang said: "Yes, a free trade zone with overlapping industries can also promote competition among businesses, allowing them to better innovate and benefit consumers.

　"In old Japan, those giant companies favored relying on technological monopoly to dominate the market. I believe this will no longer be the case after the establishment and nationalization of the new Japan, but I cannot rule out the possibility that other private companies may have this old mentality, and we can use this to teach them a lesson."

　Danyang focused her attention on agriculture. She burst into tears of joy: "Yudachi Shigure, see? You will soon be able to eat watermelons at the dirt cheap price of cabbage, the kind in China! Watermelon is no longer a luxury!"

　"Not only watermelons, the prices of many fruits and vegetables will definitely plummet, and the Japanese people will have a treat. This will not only benefit the support for the Japanese Communist Party regime, but will also objectively help suppress anti-China forces in Japan." Anshan looks at the issue from a political perspective.

　Pinghai thought of the local farmers: "But...wouldn't this cause low grain prices and hurt farmers?"

　"The most straightforward and crude way is to subsidize. The number of farmers in Japan accounts for only a single digit of the population. The value created by over 90% of the industrial and service industry population cannot be used to subsidize a few percent of farmers?

　Furthermore, Japan can't import everything from us. For those products that aren't imported, if they aren't substitutes for other agricultural products, their prices won't change significantly. Market rules will naturally guide farmers to grow those products whose prices aren't affected.

　Besides, hasn't Japan's food self-sufficiency rate been very low for a long time? They could simply let farmers use most of their arable land to grow crops, boosting their food self-sufficiency rate. With so many people and so little land, they'd have to sacrifice everything to save themselves. Japan's fundamental national conditions don't allow that." Ning Hai felt his sister's worries were unnecessary.

　The above is a discussion on agriculture.

　As for the speed of the negotiations, Changchun believed that the Soviet Union's participation was a major driving factor: "Changchun believes that the participation of the Soviet Union is also very important for promoting the negotiations, and this cannot be ignored.

　The Soviet Union provided cheap energy and minerals, some agricultural products, and a certain scale of electronic products market, which was the most attractive to the remaining three countries, especially Japan and North Korea.

　From this perspective, the idea of ​​industrial overlap within the free trade zone is biased. The Soviet Union's accession created a certain degree of industrial complementarity, further enhancing the economic significance of the free trade zone.

　Second, besides the economic benefits, there are also political considerations. The free trade zone is the economic manifestation of the "tremendous changes" in East Asian politics, so we can't consider the issue solely from an economic perspective. But overall, the free trade zone is undoubtedly beneficial to the macroeconomy.

　Yat-sen values ​​cultural exchanges between the two sides and is interested in strengthening people-to-people cooperation. "Strengthening cultural cooperation is long overdue. East Asia is culturally integrated. It's just that Japan and North Korea have some historical and cultural issues that need to be addressed."

　Fenyang said: "I still trust the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee with Ibaraki Hanafumi as its core. They can clearly distinguish right from wrong in history and can also distinguish some biased cultural propaganda in the past, such as deliberately downplaying the Chinese origins of some Japanese culture."

　"That's right." Yixian agreed very much.

　"That's one aspect. On the other hand... I think China also needs to clarify some things, some things that have spontaneously formed in society." After careful consideration, Fenyang decided to express his own views.

　"I won't talk about opposing national chauvinism and extreme nationalism, as these are old sayings. What I want to talk about are some cultural misunderstandings." Fenyang began to speak slowly.

　"As we all know, a lot of Japanese culture came from China. However, after this was passed on, Japan internalized and absorbed it with its original local culture. On the other hand, it developed it in the continuous production and life practice, and derived or created factors that were not found in the original Chinese culture.

　I personally think that the latter should be considered as Japanese culture. It is the local culture that Japan internalized, absorbed and developed after being influenced by Chinese culture. It is related to Chinese culture but different from it.

　However, there has always been a voice among the Chinese people that since Japanese culture originated in China, it means that Japan does not have its own culture, and the so-called Japanese culture is just a derivative of Chinese culture.

　This realization made me feel wrong.

　This is a cultural manifestation of national chauvinism, and it denies the cultural creations of the Japanese people through their long-term production and life practices.”

　Fenyang's point of view made the ship girls think.

　Changchun was the first to speak after careful consideration: "This view is exactly the same as the national view in Chiang Kai-shek's poisonous book, The Destiny of China.

　In this book, Chiang Kai-shek argues that China's ethnic minorities are merely offshoots of the Han Chinese, denying the existence of ethnic diversity. If the subject is replaced with Chinese culture and Japanese culture, it's strikingly similar to the reactionary view just mentioned by Fenyang.

　"Right, right, absolutely." Danyang recalled the double standards on the internet. "Some people always say that the spread of Chinese culture to Japan is a natural cultural export. But the spread of Japanese culture to China is a cultural invasion, like boiling a frog in warm water."

　"Cultural exchange or output is inherently two-way, but some people always want unilateral output and don't want other people's things to come to them. Isn't this chauvinism?" Anshan's point of view is concise and to the point.

　Fenyang concluded: "I know that our party and government are very rational, but these chauvinistic and erroneous ideas that have naturally grown in society should be dealt with seriously, both from the perspective of practical needs and theoretical struggle."

　As soon as these words were spoken, they won the approval of a number of ship girls.

　Chapter 435: Historical Issues in East Asia

　The four-nation free trade area negotiations among China, the Soviet Union, Japan and North Korea took only two days to reach a series of common understandings and resolutions.

　After more than ten years of repeated negotiations, the free trade zone negotiations have finally come to an end. With the addition of a resource-rich country to become one of the three permanent members of the UN Security Council, China has made a huge profit.

　Along with this, North Korea and (after the establishment of the Japanese Communist Party) Japan also joined China's Belt and Road Initiative. However, North Korea is a bit unusual in that it only opened its southern region and some special economic zones in the north to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and free trade zones, with the rest of the region closed to the public.

　The Soviet Union only included its Far Eastern Special Economic Zone in the free trade zone; the European region was too far away to be covered by the zone. Adding to the Soviet Union's pride concerns, it's not surprising that the European region didn't join. It would be more accurate to say that its inclusion would be unusual.

　There is another point worth noting about this free trade zone. First, it did not adopt the original "Asian dollar" concept, but instead used RMB for settlement.

　This is a major milestone in the internationalization of the RMB. In East Asia, the RMB has dealt a heavy blow to the already declining US dollar. Japan can finally completely get rid of the US dollar and inject a new powerful buff into its economy.

　Many people are worried that "the dragon slayer will eventually become the dragon". It is necessary to explain here that the RMB is not going to replace the US dollar to become the second US dollar to reap the world, nor will it become like this. The fundamental difference between the two lies in the underlying logic of internationalization methods.

　The US dollar is pegged to gold or oil, while other countries' currencies are pegged to the dollar. Backed by gold or oil, the dollar has achieved its status as a core international currency. However, in order to develop international trade, countries must use the dollar as a settlement and reserve currency, which results in the continuous accumulation of money flowing out of the United States overseas.

　The prerequisite for the US dollar to serve as the core international currency is that its value must remain stable. This, in turn, requires the United States to maintain a long-term trade surplus. In reality, these two requirements contradict each other, resulting in the "Triffin Dilemma" in economics.

　It is precisely the existence and intensification of this contradiction, coupled with the almost hopeless return of the real economy, that has led the United States to choose to use the dollar's status as the world's currency to carry out the simplest operation, which is to raise interest rates and print money.

　If we can use the simplest method to transfer inflation to the world and maintain the US finances and economy, why bother with the hassle and hassle of reforming and tackling various difficult issues?

　The financial bourgeoisie is the most cold-blooded among the bourgeoisie. The industrial bourgeoisie has done countless bad things in history, so don’t even expect the financial bourgeoisie to care about the lives of other countries.

　Not convinced? Have you asked the US about its 11 aircraft carriers?

　Compared to the US dollar, the internationalization of the RMB differs from that of the US dollar in that China is an unprecedented industrial giant. With the exception of a deficit of US$122.15 billion in 1993, China has consistently maintained a stable trade surplus, and this surplus has been substantial. This provides a solid material foundation for overcoming the Triffin dilemma.

　The key point is that the internationalization of the RMB is a "paper-to-paper" approach. What does "paper-to-paper" mean? It means that for every dollar of foreign currency entering China, there is only an increase in the issuance of Chinese currency, meaning that one US dollar is equivalent to seven RMB.

　Simply put, for every $1 worth of goods sold, China will receive $1 back, which will then be converted into 7 yuan to be stored or spent, such as buying goods from other countries.

　In fact, China has also done so. For example, in November last year, China and Saudi Arabia signed a local currency swap agreement with a swap size of 50 billion yuan/26 billion Saudi riyals.

　Then, China can use the 260 billion Saudi riyals to buy Saudi oil and other related industrial products, and Saudi Arabia can use the 500 billion yuan to buy various Chinese products.

　Therefore, this "paper-to-paper" operation is essentially an ordinary commodity exchange. There is no possibility of indiscriminate printing of money to share inflation or plundering the wealth of other countries by using "seigniorage".

　If you do that, you will still have to bear the inflation yourself in the end. Because after the over-issued currency is given to other countries, others will take it.

　If they use some money to buy your products, thus causing the over-issued currency to flow back into the country, isn’t that asking for trouble?

　This is the fundamental difference between the internationalization of the RMB and the internationalization of the US dollar. Otherwise, de-dollarization wouldn't be happening internationally. If the RMB weren't truly beneficial, who would engage in something that could easily lead to criticism from the US and might not necessarily benefit them?

　So, is it possible for the US dollar to imitate the RMB's operations? The answer is no. As we've just analyzed the US's productive base and the class nature of its financial bourgeoisie, neither factor prevents the US dollar from following the RMB's path.

　After the free trade area negotiations ended, the politicians from the four countries gathered together again to discuss how to deal with historical issues left over from Japan and the other three countries.

　"The Soviet Union's demands are actually very simple. As long as Japan deeply acknowledges and reflects on its historical crimes, the return of the sovereignty of the four northern islands will be easy. But the problems between China and North Korea and you are obviously much more complicated." Aurora said to Ibaraki Huashan.

　Ibaraki Hanafugi knew this very well. She said to 586, "Since Japan is the perpetrator, we don't have the right to speak first. Please ask the Chinese and North Korean comrades to make their demands first. We will do our best to fulfill what we can."

　Kim Jong-un glanced at 586. He knew very well that Sino-Japanese relations were the main contradiction discussed at this meeting. If China did not express its position, he would not be able to say anything. So he glanced at 586 as a temporary silent response.

　586 was also aware of this. After two or three seconds, he stated China's demands in a magnetic voice: "When we met last year, you expressed your deep reflection on that period of history.

　At the same time, within the base area, we actively swept away all the remnants of militarism and fascism, including the demolition of the "Hakko-Ichiyu Tower" and other symbols of militarism and colonial aggression. We on the Chinese side saw all of this and kept it in mind.

　China is very pleased that Japan has sincerely admitted its mistakes and taken firm action to implement them. We will not repeat what we discussed before or what you are currently doing to rectify the situation. Let's just bring up what we didn't have time to discuss before."

　586 paused, perhaps trying to organize his words. Ibaraki Hanafuchi perked up even more, ready to listen carefully to every word 586 had to say.

　Then 586 went on to state the key point: "First, regarding the issue of war reparations, considering the great pressure on your economy to recover after the civil war, and the fact that the Party Central Committee, once centered around Comrade MZD, has not demanded reparations, we have decided not to seek compensation.

　Although intergovernmental war reparations have been waived, Japan still needs to actively assume responsibility for claims filed by the families of comfort women victims and the families of the 731 victims.

　Second, regarding the return of cultural relics and ancient books, Japan should do its utmost to return all cultural relics and ancient books looted during the war of aggression against China and make public all existing historical materials related to its colonial aggression.

　Third, Japan should abide by the relevant provisions of the Potsdam Declaration, give up its sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands, follow the wishes of the local residents of the Ryukyu Islands, promote the independence of the Ryukyu Islands, and guarantee that it will no longer make claims on the Diaoyu Islands.

　Fourth, regarding the military: Given that your party's nature and regime are fundamentally different from those of the Liberal Democratic Party and militarist Japan, and based on the relevant investigation reports of Chinese comrades, we have carefully considered and concluded that you can retain a certain number of troops after the establishment of your country.

　As for how to deal with Japan's unconventional ships, we need to discuss them in different categories. Some ships that have always maintained an anti-war stance, and some ships that initially had a wrong stance but changed for the better in a relatively short period of time, can be retained.

　However, for some unconventional ships that were converted relatively late, or converted suddenly, and may have engaged in speculative activities, their hulls will be taken care of by the People's Liberation Army, and the dolls can remain in Japan. The Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party and the Revolutionary Army should also bear the responsibility of observing and educating the ideological dynamics of these unconventional ships.

　In addition, China hopes to sign a military cooperation treaty with Japan, similar in nature to the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.

　Then 586 added a condition: "As long as the Japanese side earnestly implements the above requirements, China is willing to provide necessary assistance to Japan's post-war reconstruction and people's livelihood."

　After hearing this, Ibaraki Hanafugi immediately agreed: "I accept China's request, but I hope that the request just now can be discussed and refined in detail."

　"Please rest assured, Comrade Ibaraki, China's real enemy is Japanese militarism. China is not the United States, which uses the name of anti-militarism to become a vassal of other countries and peoples." 586 made a solemn assurance.

　"I understand you. What I said just now was just the literal meaning. Only by refining and setting a standard can we better implement it." Ibaraki Hanasu replied.

　"Okay, we will discuss this in detail later. Now it will be the turn of the North Korean comrades to speak." 586 looked at Kim Jong-un and gestured.

　"Thank you, Comrade 586." Kim Jong-un raised the microphone and expressed the demands that had been brewing in his mind for a long time: "North Korea's demands are actually similar to China's demands, including the comfort women issue.

　The difference is that North Korea demands that Japan pay war reparations between governments and compensation for forced labor, while in terms of sovereignty, it demands that Japan give up its sovereignty over Dokdo and recognize that Dokdo belongs to North Korea.

　Ibaraki Huashan agreed to North Korea's request and asked how much war reparations it needed.

　Amidst the nouveau riche's joy, and considering that the Japanese Communist Party was indeed sincere in admitting its mistakes and did not ask for an exorbitant price like France did to Germany after World War I, the price was a reasonable amount for Japan.