The United States never left countries that challenged their hegemony alone.
The Soviet Union, which once divided the world with the US, was dismantled and disappeared into history. Japan, which had economically chased America to its waist, fell into a long-term recession for 20 years due to the Plaza Accord (virtually a unilateral notification from the US).
And this time, the target was China. Because of this, China felt a sense of crisis, regarding this as a second Plaza Accord.
However, even if the US is a hegemonic power, it can’t do everything as it pleases. Actions that do not receive support from other countries are inevitably subject to restraint.
But regarding this matter, the majority of countries supported it. This was because all countries had suffered from the reckless patent infringement of Chinese companies. They had endured while being suppressed by China’s power, but when the US took the lead, everyone started to speak out.
The NATO alliance, which once seemed to be wavering, is this strong.
On the other hand, China didn’t have many allies. Anti-China sentiment had risen in neighboring countries due to China’s unilateral expansionist policies, and there was also a sense of crisis regarding China’s hegemonic moves.
And normally, when a fight breaks out, it’s normal to side with the winning side. Doesn’t the current situation look like the US will win to anyone?
Only Chinese state-run media was saying China would win.
Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang said with a sigh, as if lamenting.
“In China, there’s a saying that even in death, people struggle to save face.”
He meant that if they admitted to stealing technology through backdoors, what would become of their face.
Valuing face is part of Eastern culture, but it’s especially severe in China. So much so that people say, “Deng Xiaoping made the Chinese people eat and live, but Mao Zedong saved the face of the Chinese people.” It means saving face is more important than even eating and living.
Taek-gyu blinked and muttered.
“No, why would people who value face so much steal other people’s things?”
Deputy Minister Li Xuewei and Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang, who heard the words through interpretation, frowned but couldn’t really refute it.
Deputy Minister Li Xuewei said persuasively.
“Don’t we also have a position? I hope Mr. Kang will understand. I hope we can wrap this up nicely, considering the relationship between China and Korea.”
Vice Chairman Wang Yi-chang continued.
“Of course, Zhou Auto will also show sufficient sincerity.”
Are they saying they can pay compensation under a different pretext, but can’t admit to technology theft?
He tried to pretend to be calm, but couldn’t hide his anxiety. Zhou Auto, which had grown into China’s largest automaker under the protection of the Chinese government, was developing future cars and actively pursuing exports.
Investing heavily to acquire Volvo, Lotus, Daimler AG, etc., and buying shares was a strategic move for entering Europe. However, being included in this sanctions list, all export routes were blocked.
Acquired companies showed movements to distance themselves from the headquarters, fearing technology leaks, and the EU was also considering its own sanctions.
If they don’t resolve the issue with CarOS, both investment and exports are bound to be disrupted. This concern continued to drag down stock prices.
I smiled and said.
“I think face is saved when you admit wrongdoing and apologize. Otherwise, there will be no negotiations.”
***
Zhou Auto issued an apology.
They announced that they had confirmed that some engineers had stolen CarOS’s autonomous driving technology. Zhou Auto stated that they had fired all those involved and requested an investigation from law enforcement agencies, and would suspend the launch of the JW8.
[Zhou Auto Admits to Patent Infringement of CarOS]
[JW8 Autonomous Driving Technology Confirmed to Have Copied CarOS’s Technology!]
[JW8 Launch Completely Suspended]
[Technology Team Leader Wei Qinghong Resigns Taking Responsibility]
[Chairman Zhou Kai Promises Apology and Compensation to CarOS]
It was unprecedented for a major Chinese corporation to admit to patent infringement.
Until just before, Zhou Auto had insisted that there was absolutely no technology theft, emphasizing that the JW8 was an autonomous vehicle made with China’s own technology.
But when this statement was overturned, the Chinese people were in great shock.
– What? Did Zhou Auto really copy CarOS’s technology?
– No way! That can’t be true!
– Please, someone tell me it’s a lie!
– Is this the dignity of the continent?
– I’m so embarrassed.
– Tainting the national face. I’m ashamed to be Chinese.
– Just die! Commit suicide to apologize to all Chinese people!
However, such posts quickly disappeared.
Instead, posts with different content began to appear as if they were coordinated.
– This is all because of the US’s trade retaliation.
– I heard from an insider at Zhou Auto that it was an unavoidable choice to protect the country.
– The starting point was CarOS’s issue of technology theft by Zhou Auto. To prove that, Kang Jin-hoo brought up the spy chip issue, but it has been revealed through Chinese agency investigations that it was fabricated evidence!
– Ugh! Frustrating and unfair! To have to kneel before fabricated evidence!
– Well, they’ve made such a fuss internationally, so if it turns out to be untrue, they’d have nothing to say.
– It was a choice for the long-term plan of the nation, so I respect it.
– Pointing at a deer and calling it a horse! Even if you call a deer a horse, it’s still a deer (It’s an idiom for distorting facts to deceive)
– Isn’t this no different from the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
– To avoid suffering such unfair things in the future, our China needs to build more strength.
– Let’s all work together for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!
– Go Zhou Auto!
– Let’s not drive foreign cars. Let’s drive Zhou Auto and support them!
On Weibo, it became trendy to upload the Zhou Auto logo along with the Five-Starred Red Flag. Zhou Auto also released image advertisements emphasizing patriotism and nationalism.
Global Times and People’s Daily also defended Zhou Auto, saying it was an unavoidable measure to lift sanctions.
Some intellectuals expressed concern about this, but it wasn’t an atmosphere where they could speak out openly. In the midst of this, a famous Chinese actor posted a message asking, “Isn’t it true they stole the technology?” and had to apologize after being criticized as a traitor.
Other countries reacted with absurdity to this Chinese atmosphere.
I watched articles reporting on the reactions within China and admired.
“Lu Xun wasn’t a great writer for nothing.”
“Who’s Lu Xun?”
“A Chinese novelist. Do you know the novel ‘The True Story of Ah Q’?”
Taek-gyu nodded.
“Of course. Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?”
I was quite surprised.
“Have you read it?”
“I haven’t read it properly, but I know that the protagonist is the ancestor of keyboard warriors, armchair generals, and online tough guys.”
“……”
He was right.
The protagonist of ‘The True Story of Ah Q’, Ah Q, if he picked a fight somewhere and got beaten up, he would slap himself on the cheek and then engage in mental victories in every matter, saying, ‘Since I hit myself, I won.’
Lu Xun wrote it to satirize Chinese people who were out of touch with reality and lost in their own thoughts at the time… Seeing this, it seems like things haven’t changed much since then.
“Anyway, we should get as much money as possible.”
Taek-gyu nodded.
“Of course. Isn’t true apology made with money?”
The amount of compensation is being negotiated around $1 billion.
From Zhou Auto’s perspective, they have to cough up about 1 trillion won without selling a single car. In addition, measures will be taken in cooperation with the US administration to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
***
The trade war, which had been heading towards a head-on collision between the G2, eased somewhat with Zhou Auto’s apology announcement. In fact, it was practically China taking a step back.
President Ronald and Chairman Zhang Pinghua agreed to hold a summit in New York.
The eyes of the world were focused on New York, and Taek-gyu and I also headed to New York.
A few hours before the summit began.
We entered a hotel surrounded by Asian bodyguards. Thorough body searches continued from the entrance.
After passing through several stages of security checks, we entered and there was a man.
Tall height and broad shoulders. Moderately fleshy face. He was in his mid-60s, but looked much younger.
This person was the leader who leads 1.5 billion people and a vast continent, Chairman Zhang Pinghua.
I never thought I would meet the President of China in my life. I’d seen him countless times on TV and in newspapers, so even though it was our first meeting, it didn’t feel awkward.
In person, he had a friendly impression, like a neighborhood uncle.
Chinese people affectionately called him “Zhang Dada” (Uncle Zhang) and felt familiar with him. He deliberately emphasized a common and unpretentious image.
However, this was only the outward appearance. He is a figure who completely changed the Chinese political system.
Deng Xiaoping, who seized power after Mao Zedong’s failures (the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution), was more acutely aware than anyone else of the problems of one-man dictatorship. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. However, as long as socialism is maintained, the one-party system of the Communist Party cannot be denied.
Therefore, Deng Xiaoping created a collective leadership system so that party power could be checked and balanced, and this system continued until recently.
What emerges from this is the factions within the Communist Party known as the Princelings, the Communist Youth League faction, and the Shanghai Gang.
The Princelings are descendants of Communist Party elders who participated in the Long March and the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Youth League faction, abbreviated from the Communist Youth League of China, is widely composed of young Communist Party members and those who studied abroad. And the Shanghai Gang, as its name suggests, is a new emerging force that has advanced into the central government centered on Shanghai. They are beneficiaries of reform and opening-up and elites leading economic development.
They led the vast continent by checking and cooperating with each other.
They also took turns receiving power. The 5th President Jiang Zemin was from the Shanghai Gang, the 6th President Hu Jintao was from the Communist Youth League faction, and his successor, Zhang Pinghua, is a Princeling. Instead, Bo Xiaoyu of the Communist Youth League faction was appointed as Premier to maintain balance.
Zhang Pinghua was able to become President because he hadn’t stood out much since his youth. He didn’t step forward anywhere, and didn’t make enemies. He simply silently carried out his assigned tasks.
When Zhang Pinghua succeeded Hu Jintao as President, political experts predicted that he was the person best suited for the collective leadership system and would lead China stably while encompassing various factions.
But that was a miscalculation. (This is why you shouldn’t trust experts.)
Zhang Pinghua, who had gradually built up his power without anyone knowing, one day drew the sword of anti-corruption.
He quoted a poem by Du Fu, saying.
‘Even ten thousand self-grown bamboos must be cut down.’
Although it wasn’t reported in the media, corruption among high-ranking party officials was severe. Regardless of his intentions, this received strong support from the Chinese people.
The blade of anti-corruption severed the heads of politicians in droves. The most representative incident was the arrest of Pu Cheng, the secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee and a key figure in the Princeling faction.
When he was ousted, the Princeling faction completely fell into Zhang Pinghua’s hands, and figures from the Communist Youth League faction and the Shanghai Gang were also arrested one after another.
But for some reason, the blade of anti-corruption did not reach Zhang Pinghua’s aides at all, and was only directed at opposing forces.
The only way to survive was to bow down on your own. As this happened, factions and everything else scrambled to side with Zhang Pinghua.
Experts even created a separate category to classify Zhang Pinghua’s faction, in addition to the existing Princeling, Communist Youth League, and Shanghai Gang factions.
The Shanghai Gang was nearly moribund, and the Communist Youth League faction held its breath, waiting for Zhang Pinghua’s term to end. The presidential term is limited to three terms, and then power must be handed over.
With the Shanghai Gang collapsed, it was certain that the next president would come from the Communist Youth League faction.
But…
President Zhang Pinghua amended the constitution at the National People’s Congress, abolishing the term limit for the presidency. This made lifelong rule possible.
This meant that the collective leadership system that had led the vast continent since Deng Xiaoping had ended, and Zhang Pinghua’s one-man dictatorship had begun.
Foreign media sarcastically called him Emperor Zhang. Considering his current status and position in China, it might not be wrong.
Chairman Zhang Pinghua gave a benevolent smile and took my hand.
“Pleased to meet you.”
I lightly grasped his hand.
“Nice to meet you, too. I am Kang Jin-hoo.”
