Chapter 849 848 [Trade and War]

A telegram from Chiang Kai-shek made Zhou Hexuan stop in Guangzhou - waiting for others.

As a result, Zhou Hexuan could only write novels despite the bombardment, and he almost finished the last part of "Black Soil". It took a long wait until the beginning of May, but finally Chen Guangfu, Xi Demao, Ren Sida and others arrived.

Chen Guangfu, a banker known as the "Morgan of China", is currently a senior adviser to the Ministry of Finance and the chairman of the Wartime Headquarters Trade Committee (with the rank of lieutenant general).

Xi Demao, financier, member of the Stabilization Fund Committee of the Ministry of Finance, director of the Bank of China Business Bureau, was ordered to be stationed in Hong Kong and responsible for maintaining the international exchange rate of legal tender.

Ren Sida is a trader, mainly engaged in the import and export of mineral products, and has a wide network of contacts in European and American countries.

The three people were sent by Chiang Kai-shek to seek loans from the United States. Even without Zhou Hexuan, they would still be going to the United States, just a few months in advance.

Historically, Chang Kaishen was driven impatient by the shortage of funds and kept ordering Kong Xiangxi to go abroad to make money quickly. Kong Xiangxi found Chen Guangfu because Chen Guangfu had a close relationship with the American capitalist Morgan and wanted to use his personal relationship to open an opening.

Our President Kong Xiangxi did not have any plan to ask for help, and he did not even know the amount of help, but he opened his mouth and asked Chen Guangfu to seek at least 300 million to 400 million US dollars in loans.

Chen Guangfu wanted to scold his mother, borrowing a shitty 300 million U.S. dollars. He didn't even have the confidence to borrow 3 million U.S. dollars. So he refused to go due to illness, and after being urged repeatedly by Lao Jiang and Lao Kong for several months, Chen Guangfu bit the bullet and went to the United States.

At the beginning, the negotiations between Chen Guangfu and others were not smooth. But as Guangzhou and Wuhan fell one after another, Roosevelt and the American capitalists became a little panicked and felt that they had to help China, otherwise China would have nothing to do with being pushed back by Japan, so the loan contract was actually negotiated.

Now when Chen Guangfu was dragging his feet and refused to leave, Kong Xiangxi said to him: "Guangfu, Zhou Mingcheng has a way to deal with the loan. If he serves as the special envoy for negotiation and you serve as the deputy envoy, the negotiation will definitely be successful. You don't have any idea in your heart." You can ask him about the plan first, I believe Zhou Mingcheng must have a strategy."

Chen Guangfu thought to himself, since there would be a tall man to hold up the sky if it fell, let's go...so he set off two or three months earlier than in history.

It was just a pretense that Zhou Hexuan went to the United States to ask for a loan. He mainly went to get a plane. Lao Jiang sent a telegram asking him to wait for someone. Zhou Hexuan thought he was waiting for a few diplomats, but when they met, he discovered that a group of people involved in finance and trade were meeting him.

Mom sells batches!

Everyone boarded the ship in Guangzhou and headed for the United States. They had no idea about the loan and could only go to the deck every day to drink coffee and discuss it.

It was a sunny day and the sea breeze was blowing.

Chen Guangfu drank bitter coffee and said: "Mr. Zhou, you are an international expert. Do you think the United States can really lend money to aid China?"

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "Impossible. The United States claims to strictly maintain neutrality and will not directly lend money to China. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Sid Mao asked.

"Unless we change our approach," Zhou Hexuan said, "we establish a trading company in the United States and seek private commercial loans from American companies through commercial cooperation. This bypasses the neutral foreign policy of the United States and gives Roosevelt room to operate."

Chen Guangfu clapped his hands and said, "This method is very good!"

Xi Demao said: "Since it is a private commercial loan, it must be profitable for Americans. Mr. Ren, you are an international trade expert. What Chinese products does the United States want most urgently?"

"Of course it's tungsten!"

Ren Sida immediately said: "Tungsten ore is a scarce resource in industry, and China is the world's largest supplier of tungsten ore. The world's first tungsten mine is in Jiangxi, and the world's second tungsten mine is in Guangdong. This is a huge advantage for our country. Use If we use the benefits of tungsten mining to lure the United States into the business, the other party will probably agree."

Zhou Hexuan was very familiar with China's modern history and knew that the United States had five loans to China during the Anti-Japanese War. The "tungsten ore loan" was only the third, and the first was the "tung oil loan."

Of course, Zhou Hexuan only knew this, and did not know the details of the five loans. After all, except for professional papers, history books can only mention it casually, and readers will not have enough time to study the details.

The five U.S. loans to China are named: tung oil loan, China tin loan, tungsten sand loan, metal loan and fiscal loan.

As the name suggests, the first three loans were related to tung oil, tin ore and tungsten ore respectively, and there must be a reason for this order. It can be inferred that the most urgently needed commodity in the United States is tung oil, followed by tin ore, and then tungsten ore.

Zhou Hexuan asked aloud: "Which is the largest importer of tungsten ore?"

"Germany." Ren Sida said.

Zhou Hexuan asked again: "What does Germany use tungsten ore for?"

Ren Sida said: "It has great uses. Tungsten ore is needed to build advanced aircraft, armor-piercing artillery shells, ship engines... many things require tungsten ore."

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "In other words, the main role of tungsten mines now is to manufacture military equipment."

"It can be understood this way." Ren Sida said.

Zhou Hexuan continued to ask: "What about the tin mine?"

Ren Sida replied: "Tin ore is mainly used in industrial products, especially in the chemical industry."

"Which country is the largest buyer of tin ore in China?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"America, eh..." Ren Sida came to his senses, "Mr. Zhou means to use tin ore trade to seek loans from the United States? But the problem is that tin ore is not unique to China. There are large amounts of tin ore in the Americas and Southeast Asia. China’s tin mines are not attractive enough to the United States.”

Zhou Hexuan said: "The key to the problem is that the United States is not at war now, and tungsten ore is mainly used for military production and is not the most urgently needed thing for the United States. However, tin ore, which is widely used in the chemical industry, can make American capitalists happier .”

Ren Sida nodded subconsciously and said, "It makes some sense."

Chen Guangfu decided: "Let's do this, use tin ore and tungsten ore as bargaining chips and put them on the negotiation table for the Americans to choose."

Zhou Hexuan said again: "Where is the tung oil?"

Ren Sida shook his head and said: "I am engaged in mineral import and export trade, so I don't know much about the situation of tung oil."

Xi Demao said with a smile: "Tung oil is everywhere, and the price is very low. Even ordinary people who cannot afford kerosene use tung oil to light lamps. It is not a rare thing, how can it arouse the interest of Americans?"

"Yes, why did Mr. Zhou mention tung oil?" Ren Sida asked.

How did Zhou Hexuan know the uses of tung oil? He is not a god. However, historical data shows that before terminating the US-Japan trade agreement, the United States eagerly signed a tung oil loan contract with China instead of a tin ore and tungsten ore trade contract. There must be a reason for this!

All the people on their ship were involved in finance and currency, and only Ren Sida was a trader. Unfortunately, he is a trader who specializes in mineral exports and has no knowledge of tung oil. He couldn't find anyone to inquire about the value of tung oil.

Not only Chen Guangfu and Zhou Hexuan himself did not know much about tung oil.

In their impression, tung oil is a cheap domestic product, and its greatest use is to make paint. People who cannot afford kerosene can only light tung oil lamps for lighting. Of course, it can also be used for cooking, but it seems to be slightly poisonous and tastes bad, so even the common people at the bottom will not eat it easily.

Will this thing surprise Americans?

At the moment, tung oil was no longer discussed, and everyone began to discuss negotiation strategies, intending to make a fuss around tungsten ore and tin ore.

After landing in the United States, Zhou Hexuan immediately spent money to find a business consultant to inquire in detail about the situation of tung oil in the United States. The result is that you won’t know if you don’t ask, but you will be shocked if you ask. Tung oil is so awesome in the United States!

Americans used to make paints, and the best products used linseed oil. When tung oil was introduced to the United States, linseed oil was immediately replaced by Chinese tung oil. By the 1930s, more than 90% of the American paint industry used tung oil as raw material.

Shanghai is the largest trading market for tung oil in China. With the fall of Shanghai, U.S. tung oil imports dropped sharply, driving U.S. paint manufacturers crazy. Guangzhou is the second largest market for tung oil in China. Once Guangzhou falls, American paint capitalists will jump off the building.

Not only that, because tung oil is combustible, quick-drying and acid-resistant, it is an irreplaceable raw material for the production of warships, ships, submarines, aircraft, wires and submarine cables. Other raw materials of the same type are not as effective as tung oil.

In addition, American scientists also heated tung oil to a certain temperature and allowed it to solidify into a gel, which was used as a substitute for rubber. Tung oil can also be used in the fields of medicine and glass products, and can replace gasoline as a refined product in industry.

It must be noted that China is the only place where tung oil is produced, and there is no other source of semicolon. The United States is the largest importer of tung oil, accounting for 75% of the world's total tung oil imports. Today, 850 American industrial products must use tung oil!

In the late Qing Dynasty, the United States began to transplant tung trees in its own country, but the planting effect was not very good. It may be due to climate and soil problems. In the early 1930s, Americans went to Southeast Asia to plant a large number of tung trees, but they still did not achieve much results and were completely unable to meet the needs of American industry.

Once the tung oil trade between China and the United States is completely cut off, countless capitalists in the United States will jump into action.

No wonder in history, after the fall of Guangzhou, Roosevelt hurriedly signed a tung oil loan contract with China - he was forced by the capitalists.

Whether to support China or Japan is a game of capital in the United States.

Because among the U.S. trade in the Far East, trade with Japan accounts for 43%, while trade with China only accounts for 14%. In terms of investment, the United States invested US$387 million in Japan and only US$132 million in China. Among U.S. foreign trade exports, Japan accounts for 7.7%, ranking third; China only accounts for 1.1%, ranking 22nd.

Japan is the United States' number one trading partner in Asia. If a war breaks out, American capitalists will naturally favor Japan.

But if Sino-US trade is completely cut off, it will not be in the interests of the United States. In particular, the lack of the only tung oil resource in the world has harmed the interests of too many American capitalists. Roosevelt must be responsible for those capitalists.