Rebirth of England.

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. Now, it has become a gathering place for technology, digital and creative companies. It has the European headquarters and incubation centers of world-renowned technology companies such as Woaw, Google and Microsoft, as well as many dynamic start-ups..."

On August 8, British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Joe Harriman held a press conference at London Tech City, announcing that the government will set up a special investment fund aimed at promoting technological innovation. This year, the fund will invest 20 million pounds to vigorously develop big data technology, synthetic biology, space technology, robotics, new materials and energy technology, and invest in start-ups in these areas.

"Britain needs to remain competitive in the world, and first and foremost, it needs to focus on the development of new technologies. We have fallen behind in many areas, which is the result of previous laxity. We should not allow this to happen again..."

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

She is also bold and resolute, and 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 Minister for Women and Equalities before that, she has always called for the protection of women's rights. Therefore, a large proportion of Jo Harriman's supporters are young women.

Now, as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Joe Harriman naturally also needs to deliver results within his area of ​​responsibility.

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

In fact, because of Barron's promotion, London Science City developed earlier than the original time and space, and received a lot of financial support.

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

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

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

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

And Britain's network facilities have also been actively developing.

Another point is that Britain’s special effects technology is actually very good. In the past, many Hollywood film and television companies chose to carry out post-production special effects here because of lower costs.

Similarly, some gaming companies also choose this place as the outsourcing destination for their related businesses.

Currently, China is also developing rapidly in the production of local games, and some leading game companies have begun to try to expand into overseas markets.

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

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

……

"Of course I won't directly choose a Chinese company as a partner, Mr. Prime Minister..."

Now, whether it is Cameron or Barron, what they are most concerned about is the British High Speed ​​Rail Line 2. After all, this is a "super project" involving tens of billions of investments... In this meeting, Barron directly said to Cameron:
"Regarding the selection of partners for this project, we will complete it through completely fair competition."

"I hope so, Your Highness, because not only British companies, but also some engineering companies in Italy and France are very enthusiastic about this project."

Barron shook his head and smiled at Cameron.

"Excuse me, but I'm afraid they will be disappointed by then. You know what? The Chinese company told me that they can reduce the budget cost to half of the original by building the HS2 project! How do you think other European companies can compete with them?"

"But we can't just look at the price. Quality is the most important. If anything goes wrong, Your Highness, neither you nor I can bear it."

"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, it was the most comfortable and quietest high-speed rail I have ever taken. You should try it next time."

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

But this is understandable when you consider that the total mileage of the entire UK High Speed ​​Rail Line 2 is less than half of that of the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed ​​Railway, and that its construction difficulty is much smaller - the construction cost of the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed ​​Railway is less than 120 billion pounds.

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

After all, even if a Chinese company undertakes this project, some of its subcontractors will need the participation of relevant British companies. In addition, factors such as local prices and working hours in the UK will inevitably make the construction cost much higher than that in China.

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

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

It's just that if construction companies in France, Italy and other European countries, or even in England, want to compete with China, they should offer competitive conditions...

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

As Ashlee Weber put it when she called Barron:

"But I told him not to have too high expectations. After all, Alstom-Bombardier will receive most of the orders for the trains and related systems of this high-speed railway, so it is impossible for them to favor French companies in terms of construction works."

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

Other competitors include a consortium of Italy's state-owned railway company and Britain's Virgin Group; and a consortium of France's national railway company.

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

(End of this chapter)