America: My Time

Chapter 1611 Cooperation with Da Mao
Chapter 1601 Cooperation with Da Mao

The exchange between the two sides was very pleasant. Although Russia is the local power, John was the one who held the initiative this time. As long as Asian energy does not compromise and insists on developing Sakhalin Island's resources on its own, Russia will have no way to deal with it unless they directly renege on their promise and forcibly take back the development rights. However, they cannot afford the consequences of such an action, as it would cause Russia's credibility to collapse and force them to abandon the Western world.

Despite Russia's conflicts and contradictions with the West, Russia has always wanted to join the West and harbors a glimmer of hope for it. Moreover, their energy goals are also aligned with the West. After all, they have witnessed the success of Asian energy projects on Sakhalin Island, so how could they not be tempted? If they were to ruin their reputation due to greed at this time, then all their plans would be impossible to achieve.

It was under these circumstances that when John, representing Asian Energy, proposed 'cooperation,' the Russian side responded decisively, without the slightest hesitation or obstruction. After all, this was highly advantageous to them, and if Asian Energy withdrew, they would have more power and could take the initiative!

Of course, John's proposal was just a preliminary communication. For a real result to be achieved, Asian Energy would need to negotiate, and the division of benefits would also need to be discussed between them. It wouldn't involve John and Da Mao's high-level officials, since it's not appropriate for John to do that, as it would be detrimental to both of them!

"Of the total resources, we have 10%, and the remaining 20% ​​will be contested by China, Japan, and South Korea. This is completely different from what we previously guessed. It seems that Asian Energy is not withdrawing from Sakhalin Island as we thought, but is raising funds to do more projects!"

"Yes, Mr. President, we think so too. The information from Asian Energy is a mix of truth and falsehood. They've deceived everyone. It seems that, just as those Europeans said, Asian Energy also has the support of a big data system. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made this decision at this time, and they wouldn't have notified us in advance."

"Big data, do you think this system really exists?" Putin asked, because he felt there was something wrong with the information, just like how the Americans had schemed against the Russian space program back then.

"From an intelligence perspective, this system should indeed exist. After all, this information is accepted by both Europeans and Americans. However, apart from an accident that led to the leakage of some data, there has been no further news. Moreover, that big data leak was partly real and partly fake, but it did reveal the existence of a world-class mine, which has been confirmed. But there has been no further news since then. One of the reasons why the Rockefeller conglomerate in the United States joined forces to acquire Dreamworld and Nvidia was because that big data was located in these two companies. However, the result greatly disappointed them, and their plans never succeeded. Both the big data and semiconductor chips can be considered failures!"

"Do you personally believe this data exists? If it does, where is it most likely to be? Do we have the ability to find it and obtain it?" A hint of seriousness appeared in Putin's eyes, after all, the temptation was considerable!
"Personally, I think it's possible. If we're talking about where it is, maybe it's Global Online or the entire internet. Only this one possibility could support such massive computing power. It's almost impossible for us to get it because we don't have root servers, and even if we did, it would be difficult to obtain them. After all, they are distributed all over the world. Even if we had the idea, it wouldn't be of any use. We can see this from the Europeans and Americans!"

"Is it possible for us to obtain root services from Global Online and put them in our Great Russia?"

"Difficult, almost impossible. Even if Global Online agrees, the Americans and Europeans won't, because that means they'd need to reduce one root server! Most importantly, Mr. John can't make that decision either. After all, Global Online isn't his sole decision-making body; it's controlled by American conglomerates! Clearly, Mr. John has been prepared for this for a long time. He's not only wary of the US, but also of other countries! To succeed, we might need to work on all 13 root servers simultaneously, which is impossible!"

"Then forget it. Do we need to pay the 10% of the funding for the resource project directly, or do we need to use other methods to pay it? If we pay directly, how much impact will it have on our own finances? If we use other methods, what kind of cost will we have to pay? Have you thought this through?"

"While direct payment is the most time-saving and labor-saving option, it would have too great an impact on our current economy. Using other payment methods would come at a higher cost, but would not negatively affect our economy. However, this requires discussions with Asian Energy, and the outcome is not yet guaranteed. We can only say that we will do our best!"

Russia does not want to pay the corresponding funds to Asian Energy directly, because it would have a significant impact on their own economy. After all, withdrawing such a large sum of money would put a lot of pressure on their foreign exchange reserves. However, if they use other methods to pay, they would have to bear a considerable cost. It is hard to say how far they can negotiate.

"Do your utmost to minimize the costs we incur, at least enough to avoid impacting future cooperation. Furthermore, we need to change Asian Energy's plans. We can't follow their scheme; we don't have the funds to compete with the other three parties. Next time, we need Asian Energy to sell only about 20% of its assets, and we will no longer cooperate with them. Instead, we will partner with the other three parties, taking a stake in their resource acquisitions! You should then negotiate with Asian Energy according to this plan. This way, we can gain an advantage in future developments. We can't target Asian Energy directly because we can't breach the contract, but once we're no longer involved with them, we'll have the upper hand!" Good heavens, Da Mao is indeed cunning, devising such a plan. And this time, they didn't make excessive demands on John, so kicking Asian Energy out of the cooperation is perfectly logical. Asian Energy has no reason to refuse, as it doesn't affect their plans or interests!
“Mr. President, I am concerned that this will lead to a huge influx of funds into Asian energy, which will further expand the energy development of Sakhalin Island. After all, that big data system may very well exist, and they will inevitably use the profits from this to increase their development of Sakhalin Island. As a result, the benefits they can gain will be even greater!”

"So what? If we don't accept it, do you think their development will stop? If it weren't for the targeting by American conglomerates, do you think Asian Energy would still be so controlled? Don't fantasize about grabbing all the benefits. We'll get nothing if we do that. Being too greedy will only cause us to lose more! I understand what you're thinking. In fact, we knew their true intentions as soon as the news about Asian Energy came out!"

"But if that's the case, Asian Energy can rapidly grow and expand with the help of the three parties' funds, greatly increasing their profits. This will have a significant impact on us. Also, do we really have to give up on managing the subsea oil pipeline? After all, taking over the subsea oil pipeline will give us some control."

"Asia Energy's actions are in line with normal business practices, and we have no reason to stop them. Doing so would only damage our reputation. As for the undersea oil pipeline, it's just a test from the other party, or rather, a trap set for us. Have you thought about how China, South Korea, and Japan would react if we took over this undersea oil pipeline company? Do you think they would accept more energy shipments as before?"

“There will likely be some changes. Although we have made many changes, our reputation is far inferior to Mr. John’s and Asian Energy’s. Those guys will probably make some adjustments. It’s impossible for us to control their energy lifeline. After all, the Koreans have already suffered a great loss once, and they will definitely not make the same mistake again!”

"Yes, they've learned their lesson once, so neither China, South Korea, nor Japan will accept more energy supplies as they did before. They will inevitably adjust their plans. In that case, how will we turn the resources we have into profits? That's why we need to break away from Asian energy next time and cooperate directly with the other three parties. Only when our interests are tied to theirs will they deepen their cooperation with us, and only then can we gain more benefits!"

“I understand. So we need to put the undersea pipeline company in the last deal. That way, without Asian Energy, we will have an absolute advantage and won't have to bear any credibility pressure!”

"We need to make proper arrangements for our old friend, at least to ensure there are no problems. He intends to stay behind the scenes, and we should respect his choice. Compared to the oligarchs within our organization, this old friend is much better at interpersonal relationships. He's proactively cooperating with us instead of waiting for us to come and discuss things with him. Most importantly, he hasn't reduced his investments in our area. In comparison, his investments in food and retail pose no threat to us!"

Asian Energy is one of the world's energy giants, and John is an even bigger global energy giant. Even so, John took the initiative to discuss cooperation with Russia and offered to make concessions. However, the oligarchs in Russia did not have the same understanding and remained very stubborn. Therefore, in Putin's eyes, John was the smart one, while the oligarchs were a bunch of people who were blinded by profit and didn't know when to advance or retreat!
If John hadn't known how tense relations between Russia and Europe and the United States would become in the future, and if he hadn't known how crazy the changes in the United States would become, how could he have allowed Asian energy to make such a cooperation? After all, he was well aware of how amazing the interests in energy were. Fortunately, the worst situation did not happen, and his cooperation with Russia went quite smoothly and was acceptable to both parties!
Following their second meeting, John and Da Mao quickly reached an agreement, with John promising to increase his investment in Da Mao, particularly in food and retail, and that this collaboration would not affect their existing partnership.
It was precisely because John was so adept at interpersonal relationships that Russia was pleased. After all, they could obtain sufficiently attractive benefits without major conflict, and without affecting their reputation—a good thing for Russia. For John, although it differed somewhat from his previous plans, it was generally acceptable. What Japan and South Korea thought was not John's concern. In contrast, things were much easier with China, since only the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was involved, and everything was negotiable!

John's itinerary in Russia was being closely watched by many, especially South Korea and Japan, who were eager to know the outcome of John's negotiations with Russia. Unfortunately, no matter how they inquired, they couldn't find any information. This situation made them very worried, fearing that something unexpected might happen and their expectations would be dashed!

Although these guys were willing to believe in John's abilities and his relationship with Da Mao, they weren't so confident once the plan actually started, especially when they had no information at all, which made things even more difficult for them!
Of course, Japan is in a slightly better position, but South Korea is in a much worse situation because they have never received John's approval, and Asian Energy has completely ignored them. Therefore, they are the ones who are suffering the most. If they are excluded, it is an outcome they cannot accept. So, these guys are thinking of Lee Boo-jin again, trying to find a breakthrough by working on her.

This is the shamelessness of the Koreans. These guys will do anything for profit. They had already offended Lee Boo-jin to the point of no return, but now they shamelessly come knocking on her door again. And they did suffer John's counterattack before, but now these guys are still shamelessly trying to ask for benefits. Being shameless is probably the greatest 'ability' of the Koreans. After all, being able to do this is something that others cannot do.

However, the situation with the Koreans has put considerable pressure on the Japanese. After all, this isn't the first time the Koreans have tricked them. Now, the Japanese are worried that if the Koreans go too far again, they will be implicated again. So, they are all extremely nervous, afraid that something else might happen that would affect their own interests. They are all watching the Koreans' every move with great concern!
(End of this chapter)