The C-suite executives worth billions of dollars could sense that things were about to change. However, even though they tried to use their connections to find out what was going on, they weren’t able to obtain any information.
Some people said that the country was going to introduce a new semiconductor industry support policy, other people said there was a breakthrough in 7nm lithography technology, while some other people said that the state planned on advancing semiconductor technology to become the fifth largest country in the world for semiconductor manufacturing.
The last rumor was very close to the truth.
After the news of graphene transistor technology came out, the first item of discussion in the Beijing conference room was to centralize and manage the current semiconductor companies.
This was done for both confidentiality and practicality reasons.
Of course, the specific content of the meeting was only disclosed to high-level government departments. Everyone who attended the meeting signed a confidentiality agreement and agreed to be put under supervision for one year.
Many industry leaders could smell something was going on, but the rumors floating around were a bit suspicious, as if the state deliberately released the rumors to cover something else.
Huawei’s CEO Wang Zhengfei was one of the C-suite executives.
His instincts told him that the semiconductor industry was brewing up a storm. However, only God knew what the result would be after the storm.
While everyone else was waiting for this storm to come, a conference invitation from Chang’an Avenue appeared on this CEO’s desk.
As Wang Zhengfei looked at the conference invitation, the knot in his heart was finally untied.
At last, it’s finally here!
…
Beijing, Chang’an Avenue.
The grand conference room was filled with people.
Wang Zhengfei found his seat and sat down. He looked around and found that his old boss, Li Zixuan, was also here. Li Zixuan was from Huaxing Group.
CEO Li noticed him as well.
The two looked at each other and forced a smile.
F*ck!
Who made the seat arrangements!
“Oh, CEO Wang, I didn’t expect you to receive an invitation as well.”
Wang Zhengfei smiled.
“Yeah, I was busy, but I took some time out to come.”
Li Zixuan smiled and didn’t say anything.
Too busy to come?
What a joke.
Like you would ever refuse to come to a state conference meeting.
The two didn’t talk anymore. They sat there quietly and waited for the conference to begin.
Wang Zhengfei used this time to look around at the other conference participants.
He noticed that all of them were big names in the semiconductor or electronics industry. This gave him a sense of what the conference would be about.
However, a strange expression appeared on his face.
Wait a second, not only are these people from the electronics industry, but all of them also have money.
Maybe the aerospace industry needs funding?
They’re not going to take our money, right?
The attendees arrived one after the other. Soon after, it was time for the conference to begin.
The participants sitting in their seats stopped talking and looked straight ahead. An old man with a serious face walked up the stage.
When Wang Zhengfei saw this old man, he was shocked.
Head of the National Development and Reform Commission!
I can’t believe he’s the one hosting the meeting!
He had a serious look on his face as he subconsciously took out a notebook and pen.
It seems like today’s meeting is going to be very important!
“My apologies for interrupting your busy work schedules. I assembled you here today to talk about something.
“Before the meeting begins, I have to emphasize that the content of this meeting must be kept strictly confidential. All topics discussed in the meeting are not to be discussed with anyone outside the conference.
“If any information is leaked, we will conduct an investigation. The person will be charged with espionage and treason.”
There was a commotion in the conference room.
These charges, especially espionage, were quite scary to them.
The old man looked around the conference room and made sure that his message was clear. He paused for a second before continuing, “Then, let’s talk business.”
The old man nodded toward the staff member next to him.
A PowerPoint slide was soon projected on the screen.
When Wang Zhengfei saw the title of the PowerPoint, he froze.
Not just him, but the Huaxing Group CEO sitting next to him, as well as the electronics executives sitting in the room, they were all shocked after reading the title.
“Carbon-based… chips?”
Li Zixuan pushed his glasses up slightly and sat forward, trying to get a better look at the slide.
When he was sure that the slide really did read carbon-based chips, he couldn’t help but mutter, “What kind of joke is this?”
Wang Zhengfei, who was sitting next to him, took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
Carbon-based chips?
What?
This joke is too ridiculous.
It’s so ridiculous I don’t even know where to begin.
These two CEOs were obviously not the only ones who were shocked.
Whispers were heard around the conference room.
Carbon-based chips!
They were all familiar with the concept. Every so often, people used carbon-based chips as an investment pitch. They had seen plenty of poorly-made PowerPoint slides, promising the future of carbon-based chips.
However, everyone knew that investing in these projects was the same as burning money.
Forget about it, even Microsoft, Google, and Intel couldn’t even figure out this technology.
Not everyone was as insane as Lu Zhou!
However, this was no investor pitch…
This was a conference hosted by the Communist Party of China, and sitting here were the leaders in the electronics and semiconductor industry. Standing on the stage was the head of the National Development and Reform Commission. The topic of discussion was the future of China’s semiconductor industry…
Therefore, the words “carbon-based chips” meant something entirely different.
The meeting continued.
The PowerPoint presentation continued.
Wang Zhengfei was becoming more and more astonished, and his hand was slowly trembling.
This was a chance for Huawei to stand on the top of the world! This was the opportunity of a lifetime!
He held his breath and clenched his fists.
He had to take advantage of this opportunity!
Huawei had to take advantage of this opportunity!
He would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t…
