285: Chapter 285 Middle East Frontline

2:00 PM, Xingchen Headquarters Conference Room

In the conference room, on one side of the long table sat the Xingchen team: Silent Chen, Li Wanqing (President of chips), Gao Mingxuan (President of Heavy Industry), and three legal and technical experts.

On the other side was a 15-member Vietnam delegation, packed tightly. Nguyen Van Cuong sat at the front, with a thick stack of documents spread out before him.

"CEO Silent, we aren't here for a tour," Nguyen Van Cuong got straight to the point. "We're here to seek cooperation."

Silent Chen nodded. "Please, go ahead."

Nguyen Van Cuong took a deep breath and began reading the list:

"We want a 28nm chip production line with a monthly capacity of 20,000 wafers, for a total investment of about 8 billion rmb."

"We want a new energy vehicle production line with an annual capacity of 200,000 units, for a total investment of about 10 billion rmb."

"We want a smartphone assembly line with an annual capacity of 20 million units, for a total investment of about 6 billion rmb."

"We want..."

Silent Chen raised his hand to interrupt him. "Minister Nguyen."

Nguyen Van Cuong stopped.

"A single 28nm production line costs 8 billion rmb and has a construction cycle of 18 months. Is your country prepared?"

Nguyen Van Cuong was prepared. "Funding can be paid in stages. 30% for the first phase, 40% for the second, and 30% for the third. We can use rare earths, agricultural products, and labor to offset part of the payment."

Silent Chen nodded. "That is a possible path. But there is a prerequisite—the technology can only be used within Vietnam, cannot be transferred to a third country, and cannot be used for military purposes."

"Agreed."

"The second prerequisite—Vietnam must sign the 'Xingchen Technology Protection Agreement,' allowing Xingchen to periodically audit production lines and inventory to ensure technology does not leak."

Nguyen Van Cuong gritted his teeth. "Accepted."

"The third prerequisite—" Silent Chen paused, looking directly at Nguyen Van Cuong, "Vietnam must promise not to reverse engineer any weapons or equipment purchased from Xingchen."

Nguyen Van Cuong was stunned. "We haven't purchased any weapons..."

"And in the future?"

Silence.

Everyone knew Vietnam's ambitions in the South China Sea. Over the past few years, Vietnam had been quietly expanding its military, buying submarines from Russia, missiles from Israel, and Brahmos from India.

What if Vietnam purchased weapons from Xingchen in the future and then dismantled and copied them?

Nguyen Van Cuong was silent for a long time.

Finally, he nodded. "We can discuss that."

Silent Chen smiled. "Then we can move on to the specific terms."

Negotiations lasted for three hours.

By 5:00 PM, both sides reached an agreement in principle:

Xingchen would help Vietnam establish:

A 28nm chip production line (Xingchen 40% stake, Vietnam 60% stake)

A new energy vehicle production line (Xingchen 35% stake, Vietnam 65% stake)

A smartphone assembly line (Xingchen 30% stake, Vietnam 70% stake)

Total investment: approximately 24 billion rmb. Xingchen provides technology as its stake and does not invest capital.

Payment method: 30% cash + 30% rare earths + 20% agricultural products + 20% labor offset

Construction cycle: 24 months

Technology protection: Xingchen has the right to audit every quarter

Nguyen Van Cuong's hand shook slightly as he signed.

24 billion rmb was equivalent to 1.5% of Vietnam's annual GDP. This was the largest foreign investment project in Vietnam's history.

But he knew it was worth it.

Because a 28nm chip production line meant Vietnam would have its own chip manufacturing capability for the first time. No longer dependent on imports, no longer being held by the throat.

When Silent Chen saw him to the elevator, Nguyen Van Cuong gripped his hand firmly:

"CEO Silent, thank you. Vietnam will not forget today's decision."

Silent Chen smiled. "Minister Nguyen, Xingchen's principle is win-win. As you develop, our market also expands."

The elevator doors closed.

Nguyen Van Cuong leaned against the elevator wall and closed his eyes.

He remembered Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's words:

"28nm chips are the cornerstone of economic development."

Yes. For development, any condition could be negotiated.

Vietnam's cooperation agreement was complete, and more countries were becoming interested. Lin Wan walked quickly down the hallway, holding a fax she had just received.

There was only one line on the fax:

"The Ambassadors of Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand are requesting a meeting with Xingchen International simultaneously. Time: As soon as possible."

She stopped and looked at the fax, taking a deep breath.

Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand—of the ten ASEAN nations, five had already taken the initiative.

The rest were on their way.

The scene shifted to Tehran, the Iranian Presidential Palace.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

A White House press conference was playing on the large screen:

"The United States is officially withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear Deal and restarting comprehensive sanctions against Iran."

Every word from spokesperson Sarah Sanders was like a nail driven into the hearts of everyone present.

President Hassan Rouhani's face was grim. At 70 years old, he was a representative of Iran's moderates. He had pushed through the signing of the Iran Nuclear Deal specifically to exchange it for the lifting of sanctions and economic recovery.

Three years later, the United States unilaterally tore up the agreement.

Revolutionary Guard Commander Jafari slammed the table and stood up. The water glass on the table jumped, spilling water everywhere:

"I told you long ago that the Americans cannot be trusted! They signed the agreement just to buy time and have us destroy our centrifuges! Now the agreement is dead, and our nuclear capability is gone!"

Foreign Minister Zarif quickly tried to calm him: "General Jafari, please calm down..."

"Calm down?" Jafari glared. "How can I be calm? American aircraft carriers are massing in the Persian Gulf, Israel has declared a state of combat readiness, our ally Syria is being bombed, and what are we doing? Having a meeting here?"

Rouhani raised his hand to signal silence.

"General Jafari, anger won't solve problems," he said slowly. "The most important thing now is—how to respond."

Zarif pulled up another report:

"We have already contacted Xingchen Defense. They are willing to accelerate the delivery of the first batch of weapons, but..."

"But what?" Jafari glared at him.

"They require us to sign a 'No Transfer to Third Parties' agreement, and all missiles must be fitted with GPS-enabled self-destruct devices."

Jafari was stunned.

GPS-enabled self-destruct devices?

This meant that if a missile deviated from its intended trajectory or if there was an attempt by a third party to dismantle and analyze it, it would automatically explode.

This was a massive sign of distrust toward Iran.

"What do they take us for? Terrorists?" Jafari flared up again.

Zarif smiled bitterly. "General, they do this for all exports to conflict zones. Saudi Arabia bought Venus and it also had tracking chips installed."

Rouhani looked at Jafari.

"We need time to evaluate..." Jafari hesitated.

"We don't have time," Rouhani interrupted. "The American carriers are already here. Israeli jets are already loaded with bombs. We must get something that can defend our airspace before they strike."

He looked directly at Jafari: "Agree to their terms."

Jafari gritted his teeth, silent for three seconds, before finally nodding:

"Agree to them. As long as they can deliver within a month, agree to any condition."

5:00 PM, Xingchen Defense Headquarters

Iranian Ambassador Masoud entered the building with three military attachés, looking grave.

Gu Xinghe greeted them in the lobby personally.

"Mr. Ambassador, welcome."

Masoud's handshake was very firm: "CEO Gu, we aren't here to negotiate. We're here to ask for aid."

The group took a private elevator directly to the 18th floor Defense Division. The conference room was ready, with a world map hanging on the wall and the Middle East circled in red.

No pleasantries; they went straight to the point.

Masoud took a list from his briefcase and pushed it toward Gu Xinghe:

Iran Emergency Procurement List

Peregrine S-15 Air Defense System 20 units Unit Price $50 million Total $1 billion

Spare Missiles 400 units Unit Price $500,000 Total $200 million

qimingxing missile (Export Downgraded Version) 50 units Unit Price $15 million Total $750 million

comet air-to-air missile (Export Downgraded Version) 200 units Unit Price $1.2 million Total $240 million

Total $2.19 billion

Gu Xinghe quickly scanned the list.

Peregrine Falcon system—each unit includes 1 command vehicle + 4 launch vehicles + 24 spare missiles. The quote of $50 million is 10% lower than the price for Saudi Arabia.

qimingxing missile—downgraded version, range compressed from 1,500km to 1,000km, AI decision module replaced with preset programming, quoted at $15 million.

Comet missile—downgraded version, range compressed from 180km to 80km, simplified seeker, quoted at $1.2 million.

"Mr. Ambassador," Gu Xinghe put down the list, "these prices are already lower than the international market rates. What other requests do you have?"

Masoud took a deep breath:

"We are willing to pay a 20% premium."

Gu Xinghe raised an eyebrow.

"The condition is—" Masoud stared into his eyes, "the first batch of weapons must arrive at Bandar Abbas within 30 days."

A 20% premium would be $2.63 billion.

Delivering within 30 days is impossible for normal arms trade. An air defense system usually takes at least 6 months from signing to delivery. Missiles require production, testing, transport, and customs clearance—a complex process.

But Gu Xinghe did not refuse.

He was silent for three seconds before speaking:

"A 20% premium is acceptable. But the AI decision module for the qimingxing missile must be removed and replaced with preset programming—that's the bottom line. Additionally, all weapons must be fitted with location tracking chips and self-destruct devices—this is a standard clause for Xingchen exports to all conflict zones."

Masoud's expression changed.

"This is a lack of trust in us!"

"This is fairness to everyone," Gu Xinghe said calmly. "Xingchen's weapons cannot fall into the hands of third parties on the battlefield. Once a missile deviates from its intended trajectory or enters an unauthorized area, the chip will trigger self-destruction."

He paused: "If Iran were to turn around and sell the weapons to the Yemeni Houthi Rebels after receiving them, or if they were captured and dismantled by Israel, Xingchen's technology would leak. We absolutely cannot allow that."

Masoud looked at the military attachés behind him.

The attachés looked at each other.

Finally, the colonel leading them pulled out a satellite phone and dialed a number.

On the other end of the line was Revolutionary Guard Commander Jafari.

Three minutes later, the colonel hung up and nodded to Masoud.

Masoud turned to Gu Xinghe:

"Very well. We agree."