What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 662 Running Forward
Tang Wen's incredibly ambitious promises left Eric completely bewildered, but the latter harbored no doubts whatsoever:

Looking back at Geiger's several groundbreaking deals, such as purchasing the MD.11, acquiring Saab, and securing the sales rights for BMW in the Far East, etc., two hundred passenger planes are really nothing in comparison.

But this was in 1998, and the aviation market was indeed not doing well.

The Asia-Pacific financial crisis has led to many airlines, both domestic and international, reducing their workforce. A large number of cheap second-hand aircraft are flooding the new aircraft market, while airlines are unable to purchase new aircraft.

Moreover, compared to the original world lines, there is now the added threat of the Lost Empire, and airlines worldwide are now considering how to deal with this situation:
What if a U-boat launches gnats and shoots down a passenger plane while it's flying over the ocean?
If another country had done this, there would have been a result, but the Lost Empire... we can't expect Hans to pay for it, can we?

Therefore, with fewer new aircraft sold, the commercial aviation sector naturally became even more competitive. The pure order value of 200 medium-sized passenger aircraft alone exceeded $5 billion. The maintenance and parts costs for this fleet would be enough for Saab to live comfortably for 15 years, thus laying the foundation for its civil aviation business.

This means that the West is still imposing substantial sanctions on Geyser, otherwise, with an order for 200 aircraft, there would be plenty of companies willing to grant licenses—though whether they are truly sincere is unknown.

But Eric was now desperately hoping the deal would go through. He had to seize what might be Saab's only chance, as they would normally never be able to bypass the Big Three and enter the domestic market.

Tang Wen valued the convenience of joint development with Saab in introducing advanced technologies; it wouldn't have made a difference if he had worked with any other company.

So even if demanding that Rolls-Royce transfer the most advanced product technology was a pipe dream, he had to give it a try.

Eric left with a mix of surprise and challenge, while Tang Wen quickly informed Zhao Hande of the matter. The latter was shocked and immediately brought over his old classmate Chen Suli from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

"Mr. Tang, airplanes aren't something you can just build and fly whenever you want!"

Chen Suli's first reaction upon meeting him was anger and questioning, but this was only because of the informal contact and Zhao Hande's influence.

For the same reason, only the Civil Aviation Administration of China is currently authorized to operate airlines. Introducing new aircraft models rashly could be seen as forcing them to take on more planes and disrupting their plans, which would indeed be considered asking for trouble.

However, Tang Wen immediately interrupted him:

"When the new aircraft lands, private aviation should also begin, and Geikin will find a way out for these aircraft."

In fact, after China's accession to the WTO was confirmed at the end of last year, opening up the aviation sector to private capital was already part of the plan. However, the automotive industry was opened up more easily and directly, while aviation involves heavy investment and high risks. The current expected timeframe is 2000, by which time new aircraft will be roughly in the works.

"That's okay."

Chen Suli's attitude changed drastically; as long as it didn't cause trouble for the Civil Aviation Administration, anything was negotiable.

If Gai Jin has money, let them do whatever they want; it's none of my business.

Tang Wen: "There is still one thing I need your help with. I need to get the airworthiness certificate and the certificate of conformity first."

"How can this be!"

Chen Suli's expression suddenly changed again:

"You haven't even given birth yet, no, you haven't even conceived yet, and you want a birth certificate and me to register your child's birth—we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl, this is utter nonsense, absolutely utter nonsense!"

At this moment, Zhao Hande finally spoke:
"Xiao Tang wants to use the new passenger plane to bring over Rolls-Royce's latest and most advanced engine in the world. If this project goes wrong, the losses will be huge. I think we should provide all the help we can. As for the documents... they're not a big deal."

"Old Zhao, what you've done—"

"One hundred billion US dollars."

As Zhao Hande uttered those five words, he suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over him. Looking at Chen Suli's astonished expression, he finally understood what it felt like to have countless riches. He continued:
"Gaikin plans to use $10 billion to acquire complete production capabilities from engines to passenger aircraft. This money will be spent in five years, with more than $2 billion invested in the first year. In the future, it will rely on two types of passenger aircraft to build the entire domestic passenger aircraft system."

This time, Chen Suli was stunned for a while before asking:
"What about COMAC?"

"That's market competition; whoever invests more will reap more rewards."

"..."

After a long while, when even Zhao Hande was somewhat uncertain, Chen Suli suddenly smiled:

"Alright, then let's just give the C920 a gold medal. Only you guys can handle that."

"C920?" This time it was Tang Wen's turn to be confused. He was shocked by this code name, which sounded somewhat similar to the actual aircraft.

Chen Suli: "There's nothing strange about it. A domestically produced passenger plane should have a number, right? C is the first letter of 'Chai Na', 9 is because the project was started in 9X, the last two digits are the number of seats, and 20 means that it was designed as a plane with about 200 seats."

The Civil Aviation Administration originally hoped that COMAC would develop a regional jet with two high-thrust engines and a maximum takeoff weight of 90 tons; the code name had just been decided… Now, let's just give it a shot, since neither of you is necessarily faster.”

Tang Wen never expected the timeline to end in this way. After thinking for a moment, he simply said:

"Our planned large passenger aircraft does indeed have a takeoff weight of around 90 tons, but the design standard is 190 seats, with 240 seats in all economy class. How about calling it C919? It's easier to pronounce."

"C919...it does sound quite catchy."

Tang Wen continued to push his luck:

"Let's give the C929 both certificates as well. The Trent 800 will be installed on the MD.11 that Gaikin will produce later. At the same time, we will also design a twin-engine ocean passenger aircraft based on it, with 290 seats as standard and 350 seats in all economy class, and call it C929."

Chen Suli: "When was this plan planned?"

"I just came up with it."

"..."

"..."

Before Chen Suli went berserk, Zhao Hande decisively intervened and stopped Tang Wen's insatiable greed; otherwise, he would monopolize the market.

……

"Xiao Tang, although money can solve many problems, I must say that money is not omnipotent."

After Chen Suli left, Zhao Hande decided to give Tang Wen a little warning. He even started making offers for the moon landing, and it seemed that one day he might buy the entire empire.

He had seen too many of these erroneous ideas and felt it necessary to pull Tang Wen back from the brink of disaster.

Then the latter took him directly to the Hanma Auto Direct Sales Experience Store in Oriental Plaza. It was already evening and the store was closing. The outermost curtain had been drawn, and the two entered the showroom where only employees were present.

Zhao Hande immediately noticed something new:

A silver SUV with a sleek exterior and comfortable proportions gives the impression of spaciousness and good off-road capability. It also features an external "backpack" mounted on the roof.

The nameplate below reads: Hanma R7
"What do you think? This is the first SUV developed independently by the local team in Gaijin. These are the first few handcrafted prototypes for display. The official launch won't be until next year at the earliest... What do you think of this car? How much will it cost?"

"It must cost at least three or four hundred thousand. It doesn't look like a domestic car at all; it looks more like an American car."

After carefully examining the area, Zhao Hande shared his guess, and was quite surprised when he heard that it was a completely local development:
Gaijin's car factory was built entirely by searching the market, without relying on acquiring any car company... However, this SUV looks just as good as imported cars, and it's not even in the same league as domestic cars like the Yunque and Daihatsu. Even the paint job exudes a sense of luxury.

"19.9, starting from just 19.9."

Tang Wen: "The monocoque body and the lowest trim level are equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine. Although the power is smaller, the overall weight is very light. The passability is just right to meet the needs of urban and rural areas. The large space can carry the whole family or haul goods for business. This will be the legendary vehicle that fills the streets and alleys in the future."

Unlike previous domestic cars, the Hanma R7 was designed according to European standards from the beginning. The entire vehicle design process involves repeated refinement and consideration of collision safety, extreme working condition testing, and even maintenance economy. It fully takes into account the current poor road conditions and maintenance conditions in China, and is born to do rough work.

The Hanma R7 is fully comparable to joint venture vehicles, and its quality is even better. As a result, the initial R&D cost has exceeded 5 million yuan, of which 2 million yuan was invested in the supply chain. This means that from now on, other car brands can also purchase excellent parts that meet strict standards in China.

In other words, with financial resources far exceeding those of our peers, we have advanced the domestic automotive industry to a level that would normally take five years to reach in certain regions.

Zhao Hande seemed to have realized something:
"Besides money, Gaijin is also using technology to advance."

Tang Wen: "This is a rapidly changing era. If burning money can speed things up, we shouldn't worry about such a trivial loss."

(End of this chapter)