Please ensure radios, tools, fittings, etc., meet Chinese standards.”
The men looked at him, stunned, as they pocketed the checks.
Jackson looked a question at him, not replying.
“Our intent,” said Minister Qiang, “which you need to know to understand and, which, I believe, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Billings, Mr. Board, will answer your question, is this.” He reached for and sipped from a glass of ice water on the table before him, and set it down.
“Russia recently has received from China one trillion dollars of US Debt. In return, Russia has sold Siberia to China.” He looked at the stunned men. “You will, of course keep this information confidential for the next several days or we will simply cancel the agreements and no more money will be exchanged and no jobs will be open to your employees.” He looked at each man, and each man nodded his understanding and acceptance.
Qiang continued, “China immediately will begin the exploitation of known, but un-used, resources inside Siberia, and to explore for more. This will require roads, railroads and vehicles. Have you any questions?”
It was a moment before anyone could respond.
“Yes,” Mr. Jackson finally said. “I understand the rail and engine purchases, and the indication of heavy equipment and trucks, which I hope will be ours, of course, but I do not understand the purchase of millions of cars. I mean … Chinese… make cars.” He paused. “Nor do I understand – completely – the manufacturing location you desire.”
“Yes, Mr. Jackson,” Qiang replied. “We do manufacture automobiles.” Qiang paused and then said, “And you are being disingenuous in your statement of location, are you not?”
When Jackson did not reply, Premier Fang spoke. “Mr. Jackson, even with the purchase of Siberia, China still holds over one trillion dollars of American debt. Japan owns over a trillion more. The only way that debt will be repaid by America, and people again put to work and consuming our manufactured goods, as I am sure you have figured-out, is if your economy is working. We are trying to ensure that your economy is working at capacity. Simple, yes?”
“And the location requirements?” continued Mr. Jackson.
“We do not believe, Mr. Jackson,” responded Fang, “that unions add to America’s productivity; we believe they subtract from it. As we are vitally concerned with these trillion dollars of debt being repaid, with interest, the efficiency of your economy is of utmost interest to us. The states in which we desire this production to occur do not require unions. If you are unwilling or unable to meet this caveat, please tell us now. It is, as you have no-doubt surmised, the reason your government-owned counterparts are not here. Enriching the union or government will not ensure the payment of the American debt we now hold. Enriching the worker, his family, and the economy … will. We will buy cars your current capacity can make, and we understand you must deal with the unions currently in-place. We will not pay for new capacity in states outside those I mentioned. If your workers strike we will cancel all orders not then on the assembly line, and move those orders to your competitors,” he nodded toward the foreign manufacturing heads, “in what you call ‘right-to-work’ states. Is that clear?”
The men looked at Fang, understanding a rhetorical question when they heard one.
Board nodded, rose and said, “Thank you, gentlemen. I assure you my company looks forward to this work. Because this amount of work requires my company to get started immediately, I will be on my way. Good night.”
He shook Qiang’s hand, nodded to the Premier, “Mr. Premier,” and left the room.
7
Schiphol Airport, Netherlands
Thursday, 11 April, 07:00 hours GMT (09:00 Local)
President Vladimir Scharanov of the Russian Federation finished speaking, nodded to his foreign minister, and then scanned the faces of the other three men before sitting at the head of the conference table.
Lifting his glass, Scharanov drank a slow sip of ice water. Placing the glass back on the table, he sat back in the chair and waited for a response.
The Polish foreign minister, Georg Rudniski, looked around the table at the group informally assembled in a conference room at the Schiphol Airport Executive Facilities, where they had arranged to meet quietly and without fanfare. Joining Rudniski in listening to the Russian proposal were Hans Dieter, the foreign minister of Germany, and Valclav Svoboda, foreign minister of the Czech Republic. The three men looked thoughtfully at one another and returned their eyes to the Russian president sitting before them.
The invitation had been from the Russian foreign minister. The presence of the Russian president was a complete surprise. Normally a meeting with a nation’s president called for similar rank from the other governments. That Scharanov obviously had planned to lead this meeting all along, without his peers in attendance, was interesting, and a bit discomfiting.
“Here’s the fact of the matter,” Rudniski said, breaking the silence. He looked at his peers who refocused their gazes on him rather than Scharanov. Rudniski nodded toward the now-quiet Russian, “Russia isn’t going away. We can work with them and make ourselves economically vital, enriching our nations, or we can remain in limbo as now. And broke as now. And funding the Mediterranean countries as now.”
“He’s right, you know,” Svoboda agreed after a moment’s thought. “Russia needs workers. As President Scharanov has said, Russia has enormous natural resources they cannot exploit. We have enormous numbers of workers without jobs.” He nodded to the German. “Germany has workers without sufficient jobs. In the Czech Republic– and in Poland, we also have many hard workers and not enough jobs. We have the opportunity here to employ hundreds of thousands of workers. Those jobs will bring needed capital to our nations, which will create more jobs – and a future that we do not have now. Our countries – our peoples – are hard workers. We are not France or Spain. We most certainly are not Italy or Portugal.” Svoboda paused, and then finished with disdain, “Or Greece.”
The men at the table remained thoughtful, perhaps skeptical. Dieter looked at Scharanov. “Your suggestion – your offer – requires that we abandon the euro. Why?”
Scharanov replied bluntly, “Russia sees no need to employ hundreds of thousands of your citizens, pay them European wages and salaries, reinvigorate your economies, economies with people who actually want to work, to partner with you… and then have the money drained-off by the Mediterranean countries who don’t work, won’t work and demand others take care of them. Doing so will help none of us. It will not create new jobs for any of us. It will not create consumers. It will not create a future.”
Svoboda nodded impatiently, asking, “Mr. President, let’s not pretend that this arrangement will invigorate only our economies; yours will gain from it, as well. The question remains: What if we send workers, make this economic treaty, exit the euro, and once Russia has begun exploiting these resources, you throw us out and continue on your own. You won’t need us and will have destroyed the European economy.”
Scharanov looked at the man, trying to understand if this were rhetorical or a true concern. Finally, he decided it was the latter. Leaning back, he studied the men around the table, men who seemed truly to be looking forward, hungry for a better future for themselves and their people.
“If I may?” Scharanov replied.
“Of course,” replied Svoboda, nodding.
“The European economy is destroyed already. You may have noticed. Your three nations – Poland, Germany and Czech Republic – are the only European nations working, producing. You can either continue working and sending your money to Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland…. And soon, Britain, and perhaps even France…. and not raise your own standards of living, or you can accept this offer from Russia, employ hundreds of thousands of your hard workers at good wages and salaries, gain the tax revenues from their work and raise your standards of living. It really is that