Chapter 462 - 453 Friendly Agreement_1

"How long do we have until we reach Mars?"

"During May of next year, Mars and Earth will be at their closest distance, which is also the window period for various countries to launch Mars probes. Is our super space station March expected to be completed by the end of the year, and will we take advantage of this window period to carry out a manned landing on Mars?

Below, we invite an aerospace technology expert..."

When the Dawn III mission came to a successful conclusion, the domestic mood was jubilant.

After the three astronauts rode in a float halfway around the Capital, the parade had to be urgently discontinued because the gathered crowd was simply too massive. It not only seriously disrupted traffic order but also posed a huge safety risk, with more trampling incidents likely to occur if it continued.

At the same time, many countries invited the three astronauts for friendly visits, particularly the countries involved in the Huayin Conference who made especially strong requests.

While celebrating the successful moon landing, many people also raised another question:

When will we land on Mars?

There have already been leaks from insider sources about two New Yuan No. 3 rockets being prepared at Jiuquan, and according to convention, these should be segments for the March, and it’s very possible there are two of them.

With the progress of March past the halfway point, more and more external media and professional institutions grow increasingly interested in it. After all, it’s the first centrifugal space station with the potential for ultra-long-term habitation, and it’s nuclear-powered, which seems to have the potential for interstellar travel.

It seems that if only a lander were installed, it could fly to Mars, achieving humanity’s first landing on an extraterrestrial planet, which is much more significant than the Moon landing.

But at this very moment, the Aerospace Development Committee made another significant announcement.

"According to the 57th session of the Aerospace Development Committee, the following directives are proposed for lunar resource development:

1. In view of the rising demand for global rare earth resources and the not so high reserves, initiate preliminary verificatory missions for the exploration and development of lunar ore resources, to actualize the development and utilization of lunar resources within the next few years;

2. By 2020, complete all launch missions of the Dawn and Chang’e programs, and establish a Moon Base that can sustain over 100 people for long-term habitation;

3. Fully develop new-generation large-thrust reusable rocket engines as the foundation for new types of recoverable launch vehicles, achieving the long-term goal of a more than 50% reduction in the cost of rocket launches, and vigorously develop nuclear space propulsion technology."

The spokesperson for the Aerospace Development Committee powerfully read the brief resolution, then added one more sentence before leaving:

"In light of the objective need for the development and utilization of lunar resources, the Aerospace Development Committee plans to construct a logistics expressway on the Moon within the next two years. We are now soliciting solutions from enterprises, universities, and research institutions across society, with proposals to be submitted via the official website channel. There is currently no deadline for submission."

...

"Certification for 150 C822 and 50 C832 aircraft, but if you set up a final assembly plant or a key subsystem manufacturing base within Europe or America, you can also automatically obtain certification."

Under pressure, Shepard Hill finally made their last acceptable offer.

With the astrounauts and the lander’s black box continuously embarrassing them and everyone from Congress including John demanding a swift agreement, giants like Boeing had no choice but to make concessions again.

Commercial Aviation simply refused to outsource the key subsystems, so after discussion, they decided on a "quota." As long as the aircraft had received airworthiness certificates from the domestic Civil Aviation Authority, there was an allocation for 150 regional airplanes and 50 mainline airplanes to directly receive internationally recognized airworthiness certificates, with no restrictions on exportation.

As for the C810 and An-1250, they would just let it go, issuing them as usual.

Zeng Xiangdong from our side thought for a moment, then quoted a figure:

"500 C822, 200 C832, landing gears, tail wings, de-icers, cabin pressurization equipment, carpeting interiors, window glass — as long as international suppliers provide qualified products at normal market prices, they will be used for this batch of aircraft."

Shepard thought for a moment. Though they were not the three major components, they were still quite good parts, and the combined profits were considerable, at least not all absorbed internally by China.

"300 C822 and 100 C832, that’s the most we can offer."

"Hm..."

Zeng Xiangdong discussed with others and felt that this was pretty much the bottom line, showing approval for the deal, and finally reaching consensus in the aviation sector.

An export of 400 aircraft or their use on international routes was already significant, especially since selling airplanes would earn a big sum of money. The regular maintenance and major overhauls needed for these 400 planes every year would provide a steady income, and in the long run, it was generally considered a good deal that could bring in hundreds of billions in revenue.

The tug-of-war over the airworthiness certificate ended, and the international satellite commercial contracting was also reluctantly settled.

The Wolf Clause was still not abolished, but it was confirmed by America that after the issuance of the FAA launch license, China’s Private Aerospace Companies (with the exception of XAP) could take on non-military satellite launch orders that included American components, but the unit launch price could not be lower than the set minimum level.

The biggest difficulty in this clause was obtaining the FAA launch license, which involved not just the inspection of rockets and satellites but also the assessment of environmental pollution caused by the launch.

Therefore, it was destined that only the smaller-scale private aerospace companies in the country could take on this responsibility, as their rockets and launch sites were not too secretive, certainly not the Aerospace Administration and New Yuan.

Although restricted, they had finally got a taste of real international orders.

In other respects, TSMC sold a mature 28nm production line and a 22nm production line to the mainland and symbolically lifted some restrictions on chip technology.

The American side, in turn, would obtain the complete "Blue Moon" black box and could share the analysis of the wreckage dismantled by the "Explorer" robots, at least gaining quick insight into the cause of the accident and design defects.

By the time these terms were agreed upon, it was already the late hours of July 10. McMaster and our personnel signed their respective specific letters of intent, and finally, jointly signed the "Agreement on Deepening Friendly Cooperation between the Two Nations."

In the photos taken by the journalists, McMaster’s forced smile looked rather strained.

Even the celebration banquet was cancelled because he turned it down, so the envoy left early the next morning on a transoceanic flight, rushing back to his homeland.

However, Wolf’s Deputy Chairman Shepard Hill stayed behind and sought out Zeng Xiangdong separately.

This time he was completely devoid of the arrogance and indifference from the negotiation table; instead, he was full of smiles like an old friend.

"Zeng, you should know that the real major market in the air has always been international routes. 400 planes sound like a lot, but in fact, they can be absorbed in just one or two years. I think you are also not satisfied with this," said Shepard.

Zeng Xiangdong sensed something and remained silent as he checked the door was securely closed before saying:

"But the number of airworthiness certificates has already been set. We cannot sell more airliners to the international market."

"Yes, you should also know that there is a strong protectionist sentiment in the market for airliners. Even if you could sell them, you would encounter some obstacles. Why not consider a more mutually satisfying form of cooperation?"

Zeng Xiangdong: "I’d like to hear more."

Shepard: "Boeing can provide advanced production equipment and patented processes, and then we could establish a joint venture assembly plant together. It could be located here or in another country. We could make some modifications to the C822 and C832 to create brand new models for this subsidiary.

The new airplanes, which would have nearly identical technical specifications, would need at least 50% of their parts supplied by international contractors. Such a joint venture manufacturing airliners would easily obtain FAA certification and be unrestrictedly sold around the world."

However, Zeng Xiangdong frowned; it sounded great, a clever way to export under a new guise.

The so-called joint venture assembly plant was just a shell, bringing in mostly finished C822s and C832s, making a few minor changes, then rebranding them as new airplanes. Naturally, this gave greater operational flexibility. Boeing wouldn’t have to make much effort to earn a share of the profits, but why weren’t they afraid of cannibalizing their own market?

Shepard immediately answered his question:

"In fact, many of Boeing and Airbus’s aircraft parts are also produced in the mainland, and Airbus has even established an assembly plant here. I’ve heard some rumors that future transnational aircraft trade may become more difficult.

This assembly plant could manufacture your airplanes, of course, as well as Boeing’s airplanes. Additionally, you should also understand that often... we pass on orders we receive to Chinese companies offering lower bids, and we only take charge of the final acceptance. Do you get my drift?"

"This... I need to discuss with others, but it won’t take too long."

Zeng Xiangdong was somewhat hesitant; Shepard’s words made some sense, but the stakes were too high for him to make the decision lightly.