Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The already precarious French government was now in a state of panic due to these events.

Then came the French industrial and commercial delegation returning from China.

They really came back with a full load.

After their visit to China, the French industrial and commercial delegation finally understood. Although China is economically underdeveloped, its overall economic scale and fiscal revenue surpass those of the UK and France. While the current exchange rate between China and Europe and the US is uncertain, and the RMB is overvalued, even if the RMB exchange rate were to be depreciated by half, China's fiscal revenue would still surpass that of both the UK and France.

Furthermore, as a socialist government, the Chinese government can mobilize resources domestically that are simply incomparable to the governments of Britain and France. Socialist countries far surpass capitalist governments in terms of resource mobilization.

France is actually quite conservative. Economically, free trade has been poorly developed, or even virtually nonexistent, since World War II. Over the past decade or so, France has only engaged in limited trade with its colonies, and has had very little trade with similarly capitalist countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.

However, after the French business delegation's negotiations with China, their horizons and minds were completely broadened, and their interest in trade with China increased significantly. This is because China is truly willing to invest and has huge demand in the oil, automobile, and shipbuilding industries.

And China's demand is not a one-time deal.

It is a long-term demand.

China's demand for industrial machinery and equipment is not limited to industrial products. While imports are currently strictly controlled, the volume of imported industrial products at the national level is already substantial.

The scale of funds involved is huge.

Moreover, China does not refuse to cooperate with French financial institutions.

Not only is China very willing to lend to France, but it has also devised multiple repayment plans. This has given French financial institutions a great deal of confidence. Previously, French financial institutions also wanted to support the French economy, but they were hesitant to lend to their own companies because they worried they wouldn't be able to repay. Now that China is involved, French financial institutions are more than willing to lend to purchase French machinery and equipment.

Therefore, after returning to their country, they also began to build momentum for de Gaulle.

What they mean is simple.

We need to make money, and the French economy needs to grow. Currently, the only French politician capable of engaging with China is Charles de Gaulle. Only a de Gaulle in power could bring greater vitality to the French economy. Therefore, these industrial and commercial delegations united to pressure the French government, demanding that Charles de Gaulle step down.

Under pressure from both inside and outside the country, the Gaillard government could no longer withstand the pressure. Charles de Gaulle, demonstrating the demeanor of a mature politician, immediately dispatched his trusted generals to contact the US consulate.

They delivered news to the United States.

Charles de Gaulle stated that he had no ties to the current colonial forces and that none of their actions were his. He never considered using the colonial forces to force the French government out of power, preferring to take power through legal means. However, those who had supported Charles de Gaulle also stated that if Charles de Gaulle could not intervene to clean up the mess in France, riots within France would be inevitable, as would riots by the French colonial forces.

Of course, de Gaulle also told the United States that he was not a fascist, he was not Franco, and he only wanted to establish a strong democracy in France like the United States.

De Gaulle explained that he was not anti-American.

Charles de Gaulle's relationship with the United States has always been difficult, beginning during World War II. Eisenhower was highly critical of Charles de Gaulle during his time in Europe. Of course, Charles de Gaulle has also been a vocal critic of American policy over the years.

But de Gaulle was no reckless man. Following the end of World War II, American influence in Europe had grown dramatically, and de Gaulle had no desire to antagonize the US at this stage. Especially at such a crucial moment, he was unwilling to fall out with the US and allow it to influence his own agenda. Therefore, he made it clear to the US Embassy that his recent criticism of the US stemmed from a feeling of being misunderstood. He did not oppose NATO or the Atlantic Alliance, but simply called for NATO reform. Furthermore, he had always supported European integration, though the means to achieve this goal would differ. Furthermore, de Gaulle made it clear that force alone could not resolve the Algerian issue, and that a French federation, encompassing Algeria, should be established in North Africa.

It also explains the relationship with China.

Charles de Gaulle said he was visiting China simply because it was a major Eastern power and he wanted to see it. In his foreign policy, NATO and Europe were his top priorities, and he would never become an ally of Red China.

De Gaulle's softening attitude made the United States re-evaluate its relationship with de Gaulle.

The United States began to assess the situation in France.

One is whether de Gaulle can come to power, and the other is the policy changes after de Gaulle comes to power.

Ultimately, the US analysis concluded that de Gaulle's return was unstoppable. Unless the US intervened forcefully in French internal affairs, de Gaulle's return was a foregone conclusion, given the current situation both domestically and internationally. Therefore, in an effort to win over de Gaulle, the US began to shift its hostile stance, with Eisenhower personally expressing his appreciation for de Gaulle's contributions to France.

Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.

Soon, under pressure from both inside and outside the government, the Gaillard government, unable to resolve the situation, collapsed. Various French politicians attempted to form a government, but were met with opposition from powerful factions within the country. Finally, French President René Coty appealed to Charles de Gaulle, inviting him to form a government.

On March 1958, 3, de Gaulle won a majority of votes in the French parliament. The parliament authorized de Gaulle to form a new government, granted de Gaulle special powers for six months, and allowed him to carry out constitutional reforms.

In this way, de Gaulle came back to power.

France was once one of the hegemons.

France is a major power in the European and American bloc, and its changes directly affect NATO and the progress of European integration. Therefore, the attention of Britain and the United States is focused on France. They are all paying attention to Charles de Gaulle's actions after he came to power.

Charles de Gaulle was no longer the impulsive military general he had been after World War II.

After his return, he did not completely reorganize the government, as everyone had expected. Instead, he incorporated the leaders of all traditional political parties, except the French Communist Party, into his own cabinet and entrusted them with important tasks. This gave de Gaulle's new government a very stable start, without any major turmoil.

Charles de Gaulle then began to preside over the drafting of France's new national constitution.

While the transition of power was taking place in France, the Soviet Union was mobilizing its forces in the Middle East. In 1957, at a banquet hosted by Khrushchev for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wei Hongjun proposed an idea to Khrushchev: unite the oil-producing countries of the Middle East to jointly fight against the European and American oil conglomerates.

In fact, it is about taking back control of crude oil from European and American oil consortiums.

Khrushchev truly took Wei Hongjun's advice to heart. The more he thought about it after returning home, the more he felt it was a good idea. Khrushchev wasn't a man of foresight; he was someone who would act whenever he saw an opportunity. He didn't care much about the consequences.

That's the case this time.

After discussing with other Soviet leaders, Khrushchev decided that uniting with Middle Eastern countries to control oil would be a good way to penetrate the core areas of Britain and the United States. Therefore, Khrushchev frequently sent Mikoyan to the Middle East.

Meet with major oil-producing countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.

They are "adding fuel to the fire" in front of them, saying that the current world oil prices are too low and are affecting the interests of these major oil-producing countries.

The major oil-producing countries in the Middle East are currently very sensitive to oil prices. Although their oil production has been increasing in recent years, they do not control their oil fields. Instead, they sell the development rights to European and American oil companies, collect a certain amount of tax, and split the profits 50-50 with these companies.

With the increase in oil production in recent years, the income of these countries has increased significantly.

But compared to those oil companies, that's nothing. Because these oil companies work together to lower the price of crude oil and then sell it to their own refineries, the result is a huge gap between the price of crude oil and the price of refined petroleum products like gasoline.

To put it bluntly, all the profits are earned by oil companies, and the Middle Eastern countries can only get a share.

Of course they were not satisfied.

The failure of Iran's oil nationalization campaign a few years ago had left Middle Eastern countries wary and hesitant to take action on the oil issue. However, the Soviet Union's intervention, seeking to unite with Middle Eastern countries and compete with European and American oil companies for control of oil prices, had given several Middle Eastern countries second thoughts. After all, the Soviet Union was a powerful nation capable of rivaling the United States.

Now that the Soviet Union is taking the lead, they have the confidence.

Moreover, the Soviet Union is currently also an oil exporter.

The Soviet Union's oil exports weren't limited to the socialist bloc. Starting in 1957, after Italy chose to import oil from the Soviet Union, other European countries also began to approach the Soviet Union, hoping to import oil from it. This was a good thing for the Soviet Union.

But still the same sentence.

The current global crude oil price is too low. One reason is that major oil-producing countries have blindly expanded production, leading to supply and demand imbalances. Another reason is that European and American oil giants are suppressing crude oil prices while still selling petroleum products at high prices.

So the Soviet Union's idea was to raise the price of crude oil.

After the Soviet Union began interfering in Middle Eastern affairs, Saudi Arabia was the first to make a move. Following the example of the Soviet Union and China, Saudi Arabia also established a Ministry of Petroleum Industry to fully manage all oil production in Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia actively participated and, after secret discussions with several major oil-producing countries, Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela, decided to establish a Petroleum Advisory Committee in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The first five countries to participate in the Petroleum Advisory Committee were the Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela.

In fact, Khrushchev himself did not have much idea about where this Oil Advisory Committee would go.

But he knew that the Soviet Union must do this.

After the five countries established the Petroleum Advisory Committee, they issued a statement in Baghdad, announcing plans to convene the first Petroleum Conference in Cairo, Egypt, inviting the world's major oil-producing countries to discuss oil production and oil prices.

If the conference was held directly in the Soviet Union, it would seem that the Middle Eastern countries had completely sided with the Soviet Union, which was not what the Middle Eastern countries wanted. Therefore, after consultation with Egypt, the Petroleum Advisory Committee decided to hold the Petroleum Conference in Egypt, which currently has a relatively high international reputation.

Of course, since this was a conference attended by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States were not invited to this oil conference. The main participants were the Soviet Union, China, Arab oil-producing countries, Venezuela, and Indonesia.

Let’s not discuss anything else but the issue of oil.

The Soviet Union's actions in the Middle East angered Britain and the United States. However, the pace of events far exceeded their expectations. Before they could react, these countries united to form the Petroleum Advisory Committee, which they had decided to hold in Egypt.

When the news reached China, even the instigator Wei Hongjun was shocked.

Khrushchev was quite capable of getting things done.

It's amazing how quickly so many Middle Eastern countries have been united, even forming joint organizations. The profits from oil are simply too high to be resisted. Furthermore, holding an oil conference at this time might allow OPEC to emerge earlier. After receiving the invitation, the Chinese central government is considering who to send.

The scale couldn't be too high, as this was just an oil conference. Nor could it be too low, as that would imply that China didn't take the conference seriously. Ultimately, the Prime Minister stated that this was purely a struggle for oil control, and completely different from the previous Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference held in Egypt.

No other aspects are involved.

China currently lacks the power to directly intervene in Middle Eastern affairs. Therefore, China's visit to Egypt will simply involve active participation in the oil conference. The Prime Minister's intention is to dispatch economic officials and oil industry officials to Egypt.

Wei Hongjun also supports the Prime Minister.

The Soviet Union had the power to intervene in Middle Eastern affairs, even using oil as a weapon to compete with Europe and the United States. The Soviet Union's joint oil conference with Middle Eastern countries was itself a challenge to Britain and the United States. However, China's current situation does not allow it to make strategic moves in the Middle East. Therefore, it can simply be a follower and participate in the oil conference.

Finally, the Central Committee decided that Vice Premier Zeng Shan would be the head of the delegation, and Minister of Petroleum Yu Qiuli would be the deputy head, leading some cadres from the oil front, as well as cadres from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Commerce to attend the oil conference held in Egypt.

1038 The Dilemma of Trade Union Work

After the Second Session of the Ninth Central Committee, Wei Hongjun began to pay attention to the work of the Federation of Trade Unions. The Chairman asked Wei Hongjun to review some of the views of Comrade Xiu Yang and Comrade Li Lisan, which he had previously completely rejected due to the debate on the nature of the trade union.

Of course, the Chairman does not mean to deny the original conclusion on the status of trade unions, but to re-examine some different views.

Wei Hongjun met with several ACFTU officials, including Xiang Ming, Chairman and Party Secretary of the ACFTU; Liu Ningyi, Vice Chairman and Deputy Party Secretary of the ACFTU; Vice Chairmen Dong Xin and Liu Changsheng; Xu Zhizhen, Secretary General of the ACFTU; Wang Wenxing, Chairman of the ACFTU's Financial Audit Committee; Chen Yongwen, President of the Workers' Daily; and Qin Dayuan, Director of the ACFTU's Secretariat Office.

"Secretary Wei, let me talk about the current problems of the Federation of Trade Unions."

Xiang Ming was the first to speak and report on his work as the chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.

Xiang Ming can be said to be quite lucky.

The debate over the nature of trade unions in the past few years has spread widely. On one side are Comrade Xiuyang and Li Lisan, and on the other side are Gao Gang, Rao Shushi, and the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

The two sides argued for a long time, initially at various Party meetings. Later, each side even used newspapers to express its own views and refute the other's arguments, escalating the dispute. Even the Premier could not tolerate this, as it was diverting the internal Party debate externally. Later, when the Premier intervened to deal with the aftermath, he harshly criticized Li Lisan, Rao Shushi, and the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee for their role in bringing the dispute to the press.

In the end, the chairman supported Gao Gang's opinion. He argued that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the basic interests of state-owned enterprises and workers were aligned, and there were no fundamental contradictions between the two sides. Unions must adapt their existing working methods under the new circumstances and cannot define their nature based on the working methods of the past.

As a result, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was reorganized, Li Lisan left the Federation, and Xiang Ming became the chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

However, it was precisely because of this controversy that the All-China Federation of Trade Unions' standing rapidly declined. This was because many central government officials were unwilling to be drawn into the debate over union issues. After all, the union issue affected not only Li Lisan but also Comrade Xiuyang. Furthermore, the smooth implementation of the subsequent First Five-Year Plan made Gao Gang appear to be in the right regarding the union debate. Consequently, no one paid any attention to the work of the Federation of Trade Unions.

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, once a prominent institution after the founding of the People's Republic of China, has faded from the central government's radar. Xiang Ming, as chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, was poised to achieve significant success. However, the central leadership's avoidance of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has marginalized Xiang Ming.

However, good fortune follows misfortune, and misfortune follows good fortune.

When Gao Gang got into trouble, many people were implicated. In particular, some key officials were reassigned. However, no one paid attention to Xiang Ming, the chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.

If Xiang Ming had not come to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, but had continued to stay in Shandong, or in other party committee departments and State Council departments, he would definitely have been implicated.

Now that the central government has begun to reconsider the issue of "revisionism", the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has once again appeared in the sight of the central leadership.

"Secretary Wei, the biggest problem facing the All-China Federation of Trade Unions right now is that it hasn't grasped its precise positioning. Over the past few years, the Federation has been working hard to adjust its work, but it still hasn't been able to confirm its positioning."

"Tell me more specifically."

Xiang Mingdao said, "Currently, the union's primary task is to lead workers in promoting production. This is also the central government's position for the Federation of Trade Unions. However, to promote production, our union must assist factory leadership and strictly require workers to abide by production and safety regulations. However, this would make our union the same as the factory administration, requiring us to work closely with them to manage the workers. Therefore, in the eyes of many workers, our union has become a leadership body of the factory, an administrative department, an institution that manages the workers, rather than an organization of the workers themselves."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

This issue was discussed during the debate over the nature of trade unions. At the time, when the People's Republic of China was newly established, Gao Gang believed that the primary contradiction was the backward productivity that constrained the development of socialist China. Therefore, production was paramount. State-owned factories and workers shared fundamental interests, both actively pursuing production. Therefore, the main task of the trade union was to assist factory management, organize and manage workers, and work together to develop production.

But still the same sentence.

In general, everyone's interests are indeed consistent, but when it comes to issues of vital interest, there are definitely conflicts.

Everyone works together to increase production, but workers' individual lives must also be taken care of. You can't just focus on the overall interests of the factory while ignoring the workers' lives. Therefore, it's necessary to "balance public and private interests," and there can't be a complete absence of conflict between the public and private sectors.