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Chapter 2660 Unity of One Heart

On New Year's Day 2002, the largest banquet hall at the Beijing International Convention Center was booked by the Tianchao Group.

The audience was packed with entrepreneurs, media reporters, and leaders from relevant departments from all over the country. The aisles were also full of people, and a whole row of cameras and microphones were set up in the last row.

The backdrop on the stage displayed two lines of large characters: the top line read "Inauguration Press Conference of Tianchao Shangguo Technology Consulting Company," and the bottom line read "Mutual Benefit and Common Development."

When Suning went on stage, he didn't wear his usual dark jacket, but instead wore a dark gray suit with a dark red tie.

Now that Zhuangzhuang has given birth, she has not only returned to work, but is also sitting in the first row on the side of the audience, holding a notebook in her hand.

Seeing Su Ning walk onto the stage, Zhuang Zhuang immediately whispered to Xiao Tong next to her, "I picked out this tie for him today."

Xiao Tong turned her head and whispered, "It's a good match, and it looks good on camera."

Now everyone in the Tianchao Group knows that Zhuangzhuang is the king's woman, so Xiao Tong, as Suning's assistant, naturally supports her very much.

Xiao Tong never thought of competing with Zhuang Zhuang in the group, after all, Zhuang Zhuang was the invisible boss's wife of Tianchao Group.

When Su Ning stood in front of the podium, the dark mass of people below the stage fell silent, while flashes of light continued to appear sporadically.

"I am Su Ning, the president of Tianchao Group. As you all know, what has enabled Tianchao Group to get to where it is today since 1994? Naturally, it's technology." Su Ning didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"Today, Tianchao Automobile has its own self-developed engines and transmissions, Tianchao Electronics has completely independent mobile phone chips and operating systems, Kunyu Shipping's roll-on/roll-off ships are all made in China from steel plates to main engines, and Mingju Real Estate's modular building technology obtains hundreds of patents every year... These technologies are the biggest source of confidence for our Tianchao Group."

"..." The audience was quiet; everyone was listening.

"Tianchao Auto was able to go from zero to one million vehicles in three years not because of advertising, but because its engine thermal efficiency was higher than its competitors, its transmission shift logic was smoother, and its chassis durability was stronger. The Tianchao No. 1 was able to sell out not because of marketing gimmicks, but because of its self-developed chips, self-developed systems, and self-developed encryption technology. No one in the world could disassemble it."

"But even if Tianchao Group is powerful, it only has two hands. For China's manufacturing industry to truly stand up, it cannot rely on just one Tianchao Group. No matter how strong a company is, can it take over the entire upstream and downstream of the industrial chain? No. Can it make 'Made in China' recognized by all consumers in the global market? No. So today, Tianchao Group officially established Tianchao Shangguo Technology Consulting Company. This company will do one thing... to open up all the advanced technologies that Tianchao Group has accumulated over the years in the fields of automobiles, electronics, machinery, materials, and new energy to the outside world."

People in the audience started whispering among themselves.

Technology transfer was not a new thing in the Chinese business community at that time.

But this is the first time a company of Tianchao Group's size has publicly offered its core technologies for sale.

What were the technology transfers like in the past?

Foreign giants sold us their obsolete production lines at high prices, and joint ventures tried to exchange market access for technology, but ended up losing both the technology and the market.

Tianchao Group is offering its most valuable assets to others.

Ignoring the buzz from the audience, Suning continued, "Of course, Tianchao Group also holds advanced technologies in other industries. Any company in China that needs advanced technology can come to us. They can also come to us if they need any production line equipment. We not only sell technology, but also help you design and implement it… we train your engineers, we get your production line running smoothly until you can operate it independently. We won't just give you a technical manual and leave you to your own devices. Tianchao Group's technical engineers will be stationed in your factory, teaching you step-by-step, from the first process to the last, until mass production."

A car parts business owner in the audience turned to the person next to him and whispered, "What? They're actually teaching me step by step? This isn't selling skills, it's clearly taking on an apprentice."

"..." The person next to him hadn't had a chance to reply yet.

Su Ning's next words caused an uproar in the banquet hall: "For companies with insufficient cash flow, Tianchao Shangguo Technology Consulting Company accepts technology and production line equipment in exchange for shares, and can even use future orders as collateral. Tianchao Group does not seek controlling stakes, does not interfere in operations, does not appoint directors, and does not sign any performance-based agreements. You exchange your shares for my technology, and we both benefit. If your factory's production capacity increases, product quality improves, and you make money, Tianchao Group's shares will also appreciate. If you don't make money, my shares are useless. So our interests are aligned."

"..." As soon as those words were spoken, the entire banquet hall erupted in a cacophony of noise.

Many small and medium-sized business owners sitting in the audience could hardly believe their ears.

Technology for shares, no controlling stake, no appointed directors, no performance-based compensation?

The owner of the auto parts business immediately became excited and couldn't help but pull his colleague aside to ask, "Did you hear that clearly? Didn't President Su just say that he wouldn't hold a controlling stake or appoint any directors?"

The person next to him also looked shocked. "It seems they also mentioned that future orders could be used to offset the cost."

"No betting? What does 'no betting' mean? It means that even if we lose money, he won't come after us for the debt? He won't set any high-pressure lines for us?"

That's probably what it means.

"These aren't business terms; this is clearly a charity offer." The boss slapped his thigh. "Do you know what conditions typical investors demand? They ask for 51% controlling stake right off the bat, the performance-based agreements are thicker than a dictionary, the buyback agreements are suffocating, they practically want to swallow your entire company whole. Tianchao Group does the opposite... I'll let you use my core technology, I'll use my equipment to upgrade your production lines, I'll train your engineers, and in the end, I'll only take a small percentage of the shares and won't interfere with your operations. Have you ever seen an investor like this?"

The man next to him said, "I've never seen anything like it. I've lived half my life and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like it."

……

Next came the Q&A session. A reporter from a financial newspaper grabbed the microphone, stood up, and asked a question that everyone wanted to ask: "President Su, isn't Tianchao Group worried about creating competitors by exporting its independently developed core technologies?"

Suning, with his hands on the podium, asked dismissively, "Who are the competitors of China's manufacturing industry? Are they the neighboring companies in the next town that make the same products as you? No. Our competitors are those foreign giants who are holding us by the throat and preventing us from moving upstream in the industrial chain."

The audience fell silent; even the sound of camera shutters clicking decreased.

At this point, Suning continued to present his groundbreaking arguments: "Before we Chinese could manufacture an engine ourselves, foreign suppliers dared to sell it to us at several times the price, and it was take them or leave it. Before we Chinese could manufacture a mobile phone chip ourselves, foreign suppliers dared to delay the delivery cycle to more than six months, and there was nothing you could do about it. Tianchao Group has never been afraid of domestic competitors... What we fear is that the entire Chinese manufacturing industry will forever be suppressed at the bottom of the industrial chain, forever doing manual labor, forever doing OEM for others, forever earning that meager hard-earned money, forever having to be subservient to others, and forever spending exorbitant amounts of money to buy outdated foreign technology and production lines."

He paused for a moment, then raised his voice slightly: "A strong individual company isn't truly strong; a strong industry is. What Tianchao Group aims to do is to elevate the foundation of China's entire manufacturing sector, enabling all Chinese companies to compete with foreign giants from a higher starting point."

"President Su, have you considered the possibility of being rejected by Western companies?" "When you are weak, others will only bully you; only when you are strong will others take you seriously. Therefore, Tianchao Group has never worried about rejection from the West."

"..."

……

After the press conference, the hotline of Tianchao Shangguo Technology Consulting Company was flooded with calls.

The operators are working three shifts and still can't keep up with the calls. The phone rings from morning till night, and people keep dialing even when they can't get through.

After dialing the number, his first question was a hurried inquiry, as if afraid the call would be disconnected again: "Hello, is this the Celestial Empire? I'm from a car parts company in Zhejiang. I'd like to ask if you can license the engine block casting technology you mentioned at the press conference?"

"Hello, this is an electronic component factory in Dongguan. Does Tianchao Electronics offer its motherboard SMT assembly process for sale? What are the terms?"

"We are a textile machinery manufacturer from Jiangsu, and we want to upgrade the control system of our CNC loom. Could you please take a look?"

"The sulfide electrolyte formula for solid-state batteries was mentioned at the press conference. Is it possible to cooperate on this? We are a new energy battery manufacturer and have been looking for this technology for several years. It is not sold abroad, and no one in China can develop it."

Meanwhile, many business owners called and their opening question was almost identical: "Is what you said at the press conference about exchanging technology for shares true? No controlling stake, no directors, no performance-based compensation—was that just what you said at the press conference or is it really written in the contract?"

The operator had answered this question hundreds of times and her voice was hoarse, but she still patiently replied again and again: "It's true, it's written in the contract, in black and white. No controlling stake, no directors, no performance-based compensation. If you are interested, you can come to Beijing for a face-to-face meeting. We have a dedicated project liaison team here."

"Does your Celestial Empire Group really possess the advanced technology we need?"

"Don't worry! Our Celestial Empire possesses all kinds of advanced technologies. The main problem is that our Celestial Empire Group has limited resources and cannot truly enter the entire industrial system. We need to grow and expand together with high-quality domestic enterprises."

After receiving a positive reply, he booked a flight to Beijing that same day and said on the phone, "I'll be downstairs at your company first thing tomorrow morning. Give me the contact number of the person in charge, and I'll take a taxi directly there after I get off the plane."

The operator said, "You don't need to be in such a hurry. We have staff available to assist you even on weekdays."

The man said, “How can I not be anxious? More than a hundred workers in my factory are waiting for a technology upgrade. Without good technology, we can’t make products, and if we can’t make products, we can’t get orders. Your technology-for-equity swap plan is a lifeline for me.”

……

A few days later, the conference room of the Celestial Empire was filled with business owners who had come from all over the country.

Some of them carried briefcases and wore suits, clearly indicating they were salespeople who spent their lives on the business.

Some were wearing work jackets and had just come out of the factory before heading straight to the airport, with oil stains still on their cuffs.

Some brought their own factory's technicians, carrying thick stacks of product drawings and process documents.

They sat in the conference room waiting to meet with the project team. They didn't know each other, but when they started talking, they found that they were doing similar things.

They are all small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, and they have been stuck in technological bottlenecks for several years.

Almost all of them bought plane tickets and flew over as soon as they heard that the Tianchao Group had made its core technology available.

The auto parts boss who had been excited at the press conference also came. He sat in the conference room chatting with the boss of an electronic components company next to him. "Are you here for the technology-for-equity deal too?"

"Of course, otherwise why would I fly all the way from Dongguan? What about you?"

"I manufacture engine cylinder heads and I want to acquire the casting technology from China's automotive industry. Our factory's current cylinder head yield rate is only 70%, the scrap rate is too high, and all the profits we make are eaten up by scrap. It is said that China's automotive industry can achieve a cylinder head yield rate of over 95%. What does that mean? Just with this technology, I can double my profits."

The person next to me said, "You've increased the yield rate from 70% to 95%, that's more than double!"

"So when I heard President Su say that we didn't need to hold a controlling stake or appoint directors, I immediately felt that my factory was saved. You know, I've talked to investors several times before, and each time it involved controlling stake plus performance-based agreements. As someone with a technical background, I can't handle those capital operations. Tianchao Group's plan allows me to focus on making products without worrying about anything else. You can't find a partner like this even with a lantern." He said, then couldn't help but shake his head. "To be honest, I didn't sleep a wink last night at the hotel, afraid that I would find some trickery hidden in the contract when I arrived today."

"Have you read the contract?"

"I've seen it. The team I was working with just now gave me a standard contract template. I read it carefully twice, and there's nothing fishy about it. It's all in black and white. It clearly states that I won't hold a controlling stake, appoint directors, or make any performance-based compensation."

Soon, the meeting room door opened, and the project liaison team walked in, holding a pre-arranged interview schedule.

The business owners waiting in the conference room sat up straight and placed the documents and drawings they had brought on the table.

In fact, they all knew in their hearts that when Su Ning stood on that podium and said those words,

From this day forward, some of the rules governing China's manufacturing industry have been completely rewritten.

...(End of this chapter)