African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1087 Thawing of Relations with the United Kingdom

Among the world's naval powers, the British Royal Navy is in a class of its own, while the navies of the United States, Germany, and France belong to the second tier, and Japan and East Africa belong to the third tier. Other navies can be further subdivided, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Spain, which belong to the fourth tier...

But leaving aside the British Royal Navy, which is a transcendent existence, any country in the second tier has already formed a huge advantage over other countries in the world, and France is the goalkeeper of the second tier.

Even this goalkeeper is nearly twice as strong as the East African or Japanese navies in the third tier, so the gap between the world's navies is currently too great.

Siewert said: "The French Navy is at the bottom of the second echelon among the world's navies. Our East African Navy should at least be in the second echelon. In addition, the French Navy has already shown insufficient stamina in the competition with countries like Germany and the United States, so it is also our best reference."

Judging from the current economic and industrial development of countries around the world, France has actually fallen behind, and the French Navy's capabilities and energy in the arms race are also stretched.

If it were Britain, the United States and Germany, they would not be like France. In fact, the East African Navy is developing rapidly, and so are the British, American and German navies. Now these three countries are far from showing signs of decline in the arms race.

It’s just that the British Royal Navy has more considerations. Its competitors have never been limited to a single country, but the entire world. This is why Britain is under great pressure. If it loses its naval advantage, British hegemony will also collapse.

Ernst said: "The result of this meeting is obvious. The East African Navy should at least reach the second-tier strength. This is also the bottom line for our next negotiations with the UK. Of course, this standard is floating, so we can use this floating standard to put pressure on the UK to make more concessions."

Even if the East African Navy negotiates with the United Kingdom and limits its naval development to a certain extent, it should still develop to a certain stage. At least the current tonnage of the East African Navy of 400,000 tons is far from enough. This is also the consensus within the East African government. After all, if the navy is not strong enough, East Africa may become a lamb to be slaughtered in the future.

Ernst went on to say, “Now that we have determined the bottom line of our navy, let’s discuss what benefits we should gain from the UK. Let’s all share our ideas.”

Siwei Te: "First of all, there is the issue of South America. South America is an emerging market currently anchored in East Africa. On this issue, there are differences between us and the UK, but they are all minor issues, so opening up the South American market to my country should be one of the basic conditions."

"my country's industry has developed to a certain stage and urgently needs to open up more markets. If we simply squeeze the domestic market, it will easily lead to many problems, so we need to develop both domestic and overseas markets at the same time."

"In addition to the South American market, we should also take initiatives in other economic spheres of influence of the UK, such as India, Australia and other regions. Due to restrictions imposed by the UK, our trade with India has always been conducted in secret and has been difficult to develop. This is even more true in the international market controlled by the UK."

"So this time, our contact with the UK may be an attempt to thaw the economic, political and diplomatic relations with the UK, which is extremely beneficial to the development of our country's industry."

Although the British sanctions did not have the expected effect, it does not mean that the East African governments are not uncomfortable, especially when Britain occupies a dominant position in the international market. The whole of Britain directly controls nearly one-fifth of the world's market share, covering 400 million people. In addition, Britain can also indirectly influence the independent national markets in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Far East, South America, North America and other regions.

The remaining markets also face a situation of more wolves than meat. After all, in addition to the United Kingdom, there are many world powers and regional powers, including East Africa itself.

Although Britain's industry is no longer sufficient to support its advantage over other countries in the world, Britain controls the trade channels. If any of these trade channels are leaked to some small, medium or even big countries, it will be enough for these countries to make a living. The most typical examples are Argentina, Japan and the United States.

Argentina is the natural pasture of the United Kingdom, and Japan is also a tool supported by the British government to balance the Far East. As for the United States, it has also received a lot of investment from the United Kingdom. If these investments want to make a profit, the United Kingdom will naturally open a back door to the United States. After all, the boss behind the American factory is very likely to be British, and now the American industry actually plays the role of the British foundry.

This shows that Britain has a strong influence in the world economy. East Africa is naturally very envious of this influence. Unfortunately, due to its relationship with Britain, East Africa has been unable to join in in the past. That is why Siewert mentioned taking advantage of this opportunity to achieve the thawing of relations with Britain.

Ernst also has a positive attitude towards this. He said: "Although Britain has always been hostile to my country in the past, this is actually a political burden for us or Britain, so taking this opportunity to ease relations with Britain is beneficial to my country."

In fact, Ernst also thought of one more point, that is, in the previous world war, the United States was able to make a lot of money behind Britain's back, which was inseparable from the economic ties between the two countries. If the European war broke out and there was no substantial change in the relationship between East Africa and Britain, it would be detrimental to East Africa obtaining war dividends.

Therefore, improving the relationship between the two countries in advance, attracting British businessmen to invest in East Africa, and laying a good framework foundation in advance will enable East Africa to gain more advantages in the future. Therefore, taking this opportunity to achieve economic cooperation with the UK will benefit more than it will harm.

As for the future, there is no need to consider East Africa. When the war is over, Britain will almost reach the era of the twilight of its empire. By then, emerging countries such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan will launch anti-British activities.

This is even true in the military field. At present, East Africa is generous to others and responds to Britain's call to slow down the expansion of its own navy. However, when the European war breaks out, Britain will no longer have the energy to find trouble with East Africa.

After all, it doesn't matter whether the East African Navy develops faster or slower. Although it is said that it is far behind other countries, it is still the sixth in the world. Against the backdrop of mutual restraint among countries in the world, no country can devote all its energy to dealing with the East African Navy.

Therefore, in this contact between East Africa and the British government, East Africa actually holds the initiative. As long as a consensus is finally reached, it will have beneficial results for East Africa.

Of course, the premise is that East Africa can find its own position. As long as East Africa does not adopt a slightly extreme diplomatic strategy like Germany, Britain is not untouchable.

Of course, what gives the East African government confidence is the significant improvement in its comprehensive national strength. Without the improvement in national strength, it would be impossible for Britain to sit at the same table with East Africa calmly. Everything is based on strength and status.

After confirming the premise of thawing relations with the UK, Ernst said: "Now we have once again reached a consensus, that is, to ease relations with the UK, strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, and gain more markets."

The East African government is not exaggerating in thinking this way. There is indeed huge room for cooperation between the two countries. East Africa is eyeing the British market, and conversely, Britain is also eyeing the East African domestic market.

Moreover, the biggest basis for economic cooperation between the two countries is the industrial differentiation between the two countries. As mentioned before, East Africa's main industrial competitors are the United States and Germany, not the United Kingdom. This means that there is little conflict of interest between East Africa and the United Kingdom in the economic field.

So from an industrial perspective, East Africa is a potential high-quality cooperation partner for the UK at this stage. Just like the UK’s investment in the United States, East Africa is fully willing to bear the US’s part. As for the competition between East Africa and the United States, doesn’t the UK welcome it?

(End of this chapter)