The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 509
Only Krnovel
509. Obtaining Evidence (4)
Harvard University, a symbol of America’s highest intelligence.
Harvard was the school that every student who wanted to go to college wanted.
Not only students but also professors dreamed of standing on the Harvard podium and risked their lives to wear the business card of a Harvard professor.
Even if he is a professor at Harvard University.
Overcoming the temptation of money was not easy.
“Harvard Professor Charles Lane Arrested for Industrial Espionage.”
“A scholar who was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is committing industrial espionage for a small amount of money.”
“They say they receive over 200 million won in funding every month, and up to 1.8 billion won for the cost of establishing a research institute. Like Professor Lane, there are quite a few scientists who are receiving support, and China is calling it the Thousand Talents Plan.”
Thousand-person plan.
In name only, it was a Chinese talent training program.
In reality, it was closer to a plan to recruit excellent foreign scholars or turn them into industrial spies.
“Center Director Cheon Min-jeong has caught a big shot.”
“Professor Lane’s technology leaks were clearly recorded in Chinese corporate databases.”
Center Director Cheon Min-jeong obtained the information.
He passed information to the American political establishment through David.
Because he was a Harvard professor and a Nobel Prize nominee, the American political world immediately began to make the issue public.
“The follow-up blows will come one after another. And the Chinese industrial espionage scandal will break out in Japan and the EU within this week.”
“The White House has already released a statement criticizing China for this industrial espionage. And the Blue House is also said to be releasing a statement regarding Top Tech soon.”
The key to this operation was having many countries release statements simultaneously.
The structure was designed so that the United States would be at the forefront, with Japan, the EU, and finally South Korea supporting the rear.
“What is China’s reaction?”
“They are sticking their feet out. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was a legitimate way to recruit talent, and even said something to the Korean government, although it was off the record.”
“I guess nothing good came out of it.”
“It was a warning to behave properly and not to join in the fuss.”
That was so arrogant.
How can we tell other countries to behave well?
Besides, telling someone not to make a fuss was basically telling them to keep their mouths shut and be quiet.
“No matter what, he just bites and chews and tries it out.”
“That’s why it’s called wolf diplomacy. China’s diplomatic method is also called wolf diplomacy, referring to a patriotic movie that was a huge hit in China.”
Has the term “war diplomacy” already appeared?
It didn’t matter what words were used to express it.
China’s current diplomatic style is too aggressive, and it is a diplomacy that sees China as A and the rest of the countries as B.
“If you keep biting and gnawing on anything, your teeth will get damaged.”
“It is expected that a few of the wolf’s teeth will be pulled out within this year. If it wants to bite and tear at Japan and the EU, it is unlikely that its teeth will remain intact, right?”
“Work closely with the Blue House to coordinate the timing of the statement release.”
“We will coordinate so that a statement can be released after Japan takes the lead.”
The planning director was kicked out.
Then, a vice president who had been waiting came in with a smile.
“Judging from your expression, it looks like you’re making a decent profit.”
“It’s so good that it’s a problem. In particular, money bet on the Chinese real estate market is already generating huge returns.”
“The Chinese real estate market is a bomb that could explode at any time.”
“When we sent our staff to cities outside China, we found that more than 20% of apartments were empty. According to estimates from economic research institutes, more than 100 million homes are empty.”
China, with a population of 1.3 billion.
It was certainly a huge population, but it was by no means an infinite number.
However, large-scale development projects were carried out every year and construction was not stopped even when demand was clearly expected to be insufficient.
“Supply has already far exceeded demand, but we will continue to carry out large-scale construction projects. Once we are on the tiger’s back, there is no way to get off of our own accord.”
“You mean the tiger’s speed? If the tiger were to slow down gently, the real estate market could stabilize without much damage, but to me, it feels like we’re riding on the back of an extremely violent tiger. It’s comparable to the tiger that caused the Lehman Brothers incident.”
It was China that used real estate to forcefully increase its GDP.
Although it created the power to grow quickly, it was bound to have side effects because it was using power that was meant to be used in the future.
“Unlike the US, China will probably try to revive real estate at the government level.”
“Wouldn’t that just accumulate damage? From the perspective of the financial tower, it’s not bad at all. And the Shanghai index in China is also falling sharply.”
“There’s no way stock prices can go up while we’re at war with the United States.”
The financial tower had already sown the seeds of the Chinese stock market.
It has grown rapidly on the nutrients of the trade war, and now it is time for the first harvest.
“The stock price has fallen by more than 30% since the beginning of the year. All financial companies in the financial tower have recorded large profits.”
“It may be difficult to record as much profit as before, but the stock price will move considerably depending on the policy.”
“The revenue already recorded is more than enough to cover the expected revenue. Future revenue can be considered a plus alpha.”
The US and China have been preparing for a hegemony war for years.
So how can we end it with just the first harvest?
I have already made secondary income through the real estate market and have even prepared for tertiary and quaternary income.
“Until next year, handle the financial tower centered on the Chinese market. Then, from 2020, we will move to the US market, so prepare.”
“I’m still having fun with the U.S. stock market. Although the decline is smaller than that of China, it has fallen by about 12%.”
Just by looking at the stock prices, you could tell who suffered the greatest damage.
Over the year, Chinese stocks fell 30%, while the U.S. fell less than half that, at 12%.
It was also the US stock market that had only recently begun to decline. That was how high investors’ confidence in the US stock market was.
“For now, China is being unilaterally beaten, but when the times change, the country with more wealth will suffer more.”
“We will prepare for short selling in the US with the profits from the Chinese market. And we will slowly move the financial power of the financial tower to the US.”
“There is no need to move everything. There are still many areas in China where you can make money even in 2020.”
The landscape of the trade war did not change in 2020.
The trade war was still very much in the U.S.’s favor, but the variable known as COVID-19 was going to hurt the U.S. greatly.
The global stock market crash of 2020.
Stock prices in most countries, including the United States, will fall sharply.
Since the country with the largest pie among them was the United States, the idea was to move the financial tower’s capital to the United States.
“I will plan to adjust the ratio well so that both sides can make a profit. And I have one more thing to report.”
“What’s going on?”
“I got a call from David. He said that the agreement to acquire Viterra has been finalized. The terms are to acquire the stake for $6 billion and Taewoo Group will shoulder up to $9 billion in debt.”
The conditions were much better than I expected.
The initial negotiated amount was $20 billion, but it was reduced by a whopping $5 billion, allowing the acquisition to be made for $15 billion.
“There’s no way they would have given a discount of $5 billion without any conditions. I guess there were other conditions.”
“We made collaboration with Taewoo Shipping and Taewoo Construction a condition.”
The current owner of Viterra was Glencore.
As the world’s largest raw materials company, Glencore naturally transports a lot of its raw materials by ship.
So, through collaboration with Taewoo Shipping, we were able to secure a stable distribution network and receive help from Taewoo Construction in mine development.
“The terms are not bad. But the shipping contract should be a short-term contract. Instead, offer better terms than what I proposed.”
“Is there really a reason to do that? If we sign a long-term contract, we can significantly reduce Taewoo Shipping’s deficit.”
In most cases, long-term contracts are better.
However, signing a long-term shipping contract now would be a contract that is unilaterally advantageous to Glencore.
When the Corona era comes, the cost of using ships will increase several times more than it is now.
So, even if it was disadvantageous at the moment, Taewoo Shipping had to sign a short-term contract in order to achieve high profits during the COVID-19 era.
“It’s time for a boom cycle in the shipping industry. I’m not sure if it’ll happen next year, but I’m sure it’ll happen within a few years.”
“I will sign a short-term contract. If the chairman says it will happen, won’t it happen? I will believe and follow it.”
There is not much time left to live up to Vice Chairman Han’s trust.
Because even after five years, I have no idea what will happen in the future.
***
A few days later.
Countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany, and France simultaneously released statements condemning China’s technology theft and industrial espionage.
The Korean government quietly issued a statement during the uproar, so there was no major uproar, but it was able to leave behind evidence that Korea had also voiced its opinion on the technology protection agreement.
“Mr. Chairman, I have received a call from Secretary Lee Gang. He wants to meet and talk privately.”
“The statement certainly had an effect.”
“With the US, Japan, and even the EU getting involved, China is in a situation where it needs to put out the fires that are urgent. It seems like they are trying to put out the fire in Korea first.”
It sounded like they were going to start with the easiest opponent.
And we need to show that there is an effort to evolve this situation.
He also intended to solve the problem through me, a close friend, so that he could avoid criticism from the international community.
“The Chinese government will want to show that it is making an effort, even if it is just for show.”
“What are you going to do? If Taewoo Group steps in instead of the government, there could be problems.”
“It’s something that can be resolved without causing any problems. Please set a schedule.”
Secretary Li Gang was to become the future second-highest official in the Chinese government.
He was still a key figure in the Chinese government, and if he had used that person well, he could have conducted negotiations that were beneficial to Taewoo Group and Korea.
“Is that okay? This is a matter involving many countries. If Korea starts negotiations with China first, all the sparks could end up in Korea.”
“If there is collusion, then that will happen. But if there is sufficient justification and evidence, no one will raise an issue. Especially if the United States does not raise an issue, it is an issue that can be quietly passed over.”
Negotiations that even the United States can accept.
In order to conduct such negotiations, negotiations had to be conducted in a way that China unilaterally made concessions.
Of course, China would not make a unilateral concession. However, if they used the justification and evidence they had already secured, it would have been possible.
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