274: Chapter 274 Opening the Door to the Global Market

Brussels, European Union Headquarters.

Von der Leyen had just finished a call with the Chancellor of Germany.

The content of the call was not made public, but an observer recorded the following conversation:

Chancellor of Germany: "The quote for Xingchen wind turbines is 80% of Siemens Gamesa's, with 15% higher performance and a delivery time nine months shorter. Vietnam and Malaysia have already signed letters of intent."

Von der Leyen: "We can initiate an anti-subsidy investigation."

Chancellor of Germany: "Their wind turbines haven't received a single cent of subsidy from the Chinese government. The patents are their own, the materials are their own, and the production lines are their own. What are we investigating? Investigating why they do better than us?"

Silence.

Von der Leyen: "What is your suggestion?"

Chancellor of Germany: "We are used to using rules to protect the backward. When the rules no longer protect us, the only choice is to learn."

"Next week, the CEOs of Rheinmetall, Siemens, and Bosch will visit Shenzhen as a delegation. Not to negotiate, but to learn and discuss cooperation."

When technology surpasses all peers, sanctions become ridiculous. Xingchen no longer needs technology licensing or equipment imports; it only needs you to open the door to the market.

Beijing in the early morning, Fuxing Road.

No meetings, no phone calls, no official documents.

Only one desk lamp was on.

An unnamed official wrote these lines in a notebook:

"April 29th - May 7th, Xingchen Technology released: batteries, automobiles, materials, weaponry, chips, machine tools, power, AI, and wind turbines."

9 fields, 18 world records, $263 billion in orders.

Since the jet engine in 1939, the integrated circuit in 1958, and the microprocessor in 1971, this is the first time humanity has achieved a cross-era technological cluster breakthrough within the same week.

The difference is that the previous three were all in the West.

This time, it is in Shenzhen."

He put down his pen and walked to the window.

The traffic on Chang'an Avenue was still weaving like a tapestry, and the office buildings on the East Third Ring Road were still lit.

No one cheered, no one laughed out loud.

It was just an ordinary late night on a workday.

But he knew that after dawn, everything would be different.

The internet never lies.

Tonight, $263 billion did not become a cold number—it was translated into tangible life on the screen of every ordinary Chinese person.

Number one on the Zhihu trending list, with over 500 million views in 24 hours:

"How will Xingchen's seven-day technological breakthrough change our lives?"

Respondent @AutoEngineerOldZhang (Verified: Hongqi Automobile Powertrain Engineer):

"I participated in the bench testing of the NE2.0T engine for a full five months. I was on-site during the release today, and when Su Chen said the price was 50,000 yuan, I cried."

"What is the concept of 50,000 yuan? The supply price of the Volkswagen EA888 to Geely is 38,000, and the Toyota 8AR supply price is 35,000. Xingchen used 1/3 of the time, 1/2 of the cost, and significantly higher performance to localize the automotive heart. Although the price is higher than the market price, this is the first Xingchen engine."

"When more cars are equipped with Xingchen engines, prices will drop, and technology will iterate rapidly. The power performance of domestic cars will become higher and higher, and market competitiveness will improve. Domestic cars will no longer compete on price, but on performance."

"Next year, there will be more and more domestic cars equipped with Xingchen engines: 500,000, 1 million, 2 million."

"This is what technological progress is, this is what truly 'far ahead' means."

Likes: 1.87 million, Favorites: 420,000.

Respondent @SemiconductorVeteran (Anonymous, Verified: SMIC Process Engineer):

"I watched that lithography machine lens more than thirty times."

"I have worked in a Fab for fifteen years. When we buy ASML machines, we have to wait in line for three years, accept 'end-user verification,' and promise not to use them for military purposes. ASML sends engineers to install them, they stay in five-star hotels, and get an 800-euro daily allowance. Our own engineers can only stand three meters away and watch."

"The parameters of Sui-Guang 16 are not the top-tier—ASML's EUV can do 5nm, while we can currently only do 1 multi-exposure. But it is our own."

"If it breaks, we fix it ourselves. If it needs upgrading, we modify it ourselves. We research and develop the next generation ourselves."

"From now on, the Chinese chip industry has the right to breathe."

Likes: 2.11 million, Comments: 32,000.

Number one on the Chinese microblogging platform trending list: #400,000 to buy a humanoid robot#

@Shenzhen Bay Tech Park worker Xiao Li:

"My dad worked on the Foxconn assembly line for twenty years. Last year, he was diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation and couldn't work the night shift anymore."

"Today I saw the Xingchen Chixiao, 400,000, capable of painting, transporting, and quality inspection. I did the math for my boss: hiring a worker costs 80,000 a year, buying a robot costs 400,000; it pays for itself in five years, and it's pure profit after that."

"The company said they would buy it once the budget is approved next year. Not to replace my dad—but to let my dad be the robot squad leader, managing ten machines, without having to bend over, without staying up all night, and with a 2,000 raise."

"Technological progress is inevitable, but we will always find jobs that suit us."

Reposts: 1.28 million, Likes: 3.6 million.

Legendary post on Hupu Walking Street:

Title: "Don't understand, so I have to ask: Where is the 1W big one?"

Highlighted reply:

"The OP's home is on the coast of Fujian. Last year, the village installed 12 8MW wind turbines. Each one gets a 200,000 annual subsidy, and every household in the village gets an 800-yuan dividend every year."

"Today's news said Xingchen's 1W is 2.3 times bigger, and power generation is 2.06 times. This means on the same sea surface, we can drive half the foundation piles, and the money saved is enough to give each household an extra 500 yuan."

"My dad said next year when the village replaces the wind turbines, the dividend can rise to 1,500."

"This is the tangible life brought to me by the country's great heavy equipment—an extra 500 yuan for the New Year."

Likes: 940,000.

Bilibili video: "When Xingchen Lights Up the Pearl River: A Guangzhou Family's Electricity Ledger"

UP host "Electrician A-Qiang" did the math:

"My family runs a hardware store, three-phase electricity, average monthly consumption of 1200 kWh. Previously the electricity price was 0.68 yuan, monthly electricity bill 816 yuan."

"Guangdong is promoting an offshore wind power + energy storage grid parity pilot, and next year the electricity price can drop to 0.52 yuan. The 300 yuan saved is enough for two extra piano lessons for my son."

"I used to think wind power was 'high and mighty' and had nothing to do with me. Tonight, looking at that 16MW hub, I know that every time it turns, my family can save 50 cents."

"Money brought by the wind, it turns out it's real."

Views: 6.7 million, Comments: 42,000.

Xingchen Headquarters, late at night.

Su Chen was still at the window.

Lin Wan did not disturb him.

She just projected the latest headlines from global media one by one onto the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows, as if lighting up another galaxy in the night sky of Shenzhen:

"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"

"Germany's Industry 4.0 has a new coordinate: Shenzhen"

"Nikkei News"

"After the lost thirty years, Japanese manufacturing welcomes a real opponent"

"South China Morning Post"

"Behind the 263 billion orders: A nation's technological coming-of-age ceremony"

"The New York Times" online edition

"The United States once defined the technological standards of the 20th century. The standards of the 21st century are being rewritten in Shenzhen."

Su Chen looked at those headlines without speaking.

Outside the window, the eastern skyline began to turn white.

Xingchen's seven days ended before dawn.

And the sea of stars begins at dawn.