Chapter 940 The Most Charming

“East London used to be full of light industrial areas, but as London developed, the factories and warehouses here were gradually abandoned. But now, it has become a gathering place for technology, digital and creative companies, including Woaw, Google, The European headquarters and incubation centers of world-renowned technology companies such as Microsoft also have many dynamic start-ups..."

On August 20, Joe Harriman, the British Minister of Business, Innovation and Skills, held a press conference in London Technology City, announcing that the government would establish a special investment fund aimed at promoting technological innovation. This year, the fund will invest 600 million pounds to vigorously Develop big data technology, synthetic biotechnology, space technology, robotics, new materials and energy technology and other fields, and invest in start-ups among them.

"Britain needs to maintain global competitiveness. The first and most important thing is to pay attention to the development of new technologies. We have fallen behind in many areas. That is the result of previous slackness. We should not allow this to happen again..."

It must be said that as a once well-known host in England, after entering politics and now becoming the youngest member of the cabinet, Joe Harriman, who is charming and good-looking, is still very eye-catching.

Moreover, she has a decisive character and is resolute, and she has always had a large number of supporters. It is worth mentioning that as a representative of independent women in the new era, and as the Minister of Women and Equality Affairs before that, she has been calling for the protection of women's rights. So a large portion of Joe Harriman's supporters were young women.

Now, as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Joe Harriman naturally needs to perform within the scope of his responsibilities.

For example, not long ago, she personally led a delegation to the United States and China, and invited some well-known IT companies from the two countries to settle in London Technology City.

Speaking of which, because of Barron's promotion, London Technology City developed earlier than the original time and space, and received a large amount of funding to promote it.

Coupled with the success of Woaw Technology, many young people began to choose to start Internet businesses in London, instead of just going to Silicon Valley...

These changes have made England the most active in Europe in the development of the Internet - it can be said that technology companies hoping to gain access to the European market will now focus on England first.

The European headquarters of many multinational companies in the IT industry are located in London.

After all, although England is an island country across the sea from the mainland, its connection with France is still very convenient because of the existence of the cross-sea tunnel.

And the network facilities in England have been actively developing.

Another point is that the technology in special effects in England is actually very good. In the past, many Hollywood film and television companies chose to produce post-production special effects here because of the lower cost.

Similarly, some game companies also choose here to outsource their related business.

At present, China is also developing rapidly in the production of local games, and some leading game companies are also beginning to try to expand overseas markets.

When Joe Harriman led the team to visit China, attracting investment from gaming companies was also one of her main purposes.

At present, some well-known Chinese game companies, including Penguin, NetArt, and Perfect World, have also begun to set up branches in London...

…

"Of course I will not directly choose a Chinese company as a partner, Mr. Prime Minister..."

Now, both Cameron and Barron may be most concerned about the British High-Speed ​​Rail Line 2. After all, this is a "super project" involving tens of billions of investments...

In this meeting, Barron said directly to Cameron:

"Regarding the selection of partners for this project, we will complete it through completely fair competition."

"I hope so too, Your Highness the Duke, because not only domestic companies in the UK, but also some engineering companies in Italy and France are very active in this project."

Barron shook his head, smiled at Cameron and said:

"With all due respect, I'm afraid they will all be disappointed by then. You know what? Chinese companies told me that when they built the HS2 project, they were able to reduce the budget cost to half of the original! How do you think other European companies can compete with What about their competition?"

"But you can't just look at the price. Quality is the most important thing. If something happens, Your Highness, you and I will be unbearable."

"Of course I understand this, but I am not worried about the quality at all. I went to Huaxia and took their Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail. To be honest, in terms of experience, it was the most comfortable and quietest high-speed rail I have ever taken. Next time You should try it too.”

Although compared with the budget given by the British side, the price quoted by the Chinese railway construction company for undertaking this project surprised Cameron...

But it’s understandable when you consider that the total mileage of the entire British High-Speed ​​Railway Line 2 is less than half that of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed ​​Railway, and the construction difficulty is even smaller - the construction cost of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed ​​Railway is less than 12 billion pounds. .

Of course, the cost of building such a high-speed railway in England cannot be compared so simply.

After all, even if Huaxia Company undertakes this project, some of its subcontractors will also need the participation of British-related companies. In addition, factors such as local prices and working hours in England will inevitably make the construction cost much higher than that of Huaxia Company. Native.

But even so, China can still reduce the total construction cost of High-speed Railway Line 2 by about half, which is one of the main reasons why Barron wants to cooperate with the other party.

Of course, just as Barron said to Cameron, the entire bidding process will be fair and just.

It's just that if the construction companies in European countries such as France, Italy, and even in the UK want to compete with China, they should offer competitive conditions...

"Yes, Uncle Hollande has proposed to help the French National Railway Company participate in this competition..."

Just like what Ashley Weber said when she called Barron:

"But I told him directly not to have too high expectations. After all, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group will get most of the orders for the trains and related systems of this high-speed railway, so it is impossible to be biased towards French companies in terms of construction projects."

In addition to the consortium formed by Chinese companies such as China Railway and China Railway Construction, the China Guangshen Railway Company and MTR have also formed a consortium to bid for the regional section from London High-Speed ​​Railway Station to Heathrow Airport.

Other competitors include the consortium of Italian National Railway Company and British Virgin Group; the consortium formed by French National Railway Company, etc.

Well, this time the Japanese company did not participate in the competition.