Shanghai, Jinjiang Hotel.
The cold rain of the twelfth lunar month hit the floor-to-ceiling windows, turning the lights of the Bund into a blurry halo.
The air in the enclosed conference room on the top floor was colder than the weather outside the window.
On both sides of the long table, the Chinese negotiating team and the Australia delegation have been in a stalemate for a whole day. The ashtrays are filled with cigarette butts, and the tea cups are empty and refilled, and then empty again.
The purchasing director of Tangshan Iron and Steel Group, Zhang Xiangyang, had the information in front of him curled up, and his fingers were typing and deleting on the keyboard, deleting and typing again.
Director Li from the China Iron and Steel Association was sitting in the main seat, his brows furrowed into the Chinese character Sichuan.
Opposite him, Australia Rio Tinto Asia Pacific President Mark·Harris leaned on the back of his chair, crossed his legs, and spun the pen in his hand around and over, with that careless arrogance unique to the British on his face.
"Director Li, Mr. Zhang." Harris threw a Platts Index quotation on the table, his voice unhurried, "The long-term contract price for the new quarter is one hundred and forty-five US dollars per ton, an increase of 12%."
"If you agree, we will sign the contract now. If you don't agree, you will continue to wait."
Zhang Xiangyang's blood pressure instantly shot up to the top of his head.
"Mr. Harris, are you crazy?" He slapped his hand on the table, his voice was very low, but with uncontrollable anger, "The iron ore inventory in the 45 major ports across the country has now exceeded 100 million tons, reaching a record high!"
"The storage yards of Rizhao Port and Tangshan Port are almost full. The port discharge volume is falling every day. Why do you increase it by 12%?"
Harris spread his hands, and the smile on his face remained unchanged, "Whether the inventory is high or not is a matter for your University of Tokyo port, it has nothing to do with us."
"If your blast furnace is not turned off every day, you will have to buy our iron ore every day. This is the law of the market. If the demand is there, the price will be there."
"This is not called market law, this is called monopoly!" Zhang Xiangyang gritted his teeth.
"Whatever you want to call it." Harris picked up the tea cup and blew the foam slowly, "Anyway, the price will not change."
Director Li squeezed the pen in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He remembered that during the negotiations last year, Australia people had the same face.
Same thing the year before last.
It was the same the year before last.
Every year.
The blast furnace of the University of Tokyo steel plant cannot be stopped. If it stops, it will cause billions of losses.
Australia people understand this correctly, raising prices every year and cutting leeks every year.
"Harris, last year you took advantage of the Brazil Vale mining disaster to raise the price from ninety US dollars to one hundred and thirty US dollars."
"The inventory has doubled this year, and you are still raising prices. This is not in line with the fundamentals of supply and demand." Director Li's voice was calm, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
Harris sneered, put down the tea cup, leaned forward, and crossed his hands on the table.
"Director Li, in the iron ore market, what we Rio Tinto and BHP say are fundamentals."
The conference room was quiet for five seconds.
Zhang Xiangyang's phone vibrated, but he didn't look at it.
Director Li's cell phone also vibrated, but he didn't even look at it.
At this time, who still wants to look at their mobile phones?
Harris took out another document from the briefcase and threw it on the table. "If you think one hundred and forty-five is too high, then we can change the way of cooperation."
"Platts Index floating pricing, follow the market trend. But I want to remind you that the index has been rising recently."
Director Li took a deep breath, opened the document, and glanced at it.
Platts Index, one hundred and forty-seven dollars.
It's two dollars higher than the long-term contract price.
"Harris, you are forcing us to sign an alliance under the city."
"No." Harris smiled, "It's to help you recognize the reality."
The door of the conference room was gently pushed open.
All eyes turned to the door.
Cheng Beixiao took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked in alone.
Then he saw a group of people in the conference room looking towards him.
This made Cheng Beixiao's heartbeat slow down by half a beat. The last time he saw so many important people was at the graduation ceremony.
Cheng Beixiao pretended to be calm and had no expression on his face. This was the first thing he learned after coming to DYB: Even if he was extremely panicked, he should not show it on his face.
Director Li glanced at him and frowned. "Who are you?"
"Director Li, Mr. Zhang." Cheng Beixiao walked quickly to the long table and bowed slightly, "I am Cheng Beixiao, the supply chain director of DYB Technology Group. I was assigned by the headquarters. Mr. Fu asked me to represent him in today's negotiation with full authority."
Zhang Xiangyang was stunned for a moment. "Mr. Fu? Which Mr. Fu?"
"Fu Haoran, the chairman of DYB Technology." Cheng Beixiao said, putting the folder in his hand on the table, opening it, and turning to the first page, "DYB is a customer of steel, purchasing hundreds of thousands of tons of high-strength steel every year."
"The increase in steel prices directly affects our production costs. Mr. Fu heard that Australia people wanted to increase prices, so he asked me to come here to understand the situation."
Director Li and Zhang Xiangyang looked at each other.
They have never met this young man, but DYB Technology and they know that Amerikan is the leading company in new energy. It has expanded rapidly in recent years and is indeed a major customer in the steel industry.
"Director Cheng, take a seat." Director Li pointed to the empty seat next to him.
Cheng Beixiao pulled up the chair and sat down, placing the folder in front of him.
At this time, footsteps came from the corridor.
Harris came back with a coffee cup and frowned when he saw Cheng Beixiao.
"Director Li, who is this? How come anyone can enter our closed negotiations?"
"Mr. Harris, this is Cheng Beixiao, the supply chain director of DYB Technology." Director Li said in a moderate tone, "DYB is an important downstream customer in our domestic steel industry. The increase in steel prices directly affects their production and operation. It is reasonable for him to come to observe."
Harris looked Cheng Beixiao up and down, snorted coldly, and said nothing.
Negotiations continue.
"Director Li, my bottom line is one hundred and fourteen." Zhang Xiangyang gritted his teeth, "One hundred and forty-five, we Tangshan Iron and Steel Group will never accept it."
"One hundred and fourty?" Harris smiled, "Mr. Zhang, are you kidding me? One hundred and fourty, even our cost is not enough."
"Your cost?" Zhang Xiangyang almost laughed angrily, "The mining cost of your Australia open-pit iron mine is less than 20 US dollars per ton. Are you telling me that 140 US dollars is not enough?"
"That was more than ten years ago." Harris waved his hand, "Nowadays, labor, environmental protection, and transportation, among which things have not increased? Besides, the market price is one hundred and forty-five, and it is impossible for us to do a loss-making business."
"Losing money?" Zhang Xiangyang slammed the pen in his hand on the table, "60% of our steel mills across the country are losing money, and the profit per ton of steel is less than the price of a pack of cigarettes. Are you telling me that you are losing money?"
Harris shrugged, picked up the coffee cup, and blew in a slow breath.
"That's your business."
Director Li finally spoke, his voice not loud, but with a heavy sense of exhaustion.
"Harris, it's not that we don't want to talk, but we really can't afford your price."
"Domestic steel demand is slowing down, real estate is under regulation, and infrastructure investment is also shrinking. Steel mills cannot sell at high prices, but procurement costs have been rising. If this continues, the entire industry will suffer losses."
Harris put down the coffee cup, leaned forward, and crossed his hands on the table.
He looked into Director Li's eyes, with a faint, giving smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
"Director Li, let me settle the account with you."
He stretched out a finger, his nails were neatly manicured, and tapped the table with a crisp sound.
"Last year, you University of Tokyo imported 1.1 billion tons of iron ore, 65% of which came from us Australia. We earned you a net profit of US$50 per ton, which is US$55 billion, equivalent to more than 300 billion yuan."
The second finger is raised.
"If you build a high-speed rail, it costs tens of billions or 300 billion, which is enough for you to build seven or eight high-speed rail lines that run through the north and south."
The third finger.
"Your steel mill workers earn a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. 300 billion yuan is enough to pay five million workers for a whole year."
He retracted his hand and leaned back in his chair, the arrogance in his smile almost overflowing.
"Director Li, this is not because of our evil intentions. It's because your high-rise buildings, bridges, and high-speed railways are all built on our Australia iron ore.
"Without us, all your steel mills would have to close down and all your workers would be unemployed. As long as your blast furnaces are still smoking, you have to buy ore from us. We will always have the final say on the price."
Zhang Xiangyang's fists clenched loudly, and her nails dug into her palms.
Director Li's face turned red, his lips trembled, and he didn't say a word.
Harris paused, picked up the coffee cup again, and spoke in a light tone, as if he was talking about something insignificant.
"Besides, you were able to leak the bottom line of the negotiation to Rio Tinto more than ten years ago. Even if we give you a low price now, there are still people inside you who will sell the information to us."
"Director Li, I advise you not to waste your efforts. Accepting the price increase will be good for everyone."
The conference room fell silent for an instant.
Stern Hu Case.
That is a scar that the entire University of Tokyo steel industry cannot erase for more than ten years.
Cheng Beixiao sat in the corner, watching all this.
His heart was beating fast and his palms were covered in sweat.
Cheng Beixiao knows that he shouldn't speak.
He is just a fresh graduate and has been at DYB for less than half a year.
Sitting opposite is the Asia Pacific President of Rio Tinto, and sitting next to him are the director of the China Iron and Steel Association and the purchasing director of Tangshan Iron and Steel Group.
Who is he?
What qualifications does he have to speak in such a situation?
But Cheng Beixiao's phone vibrated in his pocket.
Cheng Beixiao took a sneak peek.
It was a message from Fu Haoran, with only one sentence:
[Now, according to the script I gave you, if there is any problem, I will be responsible for it]
Cheng Beixiao Take a deep breath.
He didn't know if he could do it.
But he knew that the boss was watching him and had even prepared his lines for him. He just needed to read it and do what the boss told him to do.
Cheng Beixiao Close the folder and stand up.
The chair legs made a soft sound on the floor, and everyone's eyes turned to him.
"Mr. Harris." Cheng Beixiao's voice was a little tight, but still smooth, "Can I ask you a question?"
Harris frowned and looked at him. "Say."
"You just said that University of Tokyo cannot do without Australia's iron ore. One billion tons per year, 65% of which comes from Australia." Cheng Beixiao He opened the folder and took a look at the numbers on it to make sure he remembered correctly, "What if, I mean what if...University of Tokyo suddenly doesn't need to import so much from Australia?"
The conference room was quiet for a moment.
Harris smiled, very casually.
"Young man, do you know what your University of Tokyo's annual demand for iron ore is? 1.1 billion tons. The global iron ore trade volume is only 1.5 billion tons. If you say you don't need it, you don't need it? Can your blast furnace be stopped?"
"The blast furnace cannot be stopped." Cheng Beixiao said, "But what if someone can provide cheaper and higher-grade iron ore than Australia?"
Harris's smile froze for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
Cheng Beixiao did not answer, but took out a stack of documents from the folder, walked to the long table, and placed them one by one in front of Director Li, Zhang Xiangyang and Harris.
"This is the inspection report of a very large high-grade open-pit iron mine South America. The iron grade is 65%, with extremely low content of sulfur, phosphorus, silicon and other impurities, and the quality is better than Australia."
He took out a few more photos and spread them out on the table.
"This is a photo of the first shipment of 50,000 tons of ore. It has been loaded onto the ship and is heading to University of Tokyo."
The conference room was so quiet that you could hear the hum of the air conditioner.
Director Li picked up the test report, stared at the data on it, and ran his fingers across the paper.
Zhang Xiangyang Bring the photo to your eyes, zoom in, zoom out, zoom in, zoom out.
Harris's face sank.
"What kind of mine is this? Who is running it? What is the production capacity? Can the supply be stable?" He asked four questions in a series, and the arrogance in his tone was reduced by half.
Cheng Beixiao did not answer directly.
He opened the last page of the folder and pushed a quotation into the middle of the table.
"The long-term contract price is a fixed price that does not fluctuate with Platts Index. Each ton is 30% lower than your quotation today."
The conference room was completely quiet.
Zhang Xiangyang The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground.
Director Li raised his head and stared into Cheng Beixiao's eyes, as if he wanted to see some flaw in them.
Harris's face turned red and turned white again.
"Impossible." He slapped his hand on the table, "This price is not even enough for the cost. You are falsely reporting data!"
Cheng Beixiao looked at him, his heartbeat was still fast, but his voice was steady.
"Mr. Harris, you don't have to believe it, but the first batch of 50,000 tons of ore will dock at Caofeidian Port in fifteen days. At that time, you can come and see it in person."
He paused, closed the folder, and tucked it under his arm.
"Director Li, Mr. Zhang, my mission is completed."
"Mr. Fu said that if you are interested, you can contact him at any time. DYB is willing to sign long-term supply contracts with domestic steel mills and give priority to ensuring the demand of the domestic market."
He turned and walked towards the door.
Behind him, Zhang Xiangyang shouted, "Director Cheng!"
Cheng Beixiao stopped and turned around.
Zhang Xiangyang stood up, his voice trembling a little. "What is the annual production capacity of the mine you are talking about?"
Cheng Beixiao thought of what Fu Haoran said on the phone, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"As many as you want."
He opened the door and walked out.
In the corridor, his legs were a little weak.
He leaned against the wall, took a few deep breaths, took out his mobile phone, and sent a message to Fu Haoran:
[Boss, finished]
Three seconds later, the reply came:
[Okay, thank you for your hard work]
Cheng Beixiao stared at the screen and grinned.
He remembered that three months ago, he was still worried about being laid off.
The Bund It's still raining, but Cheng Beixiao feels that the weather is good today.
In the conference room, Harris stood up suddenly, and the chair tipped over backwards, making a muffled sound.
"Director Li, is this your negotiation strategy? Find a young man who appears out of nowhere, take a bunch of photos that you don't know are true or false, and just want to lower our price?"
Director Li didn't look at him, just stared at the test report in his hand.
His fingers lingered on the words "Grade: 65%" for a long time.
"Harris, I have something to tell you."
"What?"
"This afternoon, when Director Cheng came in, I received a message. I didn't have time to read it."
Director Li picked up his phone and turned on the screen.
This is a piece of breaking news just pushed:
[Huanqiu:]The Colombia government announced that it has initiated liquidation procedures for the assets owned by Medellín Group leader Emilio Rojas, including three high-grade iron ore mines located in Antioquia Province.
The Colombian Mining Minister said that the iron grade in these mines has been tested as high as 65%, with extremely low impurity content. The first batch of 50,000 tons of ore has been shipped to University of Tokyo.
He scrolled down one more screen.
[Cailian Press:]Colombia has achieved "zero breakthrough" in iron ore exports to China. Analysts believe that this move may break the long-term monopoly of Australia and Brazil on the supply of University of Tokyo iron ore.
Director Li put down his phone, raised his head, and glanced at Harris.
Harris didn't know what Director Li saw, but he saw the corners of Director Li's mouth move.
It wasn't a smile, it was an expression he had never seen on the face of this University of Tokyo official.
It's relaxing.
It was like a person who had been in the water for too long finally surfaced and took his first breath of fresh air.
Director Li gently pushed the test report in front of Harris, his voice was steady but with unprecedented confidence:
"Mr. Harris, I think our negotiations today need to start again."
The rain outside the window stopped, and the light of the Bund penetrated the clouds and fell on the long table in the conference room.