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Chapter 1227: Chapter 1084: I Just Want the Sugar Coating (Subscribe Please!)
American dominance.
Everyone knew it.
Ling’s words.
Annesley thought it was excessive.
Poison?
Describing their loans as poison?
Even if it were true, there was no need to say it to their face, and U.S. loans were only slightly toxic compared to those from the IMF and the World Bank—still less poisonous.
Of course.
That was after the negotiation.
The current treaty.
Seemed even more toxic.
Aisley explained.
"Cough cough, um, is there some misunderstanding? Our loans are primarily aimed at helping your country develop, with the funds mostly intended to be used for purchasing our country’s goods and services, not to sever your trade relations with Huaxia."
Alright.
Ling’s resentment.
It was actually from Tang Qing. After the confrontation, it was time to discuss business.
"Is that so?" Ling responded.
"Yes, we are very sincere," Aisley nodded vigorously.
But Ling shook his head, "However, we can’t accept any of the conditions inside it."
Annesley: "..."
Ling continued, "Regarding the use of funds, we can agree to primarily purchase products and services from the United States, but conditions such as zero tariffs on high-end manufacturing and opening up the finance sector are not possible at this time."
Ten billion dollars.
Entirely a sugar-coated shell.
Tang Qing did not like the shell.
The sugar was fine, a treat to indulge in, zero tariffs on high-end manufacturing? Not sure where the U.S. got the courage to suggest that. Did they think it was a century ago?
It was a policy that would destroy high-end domestic manufacturing. As for finance, it might open up in the future because the internationalization of a currency inevitably requires integration with the world, but not now.
Annesley was at a loss for words.
How could this guy pass up earning billions? Ten billion dollars could solve many problems; Ling must know this. It seems he really just wants to eat meat, not bother cooking it or even buying it.
Too stingy.
Suddenly.
Annesley thought of Sun Jiang outside.
Sun Jiang.
Was he here to discuss cooperation too?
That was certainly possible, given that just the year before last, Ling and Lang Cai had secured loans amounting to over a hundred billion RMB, including that for the Myanmar Economic Special Zone, totaling over three hundred billion RMB.
To this day, the first repayment date had not even arrived.
It could be said.
Adding the two debts together.
They now owed Huaxia more than three hundred billion RMB, making Huaxia the largest creditor to Myanmar, their one hundred billion dollars being merely eight hundred billion RMB.
Not much, really.
No wonder Ling was uninterested in the ten billion dollars.
Even if the U.S. refused to lend.
If Ling asked, Huaxia would lend.
MMP.
He had forgotten this point when coming here; he had thought the bargaining chip his boss gave was sufficient for a straightforward task, but now it seemed his boss had handed down a hellishly difficult task.
Ten billion dollars to negotiate with Ling.
The chips were not enough.
Annesley was frustrated.
Was he just supposed to return home like this?
He was not content.
"What are your conditions?"
Annesley needed to take something back to report.
"As I said earlier, seeing your sincerity, we can take the money, but please don’t bring up other conditions besides purchasing American goods. Fairness is the basis of our cooperation."
"..." Annesley.
Fairness my ass.
Talking about fairness with us, the United States.
As if he came begging to give money.
"This treaty is not fair to us," Annesley said solemnly.
"That’s exactly what I wanted to say, Mr. Annesley, I know you’re not in a position to decide something so significant. My door is always open for you, of course, only regarding loan matters."
Profit is the motivation for action.
Annesley finally understood why he could meet Ling so quickly today.
They knew he was here to offer money.
"I’ll go back and report, and get back to you as soon as possible," Annesley said resignedly.
"No worries, no rush," Ling waved his hand.
Tang Qing was truly not in a hurry.
First.
To understand.
What did he need the dollars for?
A country needs another country’s currency for international payments, mainly for settling bulk trades, with global trade using the dollar as the unit of account.
The more a country depends on external sources.
The more it needs dollars.
Like Huaxia.
Buying oil, natural gas, mineral resources, equipment, chips... They only want dollars, so they’re desperately earning them, otherwise, it would severely impact the domestic supply of goods and economic development.
Conversely.
If there comes a day.
The country no longer needs to import so much, the role of the dollar will drastically decrease, like some extremely backward nations that are self-sufficient, or like Germany and other developed countries.
Germany’s entire foreign exchange reserves are only a few hundred billion dollars.
It’s pitifully small. Since they control the Euro, they have little need for dollars, which they use for hedging in trade, slowly earned, without a desperate need for it.
So.
Does Ling really need that many dollars now?
Obviously.
Not really.
Geographical advantages mean there’s no lack of food; no need to import.
Transportation also mainly uses motorcycles; even though transportation has developed, Ling still promotes new energy battery cars, and the slight need for oil can be met domestically, reducing the necessity of imports.
The most expensive part is mineral resources.
But the foreign exchange reserves generated by filters, fruit wine, and other companies are entirely sufficient for these trade settlements, so even if the U.S. threw another ten billion dollars, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
The significance of money.
At the national level.
Is simply a tool serving society and the economy.
Different from how people generally understand money, more or less doesn’t really matter, what’s important is that the entire currency system functions normally, ensuring the healthy operation of a country.
Ling isn’t in a hurry.
But Annesley was becoming anxious.
The signal Ling was sending was terrifying.
After leaving.
Annesley hurried back to the office, reporting to his boss.
"Are you saying Ling isn’t interested in this money?" his boss asked.
"Yes, the year before last, they borrowed over three hundred billion RMB from Huaxia, probably got a taste of the benefits, and given the limited international trade, one hundred billion dollars, whether there or not, doesn’t seem to matter much to Ling," Annesley analyzed.
"That’s troubling," his boss muttered.
Their only limit was one hundred billion dollars.
Now that it wasn’t enough.
Their work would stall.
Not lacking food, not only not lacking but also exporting a lot. As for oil, they had it, and foreseeable future demands wouldn’t increase much, not many chances to spend lots of dollars.
Especially now as they were on the fast track of development.
International capital was net inflowing.
Ling needed dollars even less.
So.
He pulled out the ’ultimate move.’
"Annesley, go there again tomorrow, they want powerful, modern weaponry don’t they? Our American gear is the best globally. I don’t believe he won’t be tempted."
