Bangkok, Thailand.Xiao Bai, who was still on vacation, saw Liao Hongxing with a tired face in his manor, and Jiang Yifan who accompanied Liao Hongxing."
Xiao Dong, Lao Mei is really moving this time!
They demanded that we agree to the terms they put forward within 45 days, otherwise we would be completely restricted.Any company with North American technology is not permitted to provide products and services to us.My side has been blacklisted, and all the companies that don't cooperate are probably in danger of being doomed.I'm very worried about Mr.
Qi now, and if this trend continues, it will definitely affect IC manufacturing in the future. ”Liao Hongxing sat on the sofa, holding a teacup in his hand but did not drink tea, but said in one breath the predicament that the company is facing.Although he had made a lot of preparations before, including increasing inventory, etc., Lao Mei had done such a great job that he still couldn't sleep at night.It is impossible to surrender, and surrendering now will not end well.Referring to the methods of the United States against European high-tech enterprises, as well as the war between Japan and the United States on semiconductors, it is by no means that you can solve the problem by being soft, and what the other party wants is absolute control.Liao Hongxing has served the company for more than 20 years, and the company has been carried forward in his hands.was picked like this, he must not be reconciled.And if he really surrenders, it is inevitable that he will leave the company, which makes Liao Hongxing unacceptable.It is difficult to solve the problem of the supply chain at one time, but there is a key to this, and that is whether Times Communications supports it or not.If Times Communications can't withstand the pressure and chooses to back down, then he really doesn't have any confidence."
Mr.
Liao, this incident did not exceed our expectations.Think about it, how did Lao Mei treat Toshiba in the first place?
Therefore, there is no way out of surrender, only to fight to the death!
As for my side, you don't have to worry at all.I can tell you, with or without you, it is impossible for the other party to let go of our era. ”Xiao Bai said very bluntly, the support of the Times Department for Liao Hongxing is not based on morality or interest bundling, but for himself.In this matter, Xiao Bai has a clear understanding.Therefore, no matter how much pressure there is, there is no such thing as betrayal on the side of the Times Department, including Times Communications.You can't betray yourself, can you?
Jiang Yifan sat on the side and didn't squeak, and couldn't help but smile when he heard this: "Mr.
Liao, I told you before, you don't have to worry about Xiao Dong's side at all, now believe it?"
”"Of course I believe in Xiao Dong, I am under too much pressure to ask Xiao Dong for advice, but I am not afraid that I will fight alone."
Liao Hongxing had some other thoughts before he came, but what Xiao Bai said was reasonable, and he was a little embarrassed.So I casually made an excuse for myself and perfunctory it."
Mr.
Liao, we can understand your difficulties, but don't worry too much.Through some things, domestic enterprises will eventually understand a truth, relying only on themselves.Next, there should be a wave of localization, and you and I will benefit. ”Xiao Bai didn't continue the topic just now, and casually gave Liao Hongxing some confidence.His words are not nonsense, in view of what Lao Mei did, many domestic companies feel the same way.Everyone has understood a truth, the so-called free economy, international division of labor and cooperation is a joke.The core technology cannot be bought, and while enjoying the convenience of the international supply chain, the security of the supply chain is also placed under the knife edge of others.Just like Liao Hongxing, now it's really a man-made knife and I am a fish, and the situation is very dangerous.In the final analysis, it is the United States that masters the core technology of semiconductors, and the country is relatively weak in this aspect, so the other party dares to be so domineering.So what's next?
Self-reliance and independent research and development are the only way out.After listening to this, Liao Hongxing sat there and muttered for a while."
Dong Xiao, with your words, my heart is much more steady."
In terms of communication technology, Liao Hongxing has his own unique skills, and he is not worried about fierce competition.Even if Lao Mei adopts despicable means to constantly prevent his products from entering the markets of Europe and other places, it is not enough to shake the fundamentals.Cutting off the supply chain is the most insidious trick.No matter which company it is, it is a very, very difficult thing to achieve both upstream and downstream, at least Liao Hongxing himself can't do it.Xiao Bai's era system is much better, but it can't be done, he can only form a closed-loop development in a relatively limited space.In the past, the world industrial chain was running well, and the international division of labor and cooperation played a role in reducing costs and improving efficiency.International giants have been pressing the promotion of domestic enterprises and providing a large number of high-quality and low-cost products, in order to monopolize the market.The demand side doesn't care much, whose product is not to buy?
Leave room for domestic enterprises to develop?
I'm afraid you're overthinking.But now the situation has changed dramatically, with the United States again and again fixed-point strikes, many domestic enterprises have woken up from the dream, the so-called global supply chain is so fragile, fragile that only a word from the United States can make you face an existential crisis.Now, if anyone mentions the free economy and the international industrial division of labor, you will definitely be smacked up.Everyone has begun to pay attention to the safety of the industrial chain and supply chain, and the high cost performance that was pursued before is pale and powerless under the changes of life and death.Therefore, after Liao Hongxing got Xiao Bai's assurance, a stone in his heart finally fell."
Xiao Dong, Mr.
Liao rarely comes to Bangkok, go to my place in the evening to have a good get-together.When the time comes, I'll arrange some shows, and we'll get drunk and rest. ”Jiang Yifan saw that the two of them had almost talked about everything, so he came out to mediate the atmosphere.Xiao Bai smiled and nodded, and Liao Hongxing did not object.At night.Xiao Bai held an open-air dinner with Jiang Yifan, Liao Hongxing and others, and Jiang Yifan also prepared a song and dance performance, and in the end, the three of them were almost drunk.The next day, Liao Hongxing flew back to China.Xiao Bai didn't have the heart to stay here, and returned to the deep city after two days."
Xiao Dong, Times Communications is also on the blacklist of Lao Mei.The North American suppliers we used to work with have stopped shipping to us.However, their products are basically replaced, and there are some short-term effects, but not much impact. ”It was Qi Yuefeng who greeted Xiao Bai at the airport.In the half month when Xiao Bai went on vacation, the situation changed abruptly.Not only did Liao Hongxing and his company suffer a vigorous crackdown, but Times Communications was also added to the watch list because it did not cooperate with Lao Mei's restriction order."
But in the long run, the impact is far-reaching.Mr.
Qi, I'm not too worried about you, the biggest problem is still in the IC manufacturing area.This problem is not prominent for the time being, and when the process technology is advanced to below the 10N node in a few years, the problem will be big. ”It can be seen that all the actions taken by Lao Mei are planned and step-by-step.The attack on domestic communication giants is because the United States no longer has an advantage in communication technology in recent years, and the other party wants to delay the development of domestic communication technology.In addition to the two major domestic communication giants, Times Communications has made breakthroughs in key components, which has greatly reduced the suppression effect of the United States, and it is naturally the object of key attention.Times Communications has made great achievements in the field it focuses on.Many of the advantages of the United States have been mastered by Times Communications, and there is no pressure on domestic substitution.For example, the RF chips and baseband chips of Times Communications are getting better and better, and the feedback from customers is also quite good.In the end, all the key falls in the field of IC manufacturing."
Xiao Dong, does Fan Dong have any plans to develop EUV lithography machines?
I guess that Lao Mei wants to reshape the chip supply chain, and the strongest card in the other party's hand is probably the lithography machine. ”Qi Yuefeng came to Xiao Bai, on the one hand, to report on the recent difficulties faced by the company.On the other hand, he wanted to suggest a very euphemistic proposal to launch a domestic EUV lithography machine project.Because he knows very well that the United States has not much absolute advantage in the field of semiconductors.One of the most important is the lithography machine, which ASML has successfully developed for EUV lithography with an extreme ultraviolet light source from a North American company.Therefore, ASML will not violate the restrictions of the United States and provide EUV lithography machines to domestic IC manufacturing enterprises.Now many people are staring at Pudong microelectronic equipment, hoping that Fan Donglin can establish a project as soon as possible to carry out the research and development of domestic EUV lithography machine."
Mr.
Qi, I can understand your feelings.However, it is a pity that Pudong Microelectronics does not have the strength to exclusively develop EUV lithography machines.Even if we support it with all our might, it is also an impossible task. ”Xiao Bai is very sober, the difficulty of the research and development of the EUV lithography machine and the research and development difficulty of the DUV lithography machine are not in the same dimension.When ASML first established the project, internationally renowned IC manufacturers, including S Star, Intel, T Electric, etc., invested money to help ASML share the risk.The investment of tens of billions of dollars in this project is just getting started.Moreover, Pudong Microelectronic Equipment Company now has more important things.One is to improve and mass-produce 28N lithography machines, and the other is to make great efforts to develop 14N lithography machines.The EUV lithography machine will not be approved for the time being."
That's a pity!"
Qi Yuefeng observed the words and finally determined that the so-called EUV lithography machine project does not exist at all, and only God knows what can be established.However, he did not continue to dwell on the topic, and some words were not appropriate to say too much."
Mr.
Qi, you can rest assured.Like the EUV lithography machine, which is an important tool of the country, the country will definitely take the lead to complete the relevant research and development tasks.The biggest difficulty of this project is not in the final system integration, but in the research and development of the front extreme ultraviolet light source, the development of high-definition objective lenses, and so on. ”Xiao Bai nodded Qi Yuefeng's sentence, and said no more.He has an overall consideration for this matter, which can only be realized with the support of the state.A week later.Xiao Bai flew to the capital by business jet and began to communicate with the relevant departments.A lot of this work is done by Fang Meijun and others, after all, there is an industry association with the name of the front head, and it will be more convenient to speak and do things.At the same time, Fan Donglin also put forward his own suggestions to the city in the magic capital.He hopes that the state can focus on supporting the EUV lithography machine project, which requires multi-party cooperation and cannot be completed by himself."
Xiao Dong, at this stage, let the state come forward to organize large-scale technical research, it's not that it can't be done, but the specific operation is more difficult and the time will be longer."
Xiao Bai stayed in the capital for more than ten days, and the person in charge of the relevant department who had been in contact with him finally gave an answer.This reply seemed ambiguous, but it actually made Xiao Bai feel very excited.This shows that the relevant departments have made up their minds to solve this stuck neck problem, and have now entered the stage of preliminary coordination.After Xiao Bai came down from upstairs, he called Fan Donglin and told the other party the news."
Xiao Dong, don't be too optimistic.The project of EUV lithography machine will eventually fall on my head.Of course, for example, several major domestic institutes of optics and mechanics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingbei University and other scientific research institutes will provide necessary technical support. ”Fan Donglin is most distressed by the problem of funds, without funds, it is useless to say anything.The magic capital is willing to provide some subsidies, but the amount of this money will not be too large, and it will be about 3 billion yuan.Compared to the whole project, it is indeed a drop in the bucket."
Dong Fan, don't worry.Financial support is not only a subsidy, I advise you to wait and see. ”Xiao Bai always felt that the state would not directly subsidize him, of course it was okay to do so, but the effect would not be too good and it would be easy to be caught.There are many more suitable solutions, for example, you can invest through Li Cheng's integrated circuit development fund, and you can also give the green light all the way to let the company go public and raise funds.In contrast, Xiao Bai attaches more importance to organized scientific and technological research cooperation."
You mean a company goes public?
Xiao Dong, I really can't leave recently, why don't you take a trip to the magic capital?
It just so happens that the city wants to talk to you about these issues. ”Fan Donglin has been very busy recently, and often works overtime in the company at 9 or 10 o'clock in the evening.He is not averse to listing and financing, but he still needs to consult experts on how to operate it.Xiao Bai is an expert in this area."
Well, I'm just getting ready to leave the capital.Let's do it first, and we'll talk about it in detail when we see each other. ”Xiao Bai originally planned to go to the Demon Capital, but now that Fan Donglin said so, he just happened to take advantage of the situation."
Xiao Tong, inform the airline to arrange the route, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I want to go to the magic capital as soon as possible."
After Xiao Bai hung up the machine, he asked Tong Wanqing to arrange the itinerary.His time in the capital was still very rewarding.He talked a lot about it with the heads of some relevant departments, and they all got positive responses.If the country is willing to help, there is hope for the research and development of EUV lithography machines.Following.Xiao Bai left the capital and flew to the magic capital."
Old Wei, how is the company's situation recently?
Is there any new action in North America?
”On the day of his arrival, Xiao Bai met Wei Jianjun in the villa in the Oriental Garden.Wei Jianjun looked a little haggard, and he didn't know if he was tired from work or too much pressure.