Countercurrent 1982

Chapter 1490 Simple Question

US$200 million is not enough to set up a research and development center in Europe, but it is more than enough to set up a research institute in a university. Even a few hundred thousand US dollars can be used to set up a dedicated research room at the University of Munich.

What's more, there is a bonus of 300 million U.S. dollars, and the sum of the two items is 500 million U.S. dollars. This money can completely set up a medium-sized R&D center in Germany, and this funding can last for more than three years.

Although in later generations, many multinational giants spent tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars a year in research and development, in the early 90s, the US dollar was still very valuable. Considering inflation and the depreciation of the US dollar, 500 million US dollars is almost equivalent to 10 years later. $2 million to $000 million, that's definitely a pretty big chunk of money.

In fact, for Principal Huber and other members of the school committee, what surprised them most was that a Chinese company would have such a large amount of money, and could spend millions of dollars at every turn, which completely overturned their previous understanding of China. impression.

"Mr. Duan, you have come from a long way, let us take you to visit the campus first." Huber suddenly suggested at this time.

"That's troublesome." Duan Yun smiled and nodded.

The next moment, Duan Yun and the school committee left the meeting room.

Walking in the aisle, several members of the school committee whispered to each other, obviously they held different opinions on Duan Yun's coming to the University of Munich to start a research institute.

In fact, among these universities in Germany, there has never been a precedent for cooperation with third world countries before. In the 500-year history of the University of Munich, it is the first time to discuss cooperation with a Chinese company.

However, German universities still pay great attention to social benefits, and how much commercial value they can create for the society has become an important criterion for measuring the strength of German universities. Therefore, Duan Yun brought a large amount of US dollars to seek cooperation, and the University of Munich is very welcome. of.

It's just that the cooperation between the University of Munich and Chinese companies may also involve some political issues, because the United States has always been very strict with the Soviet Union and its affiliated republics in terms of technical scores, and no West German company or university is allowed to have any cooperation with the Soviet Union. Technical and commercial exchanges, especially some sensitive technologies involving military use, are more strictly blocked. Once any group or individual violates the relevant blockade agreement, what awaits them is prison, or even directly shot.

At this time, the Cold War was not over yet. The United States had a garrison of 23 troops in West Germany and more than 20 military bases. It almost controlled the lifeline of the entire West German economy, politics and military. Therefore, the West German government obeyed the United States. Dare not have the slightest negligence.

Although it is said that Tianyin Group and the University of Munich are mainly engaged in the research and development of civilian product technology, under the current political environment, it is easy to be punished by the Americans.

Although Principal Huber and others felt that this matter was a bit tricky, they still led Duan Yun to visit the University of Munich.

Walking on the campus of the University of Munich, Duan Yun found that the university is very large, covering an area of ​​at least 1000 acres, and many buildings have a lot of historical heritage. The earliest building is said to be in the 17th century. In the library, the collection of books spans several centuries, so that Duan Yun feels like he has come to a museum.

There is an old saying in domestic education that it takes 10 years to plant trees and [-] years to educate people. Although China is a country that respects teachers very much, due to the decay of the feudal system and the invasion of various countries since the Opium War, many educational assets have not been preserved. However, even Tsinghua University and Peking University, which were the earliest schools in mainland China, are still too young and lack some heritage compared to many famous schools in Europe.

During the whole visit, Duan Yun led by Huber came to the School of Computer Science at the University of Munich.

The School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Munich seems to be a relatively new building. In fact, computers have only been developed for decades since their birth. In the exhibition hall of the School of Computer Science, Duan Yun saw some antique computers. The computer weighs more than ten tons and is the earliest computer in the world.

"Mr. Duan Yun, I personally very much hope to cooperate with your company, but you may still need to spend some time waiting..." Huber said to Duan Yun on the way to visit the School of Computer Science.

"Is there any problem?" Duan Yun felt that there was some difficulty in Huber's tone, so he asked casually.

"Some major events happened in your country last year. Our federal government received instructions from the US government. For technical cooperation with countries like your China, we need to apply to the federal government in advance. Only with the approval of the government, the cooperation between us Only then can we continue..." When he said this, Huber showed a bit of helplessness on his face.

"You mean that the United States does not allow German universities to cooperate with Chinese companies?" Duan Yun immediately understood the crux of the problem, so he asked Huber.

"Science and technology itself has no borders and is the common wealth of mankind. We at the University of Munich also oppose government interference in this kind of academic exchanges and cooperation for political purposes, but I also hope you can understand that I will do my best to facilitate our mutual cooperation. The cooperation between us, as far as possible let our federal government agree to our application..." Huber said.

"Hahaha!" Duan Yun laughed when he heard this, and said to Huber after a while: "Mr. Huber, the problem is actually not as serious as you imagined, and this matter can be easily resolved."

"Ok?"

Hearing what Duan Yun said, not only Huber, but several members of the Munich school committee also looked at Duan Yun with doubts on their faces.

"Do you have any ideas?" Another vice principal of the school committee asked Duan Yun.

"It's not a high opinion, it's just a loophole." Duan Yun smiled slightly, and then said: "I can find someone to register a company in Hong Kong, and then cooperate with your University of Munich in the name of this Hong Kong company. , you don’t have to worry about the failure of the application..."

(End of this chapter)