Chapter 690 shows the value of united front
In fact, the finance ministers of Germany, France and Italy are not all loyal supporters of the euro.
But no matter what their past attitudes were, now they are definitely a community of interests with highly consistent goals.
Now that the euro has been issued and the timetable for replacing the local currencies of the euro zone countries has been clearly announced, there is no way back except the possibility of insisting on pushing for a unified currency.
Moreover, three months ago, they personally went to ring the bell at the launch ceremony of the Euro.
It’s only been three months!
If something goes wrong, others will not care about your "original" attitude, nor will they care about such a big matter. It has lasted for so many years. There must be more than one promoter behind it.
I will only think that you, an old boy, did this in the first place.
The blame will definitely be placed on the three of them in the end.
Of course, this is fair.
After all, if in another timeline, the euro took off directly after its issuance, countered the US dollar and directly became the world's most mainstream currency and led Europe to revive...
The credit will also fall on the three of them.
It is possible to take advantage of the situation and directly form a party to participate in the election, become a powerful figure in the political arena and leave a name in history.
However, they underestimated the determination of the Americans in this matter and overestimated the "independence" of the Europeans.
Fortunately, it’s not too late at this time...
"Contacting the Chinese people is indeed a top priority."
Schäuble nodded in agreement, but then changed the subject:
"But now their central bank and the Ministry of Finance They have not expressed their stance. Whether the reason for this is that they really have not reached a unified opinion, or they deliberately want to delay time to observe the subsequent development of the situation, it is impossible for us to honestly give a clear answer just because we ask. "
"Based on my experience in dealing with the Chinese people over the years, in this case, if we ask directly, the opponent will probably start kicking the ball directly, and at most they will say some harmless words to deal with us. . ”
“You have to try it, you can’t just sit there and wait for death.”
Kahn was already a little bit unable to sit still:
“Moreover, they have not made an official statement, but at the same time they have put pressure on us on a commercial level. This posture shows that they are also afraid that the euro will really collapse. Now I just want to occupy a favorable situation as much as possible before the negotiation. As long as we test it a few more times, there will always be a response."
According to his idea, although China is in an emerging market. It has great appeal and influence, but in terms of hard power, it is only a country with the seventh largest GDP, not even as good as Italy, the most popular among the three countries here.
Even if a lion opens its mouth wide, it does not have such a big mouth.
So the "cost-effectiveness" of letting the other party express their opinion will never be too low.
But Schaeuble obviously doesn’t think so:
“The combined economic size of our three countries is six times that of the Chinese. If we do what you said, our posture will be too low. ..."
The German economy is now the third largest in the world, and riding on the east wind of the reunification of the two Germanys, the Germans are still at a stage of relatively inflated self-confidence.
Although rationally I can think of "asking Huaxia for help", emotionally I don't want to appear too demanding.
Europeans have this virtue.
The mouth is too upright.
“It’s not as good as this.”
The Italians have indeed cooperated with China a lot in recent years, so Vesco’s mind is more vivid than his two colleagues:
“Since the Chinese are exerting pressure on us through enterprises, we can also use the same method to test their conditions.”
“Anyway, these enterprises that have contact with us are mostly Most of them are state-owned enterprises of the other party. Even if their statements are not directly equivalent to the official ones, they can at least represent their official meanings to some extent.”
"Is the company...surely reliable?"
Schäuble was still a little hesitant, but his attitude was obviously relaxed.
"As long as both parties have this intention, even a table tennis player getting into the wrong car can be an opportunity to break the ice. Why can't companies..."
Vesco still treats China A bit of research. This idea is a compromise, which not only satisfies Kahn's urgent need to solve the problem, but also makes Schäuble's side justified in terms of face.
So the three quickly reached a consensus.
"In addition, this matter must be kept confidential, I mean, from the Americans."
Before leaving the meeting room, Visco emphasized to the other two people Said:
“There is a saying in China, which is to build plank roads openly and build warehouses secretly.”
“It’s best to secretly find some middle-level companies who already have good personal relationships with China. Go test it out, don’t leave any trace on the outside, just say that you are following the delegation to inspect the project, or simply discussing business. In this way, even if the Americans have intentions, they will focus on those important people.”
The other two people don't understand Chinese culture very well, but countries around the world actually have classic expressions like this, so it's not difficult to understand.
Kahn thought for a while and quickly thought of an opportunity:
"If this is the case, I remember that the European Aerospace Defense Group is expected to have a trip to China in May... It seems to be A cooperation agreement was signed two years ago, and the location and policies of the factory there have been decided. This time we need to inspect the production capacity there and determine which production capacity and processes should be moved there. ”
< br>European Aerospace Defense Group, the parent company of Airbus and Eurocopter.
Although it is considered a Dutch company geographically, in essence, the French have the absolute say in it.
Seeing the other two people lowering their heads and thinking, Kahn continued:
"Such a delegation is large enough, stays in China long enough, and the itinerary is complicated enough, and there is even a point in between. For three, go to three different places at the same time. As long as you put a few reliable people in it, it will not be difficult to get things done.”
“But if the current situation continues until May, then the euro will be gone. The credit may not even be comparable to the ruble... At least there is gold in the Russian central bank's vault."
Visco shrugged and said in a strange tone.
In the 1990s, almost all the gold reserves of European countries were placed in the United States.
So they just said that if the time comes to use precious metals to support the value of the euro, it will basically be equivalent to losing everything.
"May was the original plan. Now that the situation has changed so much, it is reasonable to go earlier. You don't have to worry about this. I have personal connections that can be used..."
Kahn obviously has something in mind:
“Furthermore, I can see that China has attached great importance to the aviation manufacturing industry in recent years. We will take advantage of this opportunity to increase the proportion of industry transfer. It can also be used as a valuable bargaining chip. Secondly, there is a high probability that you can directly meet with their more influential officials.” The memorandum of the entire negotiation process, at that time, was a simple business cooperation between the two parties at first, but halfway through, all important leaders from both sides were involved, and it finally evolved into an official agreement between China and the EU. ”
This incident, and the series of operations behind it against the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, can be regarded as a typical victory for the EU against the United States in the past two years, and it has also greatly inspired Europeans' confidence in integrating Europe to become a world pole.
So the other two people obviously also know the details.
Now that Kahn mentioned it, I suddenly felt that the future was much brighter.
“Okay, I agree.”
“I agree, too.”
Success in the past is always satisfying, so Kahn specifically mentioned the case two years ago.
Of course, there is also a certain inducement component.
For example, "If we can repeat the operation from two years ago, then the three of us can make a comeback."
"In this case, should we directly add some personnel from our financial institutions and the central bank to this delegation? If we want to talk, we can be more direct."
"No, the central bank I'm worried that the person is unreliable and may be exposed if I send him there too early..."
"Anyway, move faster. If you wait one more day, big trouble may occur..."
"..."
(End of this chapter)