Chapter 777 - 740

"In two to three years, we need to reduce the costs of the products on this list by 30%!"

After the representatives from Liet Machinery left, Ye Changsi continued the meeting on the spot with a few domestic manufacturers that had finalized agreements, conveying New Yuan’s mission.

However, upon hearing this ambitious goal, the others all showed troubled expressions on their faces.

"President Ye, for precision components like servo motors and planetary reduction gears, it is very difficult to improve the pass rate of good products. Even if production increases several times in the future, we can at most reduce the cost of raw materials by up to 20%. It’s very hard to reduce the costs in the processing stage."

The others nodded urgently. Although industrial mass production can significantly reduce costs, it depends on the product type. Without significant changes in processes and materials, there isn’t much cost that can be cut.

To directly slash 70% is nearly unthinkable, only covering material costs and electricity expenses. It simply cannot be done that cheaply.

Ye Changsi said, "Of course, it won’t work as it stands now. But in the end, isn’t it because the efficiency of these precision machining equipment can’t even begin to compare with simple machines like presses, right?"

"Exactly, many components cannot be produced as simply as consumer-grade products. They require multiple stations and a process for manufacturing, and they have different surface precision requirements. The cumulative working hours are very high; one piece of equipment can only produce a limited quantity."

A representative responsible for the production segment explained immediately, also breathing a sigh of relief, as it seemed Ye Changsi was not ignorant of the technology.

Ye Changsi said, "So you all need to accept transformation—for a high degree of unmanned and automated processes, at least for some segments. New Yuan has already succeeded in replacing manual labor with AI-controlled high-precision machine tools. The software for imported equipment is all improved by us. As long as we achieve full automation, an efficiency improvement of over 50% is effortless."

His tone carried an unmistakable implication. However, the three cooperative merchants present had already reached in-depth cooperation and were not very resistant, although they still harbored some doubts.

After receiving Ye Changsi’s confident promise, the others quickly calmed down, but someone still whispered their question, unable to suppress their own curiosity:

"President Ye, is America really so kind, to sell us these things just like that? Could it be that G2 thing from before..."

This speculation was very timely. Not only did ordinary people with a bit of experience think this way, but the outside world was once again considering the idea.

In 2008, Fred Bergsten proposed the concept of "Group 2" during bilateral economic talks, suggesting that China should replace the European Union’s position, and then both should lead the global economy together, able to decide on matters mutually.

According to the idea at the time, America has a developed financial system and the greatest consumer power, whereas we have the strongest industrial capacity, achieving perfect complementation.

Simply put: America prints money to enjoy food and drink and cheap industrial goods, while China focuses on manufacturing goods, garnering employment opportunities—a perfect closed-loop.

However, taking into account the background of the era, the actual aim was still to suppress the RMB, expand the US Dollar system, and achieve a wider scope of harvesting wealth.

In modern economics, all national currency is fiat money. To decide whether a currency is valuable or not, and its circulation capacity, one must look at its application range.

Why did the US Dollar appreciate in value after World War II? Firstly, at the time, the Dollar was still pegged to actual gold and was indeed valuable. But the second, and most important, reason was that most other industrial countries were bombed out of their capacity to produce cheap and comprehensive industrial goods, while America had the strongest production capacity of that era.

If you had Dollars, you could buy almost anything, whereas other currencies could hardly achieve the same purpose in their respective countries.

If "G2" were achieved, the money printed by America would be tied to domestic cheap industrial goods, and the RMB, gradually gaining strength due to industrial capacity, would once again be suppressed, its relevance eaten away by the Dollar.

The Federal Reserve wouldn’t need to do anything—just print and print, then buy and buy. For America, G2 would undoubtedly be a tremendously beneficial deal.

Moreover, at that time, China held the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, yet the military was relatively weak; it was a delicious piece of fat meat.

The sudden changes in the international situation made it easy to wonder if ’G2’ was indeed in the process of forming.

"Of course not!"

Ye Changsi couldn’t tell all the specifics to these people, but selectively said:

"What we insist on is mutual trust on equal grounds, with emphasis on equality! You can all go back and start to prepare ahead. We will also be organizing such teams to go to America soon—the earlier, the more opportunities. Just like with Liet Machinery, the trades made by the delegation only pay symbolic tariffs, and the rates on both sides are exactly the same."

...

"Regarding the objectives of next year’s trade opening, our side proposes the following suggestions..."

Still inside a villa in the suburbs of Washington, Xu Rang presented the latest domestic suggestions to Sullivan:

"First, implement tax reductions for common industrial products, with an overall tax rate not exceeding 7.5%, and for categories previously included in illegal controls, a total tax rate not exceeding 15%

Second, for high-value consumer electronics like cars and chips, impose a symbolic tax of 3% for private individual transactions, and bulk trade tax rates must be below 25%.

Third, open up the personal exchange limit between the US Dollar and RMB, and integrate both banking systems with each other, but a transition period of no later than one year is needed.

Fourth, open up aviation, aerospace...

...

Thirty-fourth, strengthen the strategic mutual trust between both sides, reduce confrontations in the Western Pacific, grant access to areas below the Island Country...

...

Fifty-seventh, regarding the nationality of personnel from both sides..."