Japan | Japan | Nagasaki You, Asia-Pacific Sales Director of the Sanli Steel Institute, is no stranger to China.Two years ago, China's Nanjiang Province intended to introduce a tri-coaster steel mill hot-rolled machine production line, and Hasegu was the chief negotiator of the project, and he traveled several times to Beijing and Nanjiang.At that time, Feng Xiaochen was still helping to move the drawings in the South River metallurgical hall, and Long Valley would naturally not know the inconspicuous temporary worker.

Hasegu has positioned himself as a pure businessman, and his favorite saying is that "friendship is long-lasting, and the contract is ruthless."When he needs to pull the relationship, he can talk about the friendship between the two sides for a long time, making people think that he is a genetic delusion.And when it comes to the interests, he can turn his face and deny it, and he can pit others for a dime, and he will never stop at just nine points.

The rolling mill project of Nanjiang Iron and Steel Factory would not have been the result of the later.At first, the engineers at the Triolith Steel Institute were designed according to a simple production line, and the expected price was about $300 million.After meeting with the Chinese negotiators, Haseya found that the other side neither understood the development of metallurgical technology in the modern West and had a blind admiration for Japan, so he advocated adding a lot of things that the Chinese did not need in the plan, including tall rolling mills and so on.In fact, such a plant can be completely handed over to the owner to build, equipment manufacturers only need to put forward some technical requirements, and then provide a few key equipment.

At that time, the Chinese side did not find the problem, such as the Nanjiang metallurgical hall engineer Lu Jianyong questioned this problem, but Hasegu Yu directly threw a few concepts out, the Lu Jianyong said a fog, will not dare to continue to entangled.

Negotiations on the project went very smoothly, and if it had not been for China's high-level sudden adjustment of the direction of economic development and proposed the goal of compressing the scale of infrastructure, the contract had long been signed, and the workers of the three steel mills were already helping the Nanjiang Iron and Steel Plant to build a new plant.

In order to squeeze the budget of the entire project by 40 million US dollars, the Chinese side re-examined the drawings provided by the Japanese side, and unexpectedly found that the equipment actually included the toilet toilet in the factory building, and the price was expensive.The discovery annoyed the upper echelons of the broad range, and they categorically refused to continue the negotiations and instead signed a new contract with the Klinz Company of West Germany.

Regarding the internal situation of this matter, only the negotiation team led by Long Valley You can clearly understand that the top of the three steel stations is not particularly well understood, which has caused Long Valley to avoid a reproach.After that, Hasegu moved to Southeast Asia and successfully marketed a rolling steel production line in Thailand, which also contained a gorgeous dressing room equipment to make enough money.As soon as I returned to Japan, I received a new task to negotiate at the Qinzhou Heavy Machinery Factory in China, and obtained a series of new techniques of rolling steel, including the slab-leveled wide side pressure, the heating of the middle belted side, and cross-romanette control.

"What do you say, get authorization for new rolling steel technology from China, you don't have a fever, Ota!"

Hasegu's first reaction after hearing this task was to jump up and ask the company's technical director, Ota.

Ota looked like a well-rounded scholar, wearing glasses on the edge of a golden silk and combing his hair meticulously.Seeing Hasegu's reaction so strongly, he also grinned bitterly: "We are too big."In fact, the concept of slabing wide side pressure, we have long been put forward, just because the technology is not mature enough, we have not issued, did not apply for a patent.Who would have guessed that the Chinese did not know where they had learned this idea, and actually filed a patent application before us, so that if we wanted to use this technology, we had to ask the Chinese for authorization.”

“Didn’t the company check who revealed our technical secrets?”The long-times asked.

Ota said, “We can’t think of any way for the Chinese to steal our secrets, perhaps only by coincidence.”There are a few places in the Chinese proposal that we have never thought of, and indeed solve some of the technical problems that have plagued us.From this point of view, I personally believe that the Chinese should have independently put forward these ideas.”

“Well, that’s not easy.”Hasegu Yudu's tone was a little tempered, saying: "The Chinese have also designed the mill, after all, and although the Soviet technology they inherited is outdated, there are some innovations in individual aspects that are understandable, and Ota does not have to blame themselves."

Ota is not so easy, he said: "This time the Chinese put forward the design ideas, but not one or two, but as many as a dozen, and their own system, has a strong impact on our traditional design thinking."After the Chinese article was published, I spoke with several colleagues in the United States and West Germany on the phone, and they all said they were very shocked, and they felt the same as me, that is, they dare not design new mills.

“What do you mean?”Long Valley is wondering.

“I mean, these new ideas represent the direction of the mill design, and if we don’t absorb the ideas and design the mills the traditional way, then the mills will quickly become obsolete.”Ota said.

“Is it so powerful?”Hasegawa was surprised, “Ota Jun, can’t we come up with some new ways ourselves to bypass their patents?”

Ota said, “Of course, but it takes time.The patents they applied for happen to be a logical extension of our existing technology.If we’re going to get around these patents, we have to find another way, and it will take time.At present, the view of all rolling mill manufacturers is basically the same, that is, we should seek the authorization of the Chinese people, first of all, and develop their own technology until we can not rely on these patents."

“That’s too passive!”Hasegawa said, "Ota, don't worry, I'll go to China soon, and I'll use the shortest time to convince the Chinese to license the patent to us."

Ota said: "The company's bid is that the licensing fee for each production line does not exceed 5 million US dollars, requiring all of these dozen patents to be packaged and authorized, which we all need."

Hasegu Yudu laughed and said, "If this is the condition, then just find a new clerk to go to China, you can talk about it."Since the company sent me, then I will never pay such a high price to the Chinese.The amount of $5 million should be an unlimited licensing fee, perhaps even a fee for the transfer of a patent.”

“That’s too hard, isn’t it?”Ohta said worriedly, "The value of these technologies can not be overestimated."If we are proposed by Japan, then the authorization fee of a production line received 20 million US dollars is not much.However, the Chinese have only applied for patents on this design idea, and some technical details have not been solved, so these patents are in their hands and cannot play a role.But you talk to them, I think the authorized price of 5 million production lines, they can accept.As for the price of direct transfers, this is a blasphemy against technology, and I am not in favour of it.”

"Ok, Ota, you are a gentleman, and I am a businessman."Hasegu said in the tone of the lesson, "Friendship is long-lasting, but the contract is ruthless."In my mind, only the interests of the company are supreme, and the rest has nothing to do with me.I know the Chinese very well, they need only honor, as long as I give them enough respect, they will be proud of their technology can be accepted by the triad steel, as for the licensing fee, but not their concern."

"Well, I'm just a technician."Ota said incredulously.Sanli Steel is a company with great respect for technology, the salary received by Ota Xiu is very high, the chairman of the company saw him, but also respectfully, a mouthful of "Ota Jun".But Ota knows that when it comes to the interests of the company, the chairman is more trusting and weighing people such as Hasegu, because only they can bring the most profit to the company.Since Hasegawa is convinced that he can get the patent from the Chinese at the price of buying cabbage, what right does Ota Xiu have to ask him not to do so as a member of the three-stone steel system?

With the expectation of excellent completion of the task, Hasegu and his entourage, Yoshioka, also flew to Beijing, and met with Xu Wenliang and Cui Yongfeng in the Beijing Hotel, and began negotiations on technical authorization.

“Mr. Xu, Mr. Choi, allow me to congratulate you on your epoch-making achievements.”

Haseguyou began with an extremely lyrical expression, supplemented by a 90-degree bow, so that Xu Wenliang, Cui Yongfeng and others sitting opposite the conference table quickly got up and saluted.

"Mr. Hasegu is very polite, we just put forward some new ideas, did not expect to attract the attention of the world's first-class enterprises like the three steel, we are deeply honored."In fact, some of our ideas are also inspired by the original technology of the triad, and in this respect you are our teachers.”

He said sincerely.He was an old intellectual, and the feast was unmatched by such a young man as Feng Zhichen.According to Feng Xiaochen's suggestion, Xu Wenliang should put out a shelf in front of the people in the three steel stations, waiting for the other party to put down their body to ask themselves, so as to obtain the initiative of negotiation.Xu Wenliang felt that his technology was already immature, and only opportunistic prevailed, in this case too twilight, contrary to his conscience.

For this noble sentiment of Xu Wenliang, Cui Yongfeng, Feng Xiaochen and others can only look up, and then reluctantly accept.