Bradman was in a very bad mood when he stepped onto China's land again. He felt that he was being fooled, but he couldn't find a way to fight back. Last time, China took the initiative to invite them to negotiate, and he was proud and thought he could scare the other party. Who would have thought that the other party would defeat him without saying a word and use a press release to start the coal-to-oil project, forcing him to come back in shame. If the other party had disclosed the news earlier, he would not have to go back and forth. The jet lag had just turned around and had to go there again, and no one could stand it.

The Chinese people want to build a coal-to-oil project, which is obviously not the decision that was made after the last talk collapsed. The preliminary argumentation of a project with an investment of more than one billion US dollars will take at least one year. In other words, when Feng Xiaochen negotiated with them last time, the argumentation of the coal-to-oil project had been completed, and the construction ceremony was only waiting for a zodiac auspicious day. In this case, Feng Xiaochen was still keeping his mouth shut and hypocritically discussing oil supply with them. Isn’t this just a trick?

"If we agreed to their request last time, will they start this project?" Grame confirmed to Bradman.

"They have estimated that we will not agree to their request. Or, if we agree, they will definitely make more demanding demands until the two sides cannot reach an agreement." Bradman sighed.

Even though I knew that the other party was engaged in a conspiracy, I still had to come over to discuss with the other party. This is the grief and anger in life.

"Mr. Xu, we have carefully considered the request you made last time and believe that your request is reasonable to a certain extent. We hope to have further talks with you on this issue. Do you think you can make an arrangement?"

In the Ministry of Commerce building, Bradman politely said to Xu Zhenbo.

"It's totally OK. We have a good cooperative relationship with OPEC, and our doors are always open to you." Xu Zhenbo's mouth was sweeter than honey, and he agreed to Bradman's offer.

"So, who will we talk to?" Bradman asked again.

Xu Zhenbo said: "If you don't mind, I will hold a meeting with you, what about?"

"That's of course the best. But can the Mr. Feng, who was last talked with us, attend?" Grame asked.

Xu Zhenbo looked embarrassed and said, "This is a bit inconvenient. As far as I know, Mr. Feng has been very busy during this period. In addition to some of his own business arrangements, there are also merchants from many countries waiting to talk to him. Our Ministry of Commerce wants to invite him to come and talk, but he can't even arrange the time."

"What are these merchants from other countries talking about Mr. Feng?" Grame asked.

Xu Zhenbo said: "The two don't know that the Equipment Industry Company where Mr. Feng is located recently completed the research and development of a major equipment and started construction of the first experimental project in Shanbei Province, my country. After this news came out, it attracted the attention of merchants from Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Thailand, Italy and other countries, and they asked us about project cooperation. Mr. Feng was mainly dealing with these visiting merchants during this period, so he was busy."

Bradman and Graeme exchanged glances with each other, and Bradman asked: "If I guess wrong, Mr. Xu should be talking about the 4 million tons of coal-to-oil project that China has just started construction, right?"

"That's right." Xu Zhenbo said without any concealment.

"Why, is this project jointly built by Australia and other countries with you?" Bradman asked.

Xu Zhenbo shook his head in surprise and said, "How could this be? This project was built independently by us. Customers from Australia and other countries came to China in the hope of introducing our technology and building the same coal-to-oil project in their country."

"What did you say? Australia also wants to build a coal-to-oil project?" Gram asked with his eyes widened.

Xu Zhenbo said: "I don't know much about the specific situation. They contacted the Equipment Industry Company directly. Otherwise, you can go to the Equipment Industry Company to learn more about it."

"Is this... convenient?" Grame asked.

Xu Zhenbo waved his hand carelessly and said, "What's the inconvenience? OPEC is our good friend. We will definitely satisfy you if you have any requirements."

"If this is the case, I would be very grateful to Mr. Xu..." Bradman agreed and had already cursed.

Xu Zhenbo deliberately talked about other countries' negotiations on coal-to-oil projects in front of them, obviously discussing with Feng Xiaochen. The purpose is very clear, and it is to put pressure on OPEC. How could Bradman not understand it? But now he takes the initiative. Bradman knows that the other party is acting, but he has to pretend that he has not seen it. He really needs to go to the equipment company to find out the specific situation on the spot. Xu Zhenbo said that he could make arrangements for them, so he of course accepted it with the flow.

Xu Zhenbo called a subordinate and asked him to ask for a car. He accompanied Bradman and Gram to the equipment company. After entering the door to explain the purpose of the visit, the front desk service staff took them to a small conference room, and then invited several company employees to introduce the situation to Bradman and his party.

"China began to develop coal-to-gas technology in the 1970s, and received technical support from South Africa, Japan, the United States and other countries. In the 1990s, we built an experimental industrial device, which has been operating for nearly 10 years and has achieved good results. Recently, we started construction of a 4 million tons-level device in Shanbei Province. We adopted technology with completely independent intellectual property rights in my country. It is expected to be put into production by the end of 2006 and reach the designed production capacity by mid-2007."

Chen Mo, head of the Foreign Dynamics Section of the Strategic Planning Department of the Equipment Company, introduced to Bradman and Graeme in fluent English.

"According to our knowledge, the cost of coal-to-oil worldwide is still higher than that of natural oil. How much will the cost of refined oil be achieved after this 4 million tons of equipment in your country be put into production?" Grame asked bluntly.

Chen Mo smiled and said: "We have conducted calculations and according to our current design, the cost of gasoline will not be higher than US$650 per ton under the conditions of full load of the device."

"A per ton of gasoline is no more than $650? How is this possible!" Grame blurted out.

Gasoline is refined from crude oil, and when crude oil prices rise, gasoline prices will also rise accordingly. At present, the price of gasoline in the international market is about US$520 per ton. If OPEC continues to implement the policy of reducing production and increasing prices, causing crude oil prices to rise to the level of US$60 per barrel, gasoline prices may rise to the range of US$60 to US$700.

If China's coal-to-oil technology can control the price of gasoline made from coal to US$650 per ton, it means that it can replace gasoline refined by crude oil. Previously, the cost of coal-to-oil was always above US$1,000 per ton in the international market, which does not pose a threat to crude oil. Now if the cost can be reduced to such a low level, countries with insufficient oil reserves may consider choosing coal-to-oil as an oil replacement technology.

Australia happens to be a country with abundant coal resources and relatively scarce oil resources. Another major country that meets this condition is naturally China. When international oil prices continue to rise, both China and Australia will have strong motivation to try coal-to-oil production, which is very necessary to improve their own energy security level.

"Are you sure you can keep the cost to such a low level?" Bradman asked.

Chen Mo took out a piece of information and handed it to Bradman, saying: "This is our publicity material. The main parameters of coal-to-oil technology that our country has, have been listed above. We are actively seeking to transfer technology to other countries that need this aspect. This publicity material is equivalent to our commitment to our customers. If we cannot do it, we must bear corresponding responsibilities."

"What other countries that Ms. Chen refers to when she has needs in this regard?" Grame asked.

Chen Mo said: "There are many such countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Thailand, India, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, etc., all of which are countries with demand in this regard. At present, the industrial ministers of several countries have arrived in China. Our general manager, Mr. Feng Xiaochen, has conducted preliminary negotiations with them. They have expressed great interest in introducing China's technology."

"What are your transfer conditions?"

“We have no transfer conditions.”

"No transfer conditions? How is this possible!"

Chen Mo smiled slightly and said, "We, Mr. Feng, have a concept. He believes that the invention of a technology is to benefit the whole world. For countries that are interested in introducing this technology in our country, our principle is to be free of charge. We have strong equipment manufacturing capabilities and can start construction of five sets of equipment with an annual output of 4 million tons at the same time. We are very welcome to any country that wants to introduce such equipment and will not attach any conditions."

Grame asked with a hint of embarrassment on his face, "You just said that you can start construction of five sets of such equipment at the same time. So many countries have already made demands to China for purchasing equipment?"

Chen Mo said: "Not yet, so everyone may have to wait and see for a while. However, my country may start the construction of a second and third 4 million-ton equipment in the near future. Our goal is to finally form a production capacity of more than 100 million tons of coal-to-oil annually. Based on this goal, our current equipment manufacturing capacity is still lacking and needs further supplementation."

"The last question," Bradman said, "When did you start promoting this technology to countries like Australia?"
Chapter completed!