Reinventing the Millennium

Intel CEOs come and go, AMD leaders come and go, BIS and USTR are eyeing the issue, Chinese and foreign media are stirring up a storm of public opinion, and new restrictions are approaching in secret.

With all these, Yike is inevitably shaken internally.

On October 15, Errol, vice president of public policy and business development in the United States of Yike, resigned. The media captured this news and regarded it as a signal of Yike's gradual collapse, and strongly invited Errol to be interviewed.

Errol's position is to be responsible for Yike's dealings with the government, and he has been in Washington for almost half a year. If he resigns at this time, he must be able to reveal a lot of hot topics, although he resigned for "family reasons".

However, no matter how the media interviewed and invited him, Errol refused very firmly, and did not want to make himself a public opinion star at all. Although he resigned, as someone who once represented Yike in Washington to communicate, he could feel Mr. Fang's influence and circle of friends. There was really no need to risk sacrifice to chase the temporary popularity.

Errol was indeed not optimistic about Yike's recent situation in the US market, and even thought that Yike would be at risk of being delisted from NASDAQ in the future.

However, after repeatedly rejecting the media, he was also thinking about a question: how should the remaining Yike shares in his hands be measured?

Yike's market value has been fluctuating in the past few months, and this month, affected by multiple negative news, its market value can no longer hold the position of 340 billion US dollars. Some institutions pessimistically predict that Yike may return to below 300 billion US dollars.

However, Errol got news from his Chinese colleagues on his last day of leaving that the company's cloud business received a large number of government orders, and this is obviously just a microcosm.

According to a possible situation at present, if the company loses the US market, its revenue will definitely be hit hard, but the company still has potential in the Chinese market that has not been realized, such as the YMS division...

Errol sometimes feels that if YMS is willing to significantly increase advertising, Yike is almost able to immediately change its nature and become a variant of China's Google. Under the current poor expectations, it is not ruled out that it will suck blood from this aspect in the future.

Similarly, Yike's smart home also has a good growth expectation within the company.

Errol thought about it. The US market is indeed important, but the Chinese market can fully support Yike. If the growth of the mobile phone market slows down, Yike's strength can compete across fields. For example, it has established a "Kunpeng" tram project this year. I don't know what the future will be like.

He finally decided to keep some Yike shares. After all, the overall growth of US stocks this year is a lot. Yike's current decline is almost gradually fulfilling the expectation of losing the US market.

Errol resigned, but still closely followed the dynamics of his old employer. Soon, he saw a surprising news that Mr. Fang, who had been in China for a long time, actually flew to Berlin!

Going abroad at this time... I'm afraid it's really time to "come to Jesus"!

Errol refreshed the dynamics from time to time, almost forgetting the question of how to measure Yike's future value.

On October 23, many media reported that Fang Zhuo, the head of Yike, flew to Berlin, and then he immediately went to the Bingxin International Factory in Magdeburg.

It seems that this is an ordinary inspection of Bingxin's overseas factories, but many Wall Street media have already set off to Germany, wanting to capture the parties involved in Yike's suspicion with their cameras.

However, Fang Zhuo's trip was forced and impromptu. He was originally considering how to express his attitude and had work arrangements in China, but Qiu Ciyun, who had been wandering between Germany and France recently, suddenly fell ill, and there were high-level negotiations in Germany, so he simply went out.

Although it is more cautious to go abroad at this stage, it is still reassuring to fly directly to Germany.

Or, it is also reassuring to go to France next.

Fang Zhuo brought Pan Ben, President of Europe, Zhang Yaqin, President of Emerging Business Unit, and senior executives of Bingxin with him to Germany this time. On the second day of his inspection of the Magdeburg factory, news came from Berlin that Merkel, the German head who had met him twice before, welcomed his arrival and arranged to meet him in Berlin.

This coincided with Fang Zhuo's thoughts. Since he was out, of course he wanted to meet the senior executives here.

The reason why the first Bingxin overseas factory was chosen to be built in Germany was that Merkel, a German evergreen and one of the leaders of European affairs, was a major reason. Her pragmatic attitude and consistent tenure can ensure the relative stability of Bingxin's factory construction and operation.

In addition to Bingxin's overseas factories, Yike also has a lot of cooperation and investment in Germany. Deutsche Telekom is the operator with the closest overseas cooperation. Yike Cloud has built a data center in Munich, and Schott Glass Factory has been a stable supplier of Yike over the years...

And, after the financial crisis, the annual Yangtze River Delta Economic and Trade Delegation led by Fang Zhuo is also one of the most active business exchange groups in China and Europe.

Fang Zhuo agreed to the appointment and received a friendly reminder that many media and reporters had already arrived in Germany or were on their way.

He responded that this would not cause him any trouble.

In fact, just before boarding the flight, vague news came from Washington again. Due to the recent situation, the relevant restrictions may not be implemented until the end of the year. If Yike does not take effective actions, targeted measures may appear next month.

Fang Zhuo's understanding of this is an ultimatum.

From March to now, Yi Ke's attitude on the surface is to solve the problem, but once the recording was leaked, a very important point of this public opinion was that Yi Ke was unwilling to give in to the "offense".

Is unwillingness to give in an offense?

Anyway, this is how it is expressed in many American media comments, and outside the business level, next year's election is already brewing, and this incident has once again become a good starting point.

Yi Ke has become a very appropriate target.

At this moment, Fang Zhuo does not have too much pressure in his heart, but instead has a slightly strange excitement. Since everything that can be done has been done, let's see what will happen.

On the 26th, Yi Ke and Bingxin's senior executives who stayed in Magdeburg for three days went to Berlin to attend an economic and trade event jointly organized by the German Financial Steward, the China Business Center in Germany, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Of course, this event is temporary. It didn't exist originally, but Fang Zhuo came, so it became available.

In addition, Fang Zhuo will meet Merkel privately before participating in the economic and trade event.

Because it was a private meeting, other people could not accompany him, so they were very curious about what the German head and the boss could talk about.

"Nothing, she wants to invest, I want to guarantee."

"She thinks there can be another world's most advanced production line in Magdeburg, mainly this."

Fang Zhuo didn't think there was anything to hide.

"Then did you agree?" Pan Ben asked.

"No." Fang Zhuo replied.

Everyone was surprised. Shouldn't the relationship between the two sides be further strengthened at this time?

"The cost of advanced technology is too high now, and Bingxin's current energy is not on this, so we don't have to be too blind." Fang Zhuo explained briefly, and then said, "Moreover, this half-and-half cooperation model is not very applicable now. We still have to wait until the overall situation is clearer. However, 16nm cannot be here, and our 28nm is now quite mature. Magdeburg is indeed gradually losing its competitiveness."

Magdeburg was originally 65nm, and later added a 45nm production line, part of which is cooperation with European car companies, and part of which is conventional wafer foundry.

It is quite appropriate to expand from first-class technology to 1 as the critical point of advanced technology.

Fang Zhuo did not agree to Merkel's investment proposal and gave a second-best response, but he did not feel that the other party was disappointed, and probably had the intention of removing the top and opening the window.

Outside the wafer factory, the two talked about Yike's performance in the European market. Mobile phones are normal consumer electronics products. Yike Cloud focuses on serving European small and medium-sized enterprises, and the data is kept locally. Everything is suitable.

In general, Fang Zhuo and Merkel's communication is very pragmatic, and they all maintain their own interests without any extra tricks.

However, perhaps because of the other party's identity, although the story was plain, everyone still listened attentively. Judging from the current situation, it is good news that they can have a peaceful dialogue with each other.

"Okay, get ready to work. Mr. Zhang will try to sign a few more customers by the way. Since we are here, the price can be negotiated." Fang Zhuo named Zhang Yaqin, who was accompanying him. Part of his work was to develop Yike Cloud in the European market.

Unlike the strategies of Microsoft, Amazon and other companies in Europe, Yike Cloud did not pursue big government customers here, but focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, which can be regarded as a way out.

On the 28th, Fang Zhuo and others attended the event, and Chinese companies in Germany also came together, which seemed to be a very formal economic and trade event.

However, since the first day of this three-day event, reporters have been squatting, strongly demanding to add interview sessions and report on the beautiful friendship between China and Germany in business.

As the main target of pursuit, Fang Zhuo's hotel has actually been harassed, but his real decision to accept the interview is still based on the latest news from American operators.

Yike's cooperative operators, including T-Mobile and Verizon, have received strong suggestions from Washington and will consider terminating cooperation with Yike within the year.

In the current US and European markets, the most important part of the smartphone sales channel is the operator's bundled package. Once Yike ends its cooperation with US operators, it almost means being kicked out of the US market.

Calculating the time, it is just in time to sell out the inventory in the hands of the operators before Christmas.

There is no official announcement, but the way and time are basically clear.

On the last day of October, Fang Zhuo accepted a media interview in Berlin.

Although he had faced many media cameras at the Internet industry conference in Shanghai before, this was a formal media meeting. Although the theme was Sino-German economic and trade, most of the reporters came for the head of Yike.

The German deputy financial steward attended the meeting. He talked about the business cooperation between China and Germany, and then found that everyone's eyes and cameras were almost all facing the head of Yike next to him.

He was a little helpless, and also made a joke with expectation: "Hi, Mr. Fang, now is your time."

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly, just reached out to turn on the microphone, many reporters have already taken pictures, and Kate, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, asked questions directly.

"Mr. Fang, will Yike withdraw from the US market?"

It was a question that everyone was most concerned about.

Fang Zhuo smiled, did not evade too much, and answered: "It depends on whether the US market can accommodate Yike."

Kate followed up and asked: "If Yike's BIS temporary license expires, will it still insist on cooperating with Bingxin International? We have not seen any results in Yike's replacement, whether it is Intel, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, or UMC , Taiwan Journalists have concluded negotiations with Yike, is that true? Did Yike not pursue the 'positive' resolution announced in the announcement from the beginning?"

For the first time since March 1 this year, Fang Zhuo answered this question that is still attracting much attention: "Yike has actually actively negotiated with various wafer manufacturing companies, but as you can see, different companies Having encountered all kinds of pressure, I also want to ask about this issue.”

"On the one hand, BIS issued restrictions that did not allow Yike to cooperate with Bingxin. On the other hand, the SEC intervened and stopped the cooperation between Yike and GF. This actually did not give a reasonable space."

"As a company committed to providing consumers with the highest quality products, Yike will not voluntarily give up the U.S. market, but it is also unwilling to suffer unfair treatment."

Fang Zhuo paused and gave a clear answer: "Yes, Yike will still insist on cooperation with Bingxin International."

Following his words, the current photographers all snapped together to capture this moment.

More reporters on the scene suddenly became commotion, and even the senior executives of Chinese and German companies who participated in this interview but could only be spectators couldn't help but look at the leader of Yike.

Yike insists on cooperation with Ice Core, but the latter is on Aramco's strict selection list, which means that once the temporary license expires, Yike will not be able to sell products in the US market.

This is a positive response.

This is almost the last word on the doubts hanging over Yike's head!

Another reporter from the New York Times, Pez, asked loudly amidst the discussion: "Mr. Fang, why are you doing this? Do you really know the consequences? Mr. Fang, Yi Ke has essentially given up on the United States. market!"

"Pez, you asked the wrong person. You should ask BIS, why do they do this?" Fang Zhuo knew the reporter who asked the question and asked with a smile, "Why should ice cores be restricted? Is it because it has launched enough Advanced technology?"

"You, you, this, ice core, it..." Pez couldn't answer for a while, and used a reason that has been mentioned in recent public opinion, "It destroys the division of labor in the global semiconductor industry!"

"If an enterprise that is unwilling to lag behind achieves impressive results through continuous research and development and provides the best quality technology to many well-known customers around the world, this is called destroying the industrial division of labor." Fang Zhuo refuted, "How many more companies like this in the world? Enterprises, the cost of purchasing chips will not be that high.”

There was no order for interviews at the media meeting. Almost as soon as Mr. Fang finished speaking, several reporters rushed to speak out.

"Mr. Fang, if Yike's temporary license cannot be extended, what does this mean for Yike?" a reporter from Der Spiegel asked.

As soon as Fang Zhuo heard this question, he immediately heard questions from other reporters. He indicated that order still needed to be maintained at the scene. Then he pondered for a moment, considering that the audience for this interview was probably audiences from different regions around the world, and replied: "I like it very much." Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo", I really like a passage in it, "I don't think a person can get happiness so easily. Happiness is like a palace guarded by a dragon on a magical island. To get happiness, you have to go through a journey." There is no need for a vicious fight."

“I don’t know what the standard of BIS’s temporary license is, and I don’t know whether Yike can get an extension, but I think this is nothing more than the fact that Yike’s success is always difficult, and getting it probably requires a hard fight. ”

"Yike is not afraid of competition in the market and is willing to consistently provide the best products within its capabilities to global consumers."

Will BIS be extended?

The current situation of shouting and killing...

Fox News Channel reporter Matthews did not expect to hear such a blunt statement today. He was quite shocked, especially when he thought that he still had Yike's stock in his hand. He couldn't help but asked: "Mr. Fang, Yike is like this Is the decision in line with the interests of shareholders? Do you know what losing the U.S. market means?”

"Yike has not lost the U.S. market, nor is it willing to lose the U.S. market." Fang Zhuo confided, "But as far as I know, BIS is already formulating a plan to force Yike to withdraw from the U.S. market. Considering this situation, Yike What investors should be asking about is not me, but BIS.”

“As a company that constantly innovates and drives industry development, Yike has the right to choose suppliers. As a company that continuously invests in research and development, Bingxin International has always been a reliable strategic partner of Yike. Many of its past products have been loved by consumers. The products also prove this.”

Matthews almost wanted to rush to the stage, and the voice of the question was on the verge of breaking: "Mr. Fang, Yike's business, Yike's market value, Yike... users of Yike, why are you unwilling to give up cooperation with Bingxin?" ?! You, you are simply committing a crime!”

Fang Zhuo spread his hands: "Is this a question?"

Someone nearby motioned for Matthews from Fox News to calm down.

Fang Zhuo continued to speak to the camera: "There is an American writer John Steinbeck, and I also like his "The Grapes of Wrath" very much. 'Only when human beings no longer endure torture or are even willing to sacrifice for a certain idea, then The most frightening thing is that this quality is the foundation of human beings, and it is this quality that makes people unique in the universe."

“A great company should live up to its values, even if it means suffering.”

"Many people keep asking me whether I will give up cooperation with Bingxin, and whether I will give up cooperation with Bingxin."

"I have an answer now and I won't give up."

"Then you asked me again and asked me why I didn't want to give up."

"Why?"

"Because Yike is willing to maintain progress, and the open and inclusive market spirit, consistent investment in R\u0026D, and down-to-earth process innovation are the things that Yike appreciates and agrees with about ice cores."

"Yike and Bingxin have always been willing to accept challenges from their establishment to the present. They have faced Sony, Nokia, Microsoft, Samsung, and Apple along the way. If we need to face the biggest challenge now, then we insist on meeting the challenge itself. It’s the practice of our values.”

"Just now, Pez said that ice core is a disruption to the global industrial division of labor. Hey, remember, forcibly restricting behavior outside of global market rules is a disruption to the global division of labor. It is also the biggest challenge facing the global industry today."

"I know what everyone wants to ask. Whether it is questioning or questioning, Yike and Bingxin are inseparable strategic partners and will not be shaken by any factors."

"This is my consistent attitude!"

"No matter what problems and challenges we face, I would like to represent myself personally, all the employees of Yike and Bingxin, and also the practitioners in the industry who are unwilling to succumb to threats, and all the colleagues around the world who stick to their beliefs and defend their dignity. …”

Fang Zhuo faced the camera. This time, instead of being leaked, he gave the answer openly and honestly: "Then come on."

No Fuck, that's not appropriate.

However, when he saw an American reporter in the audience raising his middle finger, he did not hesitate to give the same middle finger that complemented the situation.

In the writing of "Deutsche Welt", this scene was given a description and prediction: This is probably the most expensive middle finger in history.