Chapter 156 Batumi: Adjustment of Blockade Strategy

One week later, France, City of the Iron Tower.

The COCOM temporary meeting room.

In stark contrast to the bustling production scene in China,

the air here seemed frozen, filled with a sense of frustration.

Industrial representatives and intelligence officials from various countries sat around an oval table.

The beam from a projector hit the screen.

On it were several photocopies obtained from Hong Kong through special channels—

the patent specifications filed by Red Star Technology.

"This is simply... chemical magic."

A Germanic chemical expert spoke up.

Pointing at the data on the screen, his voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"In response to our blockade on fluorine content, they've come up with a completely new composite structure."

"It's like..."

"It's like mixing flour into butter to increase its hardness!"

"And this cutting fluid,"

the Swiss representative spread his hands with a constipated expression,

"a borate modification system?"

"This is a line of thinking from the fifties!"

"But the hell of it is, they added a strange optical surfactant."

"They've forcibly pulled the performance up to this generation's level!"

"Whether it's primitive methods or magic,"

an elderly man with an aquiline nose sitting at the head of the table spoke coldly, interrupting the technician's complaints,

"there is only one result."

His name was Wilson, code-named 'Vulture'.

A senior executive committee member of COCOM.

Vulture took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses.

"And that is, our carefully planned 'Consumables Campaign'"

"has completely gone bankrupt within thirty-five days."

The meeting room was so quiet a pin could be heard dropping.

No one refuted him, and no one was angry.

There was only the sound of those stacks of proposal documents, originally intended for sanctions against Red Star Technology, being thrown into the shredder.

"Whir— Whir—"

The sound of paper being shredded seemed particularly piercing in the quiet room.

"Gentlemen, let's face reality."

Vulture put his glasses back on, a cold light flashing in his grayish-blue eyes.

He stood up and walked to a giant map of Europe, his back to the crowd.

"We lost a round on the low-end battlefield."

"That young man named Lin Xi."

"Using 'junk' that we looked down upon, he built a complete industrial closed loop."

"Since we can't block it..."

Vulture turned around abruptly, a red marker now in his hand.

He drew a horizontal line forcefully on the blackboard, representing the technological divide.

"Then let them wallow in the micron-level mud."

"That's stuff we finished playing with ten years ago."

"From today, we change the containment strategy."

Vulture's voice suddenly dropped:

"There is only one goal—sub-micron, and five-axis!"

"All technology exports involving five-axis linkage CNC systems, sub-micron grating scales, and high-precision ball screws."

"The approval level is raised to the highest 'Red Light' level!"

"Siemens, Fanuc, Yamazaki, and Toshiba Machine..."

Vulture's gaze swept over the representatives present.

Finally, it settled on a short Japanese representative.

"Tell your companies to manage their greed."

"If even a single screw used for a five-axis machine tool leaks out..."

"I wouldn't mind making his company vanish from the Earth."

The Japanese representative's face turned pale, and he hurriedly bowed:

"Hai! We will certainly maintain a strict defense!"

The new Iron Curtain was heavier than ever before.

It was no longer a wide net.

Instead, it was precisely positioned across the path China's industry had to take toward 'high-end manufacturing'.

...

Capital City, West Chang'an Avenue.

This was a joint meeting of various ministries.

In front of everyone lay a document—

"Comprehensive Assessment of Red Star Technology's Recent Industrial Achievements and Strategic Impact".

There weren't many attendees, just over a dozen.

But if an insider were to look at the seating arrangement, they would surely gasp in shock.

The First Ministry of Machine Building Industry, the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus Zhang Zhengguo representing the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry.

Every one of them was a powerful figure whose actions could make their respective industries tremble.

There was only the rustling sound of pages being turned and the occasional clink of porcelain teacups.

"Have you all finished reading?"

Vice Minister Liu of the First Ministry rubbed his brow.

His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an irrepressible excitement.

"Comrades, I've worked in industry for half my life."

"Today's report is the one where my back has been the straightest in my entire life."

Vice Minister Liu reached out and tapped the document heavily, making the teacup lid rattle.

"According to the compiled data."

"In our country's metal processing field since 1981."

"Or to put it bluntly, in the machine tool industry, a generational leap has occurred."

He held up one finger:

"First, activating existing assets."

"That M1 CNC retrofit kit developed by Red Star Technology is simply a stroke of genius!"

"The existing old manual machine tools have now all become treasures."

"According to the plans submitted by Red Star Technology and the 'Eighteen Arhats'."

"Within three years, five hundred thousand manual machine tools will be converted into quasi-CNC machine tools."

"What does that mean?"

"It's like conjuring the production capacity of half an industrial system for the country out of thin air!"

A low sound of sharp intakes of breath filled the room.

Everyone present managed a sector of the economy; they knew all too well what the words 'production capacity' signified.

It was national defense, it was the people's livelihood, and it was the source of their strength.

Vice Minister Liu held up a second finger, his expression turning solemn:

"Second, and most crucially."

"We have our own 'mother machines'."

"Processing precision of 1 micron, with full hydrostatic spindles."

"These aren't delicate toys from a laboratory."

"These are mother machines that have already been verified by eighteen major factories and are capable of producing precision lathes!"

"Just last month, COCOM launched a targeted blockade on consumables."

"Attempting to strangle our precision CNC machine tools through high-end consumables."

"The result?"

Vice Minister Liu gave a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping across the room:

"That young comrade surnamed Lin from Red Star Technology."

"Led the eighteen major factories in a 'great campaign'."

"Twenty-eight days! Only twenty-eight days!"

"From core components to control software, down to the most inconspicuous cutting fluids and tool coatings."

"We achieved 100% domestic production!"

"100%!"

He emphasized his words,

"Comrades."

"This means that from today onward, in the field of metal processing."

"No person and no country can ever choke the throat of the Chinese people again!"

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Zhang Zhengguo held his teacup, looking down and blowing on the tea leaves floating on the surface.

He appeared calm and unruffled.

But in reality, the corners of his mouth were curling up so wildly he could hardly suppress it.

"Old Liu, you're getting excited; watch your blood pressure."

The leader from the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building joked with a smile,

"This is indeed a miracle."

Vice Minister Liu calmed his emotions and flipped to the last page of the document:

"There is one more point I want to specifically mention."

"Comrade Lin Xi submitted a 'Huaxia Machine Tool Industry Alliance Planning Proposal'."

"He advocates for technology sharing and standardized unification, with no technical reservations whatsoever."

"We all know clearly here."

"If this were someone with a smaller perspective, they would have used this to coerce the state for favorable policies long ago."

"But Red Star did not."

"This young man does not seek the profit of a single family, but seeks the foundation for ten thousand generations."

Vice Minister Liu gave an extremely high characterization,

"This kind of magnanimity is rare."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhengguo finally couldn't help but cough.

Setting down his teacup, he said with reserved pride:

"He is, after all, one of our Seventh Ministry's people."

"In terms of political awareness, he can certainly withstand the test."

Everyone collectively rolled their eyes.