Chapter 1648: Breaking the Deadlock with Electricity

Later in the day.

China.

A Hongqi minibus with a white license plate was driving smoothly on the S3301 Expressway leading to Tianjin. The sound of the wheels rubbing against the road was filtered out by the good sound insulation and turned into a low background sound.

Half a month ago, the ArF1800 lithography machine, carrying all expectations, was officially delivered to Huaxin International by Shanghai Microelectronics Group.

After a series of preparations, the latter finally plans to officially conduct the first production test today.

This convoy was the delegation of the Industrial and Construction Committee that went to inspect, or to witness this moment.

Inside the minibus, Chang Haonan was watching the Chinese-English bilingual video that Lianhai Institute of Chemical Physics had just released globally through the onboard multimedia system.

"Comparative Safety Test Report of Co-C-hBN Electrode Materials: Scientific Facts".

On the high-definition screen, the dazzling flames of the LG Chemical battery pack that instantly exploded during the needle penetration test formed a shocking contrast with the relatively "tolerant" performance of the domestic Co-C-hBN battery pack under the same harsh conditions. Coupled with the calm explanation of Academician Zhang Tao, it clearly pointed out the core problems of voltage inconsistency and BMS failure.

After the video finished playing, there was a brief silence in the car.

Luan Wenjie, who was sitting on the other side of the aisle, turned off the screen and leaned back slightly into the spacious seat.

There was an expression on his face that was both reasonable and unexpected.

"The results are much better than expected," Luan Wenjie said in a steady voice, without much emotion. "Especially the response from overseas platforms."

He half turned around and explained to Chang Haonan:

"Actually, I originally authorized the release of this video mainly to appease the domestic market. After all, the successive incidents with LG and Tesla have caused many people to worry about the safety of our own Co-C-hBN materials... But now, it's gone viral online first."

It is actually very difficult for promotional materials from China to be promoted on foreign platforms such as YouTube. This situation is purely an exception. It is likely that someone is taking advantage of the situation and pushing it behind the scenes.

Chang Haonan didn't respond immediately. He just took out his cell phone and slid his fingers unconsciously across the smooth glass surface a few times.

The screen displays a real-time overview of the three major U.S. stock indices.

"The impact is real,"

Chang Haonan turned his phone screen slightly towards Luan Wenjie:

"Look, the panic has narrowed from the entire new energy sector to those directly affected—Samsung, Apple, LG, Tesla... However, the Nasdaq is still in the green (down), while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 have been rising quite strongly recently."

Luan Wenjie glanced sideways at Chang Haonan's phone screen.

The piercing red above contrasts beautifully with the striking green:

“Do you still pay attention to the U.S. stock market?”

Chang Haonan nodded: "There's nothing we can do... The decisions made in Washington right now are largely influenced by stock market fluctuations."

Luan Wenjie shook his head slightly and let out an imperceptible sigh:

“When it comes to finance, Americans still have too deep roots.”

As he spoke, his eyes turned to the spring fields passing by quickly outside the car window:

"Despite such a huge shock wave, there was no panic capital flight. Instead, capital flowed from the Nasdaq to the Dow Jones and S&P 500... It's like a flood swirling in your own yard; it will eventually settle down without damaging the foundation, and investor confidence has not been truly destroyed."

Chang Haonan took back his phone and nodded, indicating his complete agreement:

"The fundamental reason is that the dollar's hegemony is too firmly supported... Over the past two years, the EU has been in turmoil, and the euro's credibility and status have plummeted. As a result, the dollar has undisputedly regained its top spot."

"Under this situation, no matter how large a dollar surplus we earn in international trade, we will ultimately be fleeced by the Federal Reserve through a combination of interest rate hikes and cuts, inflation and deflation... To change this situation, we must find a way to weaken the dollar's global currency status."

Finance cannot directly create wealth.

But financial hegemony is more difficult to overcome than technological barriers.

"We all understand the principle, but shaking up this system is no easy task..."

Although Luan Wenjie is a leader of the Industrial and Construction Commission, he has a very clear understanding of the monetary and financial fields:

"To be frank, the US dollar is nothing more than printed green paper. Its strength is ultimately tied to the 'black gold' of oil... The oil-dollar system has been operating for decades and is deeply ingrained. If we want the renminbi to replace the US dollar and become a true international reserve and settlement currency..."

He paused, then lowered his voice slightly:

"Either we break through by force through violence and directly gain a superior influence similar to that of the United States in the Middle East, or we have to compete peacefully and gradually infiltrate... But no matter which choice we make, it is destined to be a long and difficult road, and it is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight... It's difficult."

At this time, Xiang Huaping, who had been listening quietly and elegantly, pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and took over the conversation:

"What the director said is indeed the truth, but the higher-ups are actually aware of this problem."

As the chief economist of the Industrial and Construction Commission, although he is not specialized in currency, he is definitely more knowledgeable than Chang Haonan and Luan Wenjie.

Seeing the two people in front of him looking at him, Xiang Huaping continued to explain:

"We have developed a roadmap for the internationalization of the RMB over the next 10 to 20 years. The core idea is to steadily and steadily increase the RMB's share in international trade settlement, commodity pricing, and global foreign exchange reserves as our country's comprehensive national strength – including economic scale, scientific and technological strength, military support capabilities, and cultural influence – is comprehensively enhanced."

"But this is a gradual process and cannot be rushed."

Chang Haonan listened quietly, tapping his fingers lightly on his knees.

Suddenly, he sat up straight, and his eyes looking at the other person became sharp.

"Academician Chang?"

Xiang Huaping felt a little uneasy when being stared at.

However, immediately afterwards, Chang Haonan raised a shocking question:

"Mr. Xiang, is it possible... for us to bypass the oil system and start from scratch, establishing a brand new international currency value anchoring system dominated by us?"

The question came so suddenly that even an experienced economist like Xiang Huaping was visibly stunned.

He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his temples. After a few seconds, his eyes behind the lenses finally focused again.

"Starting from scratch... a brand new anchoring system..." Xiang Huaping repeated, as if trying to digest the weight of this concept.

"In theory, of course."

He quickly responded:

"The anchor of a currency is never static. For example, the previous gold-dollar system was later replaced by the petrodollar system. But if we really want to implement it, the key is to find a new 'anchor' that can support confidence in global currencies."

Having said that, perhaps worried that Chang Haonan might not understand, he added:

"Well, this 'anchor' is our own term, meaning..."

But Chang Haonan immediately raised his hand to interrupt: "I have read some books on this subject, no need to explain."

Then he asked, "What conditions does this 'anchor' need to meet?"

He leaned out of his seat noticeably further, clearly extremely interested in the topic.

“There need to be… five core characteristics.”

Faced with such a specific problem, Xiang Huaping also became serious.

After a brief summary, the key points are clearly listed:

"The first is relative stability of value. The value of the anchor itself cannot fluctuate drastically, otherwise it cannot serve as a stable measure of value. The second is network externalities. The more people use this currency or anchor system, the higher its convenience and value will be, forming a positive cycle. The third is widespread recognition and acceptance, which is self-explanatory..."

"Fourth, it must be highly correlated with the issuing country's economic strength. The anchor must clearly and powerfully reflect the issuing or dominant country's economic strength and control over resources, which is the fundamental source of credit. Fifth, it must be convertible and liquid. It must facilitate efficient global trading and circulation..."

"..."

Having said this, he paused and emphasized:

"Of these five points, widespread acceptance and correlation with the issuing country's economic strength are particularly important; they are the cornerstones of the cornerstones. Gold's exit from history was superficially due to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, but the underlying reason was that the US's economic strength at the time could no longer support its commitment to a fixed exchange rate between the dollar and gold, leading to a collapse of its credit..."

As Xiang Huaping finished his answer, Chang Haonan fell into a brief contemplation.

After a moment, he raised his head again.

The voice was not loud, but every word was clear:

“What if… we tried to use electricity as this new monetary anchor?”