Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 240 Promoting peace through war, although we have not won, we have won

The prosperous areas in China are all in the city center, and rich people like to live in these places.

But when it comes to the United States, it's basically the other way around.

People with no money tend to live in the city center, while rich people like to live in large villas in the suburbs.

Of course, luxury apartments in the city centers of a small number of ultra-developed cities are also favorites of wealthy people.

However, Detroit is obviously not a super-developed city.

Chris, Johnston and Cao Yang are now at a golf course in the suburbs of Detroit, playing golf and talking about things.

The golf course is very large, and there are no obstacles if you look around.

When you talk about things in this situation, you don’t need to worry about someone filming you secretly.

Don’t worry about the walls having ears and your conversation being heard.

As for whether the ball is played well or not, it is not the point at all.

For someone like Cao Yang, who has never played golf a few times in his entire life, it would be strange to be able to play well at it.

But that's obviously not the point.

"Cao, don't the Chinese have a saying that harmony brings wealth?"

"Not to mention the waste of a lot of money in all kinds of lawsuits, it is obviously not good for the development of the enterprise."

"If you want me to watch it, we should sit down and have a good talk."

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be discussed."

Chris obviously acted as a middleman today and called Cao Yang and Johnston together.

Of course, there is no need to worry about whether the middleman is really so kind and wants to mediate, or whether all parties are willing.

Anyway, everyone knows it.

“Business is business, friends are friends!”

"Cao, among all the entrepreneurs in China, you are the one I admire the most."

“Whether it’s Nanshan’s bearing technology, gearbox technology, or special steel technology, they are all very impressive achievements.”

"I personally admire how much you have achieved in just a few years, and I am very willing to be friends with such an entrepreneur."

"However, everyone has his own boss. As the CEO of SKF, I am naturally responsible for the board of directors and shareholders."

"So there are some things and some actions that I hope you can understand."

Johnston is also under a lot of pressure right now.

Public opinion in Europe and the United States has developed rapidly, which is very unfavorable to SKF.

In particular, he learned that the U.S. judicial authorities seemed to be preparing to officially launch an antitrust investigation against SKF, which made him very nervous.

There is no company in this world that can withstand everyone holding a magnifying glass to look at problems.

SKF is no exception.

So many Japanese companies have suffered huge losses in antitrust matters before. Is SKF really just a white lotus?

It's impossible now!

So before the antitrust investigation was officially launched, Johnston wanted to communicate with Cao Yang in private.

Lest we have to fight three lawsuits at the same time, SKF will not be able to bear it.

The board of directors and shareholders will only focus on the results and will only see scenarios that are unfavorable to SKF. They will turn a blind eye to other efforts and other difficulties.

SKF wants to engage in Nanshan because Nanshan has forced SKF to the point where it can hardly survive.

But now Cao Yang has talked to SKF through Chris about OEM work for SKF through a trading company.

Although this plan is limited to the European market and South American market, Johnston feels that many things can be discussed after sitting down.

He has given up hope in the Chinese market.

Regardless of whether the lawsuit is won or failed, the Chinese market has nothing to do with SKF.

As long as the U.S. market does not deteriorate further, it is barely acceptable.

After all, as a European company, the most important market is still in Europe.

As long as the European structure is not completely disrupted, everything will be easy to negotiate.

"Johnston, you are absolutely right!"

“Business is business, friends are friends.”

"I like making friends the most!"

"Friends come with good wine, enemies come with shotguns."

"We in Nanshan are willing to make friends with many people and companies internationally."

Cao Yang will come today, naturally hoping to find a solution that satisfies him.

It's not impossible to continue litigating.

But aside from spending money, the main reason is that it takes too much time.

For Nanshan, time is very important.

So today Cao Yang is really willing to reach some settlement with SKF in other ways, which will also put pressure on subsequent companies such as Aisin and Fanuc.

They can even jointly deal with those companies in turn.

"Johnston, Cao, although SKF and Nanshan both produce bearings, there are many companies producing bearings in the world. We can work together to seize the shares of other manufacturers."

"Especially those bearing companies in Japan account for more than half of the global market share of mid-to-high-end bearings. You two are fighting each other. You are just making wedding clothes for people. It's not worth it."

Chris is peacemaker today.

Only when SKF and Nanshan reconcile can the trading company truly play its role.

Otherwise, it is just a shell company that cannot make a penny.

"This is indeed the case. Japan's NTN, NSK, JTEKT, Fujikoshi, Koyo Bearing and other bearing companies not only almost monopolize Japan's domestic bearing market, but also have many customers around the world."

"Even in Europe, [-]% of the share is taken by Japanese bearing manufacturers. We can definitely eat this piece of the cake."

"I believe that if both parties can unite to deal with Japanese bearing manufacturers, then their respective interests can be guaranteed."

Even if Nanshan defeats the anti-dumping investigation and is subject to additional tariffs, the final market may not be taken away by SKF, but may be given to companies such as Timken and NTN.

In addition, Chris coordinated, ensuring his own personal interests and being accountable to the company, so Johnston is now much more active than Cao Yang.

He was even a little worried that Cao Yang would only want to litigate with him, and both sides would lose, so he would contribute to the American law firm.

"I think the same as you, but I hope you can also understand that recent events have attracted a lot of attention on the Internet in China."

"If SKF can continue to compete with Nanshan in China in the future, many people may be disappointed with Nanshan."

"I suggest you sell your domestic factories!"

"Anyway, you are a joint venture with Xifeng Bearing and other companies, and the other party should be very willing to acquire the remaining shares."

"Of course, Nanshan can also promise that we will not build bearing factories in Europe."

Cao Yang would make this somewhat excessive request because SKF's domestic market share is already very small.

If it hadn't relied on the joint venture to continue its life, it would have basically announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market.

Therefore, selling the shares at this time will have little actual impact on SKF.

But for Nanshan, it is a matter of great prestige.

After all, when the time comes, people can guide public opinion online and let everyone know that Nanshan beat SKF out of China.

In this way, even if the case that is making a lot of noise now ends in an anticlimax, it will not cause any adverse consequences.

"Cao, some customers are still very willing to use SKF bearings. If we close the factory, it will be irresponsible to customers."

Naturally, Johnston does not want to completely withdraw from the Chinese market, which will make it difficult for him to explain to the board of directors and shareholders.

Cao Yang was obviously aware of his concerns, so he immediately continued: "Johnston, although SKF has closed its factory in China, the China branch can still remain and do some after-sales and import work. Sales of parts.”

"Even if there are individual customers who insist on using your products, they can leave it to Nanshan to help with OEM."

"Maybe under this model, the income of your Huaxia branch will actually get better."

When Cao Yang said this, Johnston was a little moved.

He also knows very well that SKF has no future in the Chinese market.

To continue to stay is to linger on.

It is better to take this opportunity to seek other benefits.

"Cao, as far as I know, Nanshan Bearing's performance in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia markets is not very good."

"Of course, frankly speaking, SKF's performance in these areas is not good either."

"NTN and other Japanese companies have almost monopolized these markets. Are you interested in working together to set up a joint venture between SKF and Nanshan to operate the markets in these areas?"

Johnston made an even bolder suggestion.

However, Cao Yang is not very interested in establishing a joint venture with others.

Of course, he also understood that what Johnston said made sense.

So based on this proposal, he changed a plan and said: "In these places, we in Nanshan are willing to fully communicate with SKF. Both parties will divide their shares according to the type of bearings and deal with Japanese companies together."

"I am very optimistic about the future markets in Tianzhu and Southeast Asia."

"It would be even more worth looking forward to if we could break into Japan's local market."

After Cao Yang said this, Johnston thought about it and felt that it was not impossible.

"Cao, in principle, I agree with your proposal."

"However, there are some details that need to be communicated by the respective teams."

After saying this, Johnston swung his golf club and hit a beautiful ball.

Things have gone through so much so far, and this ending is already the best.

Of course, after returning to China, how he promotes it is his business and Cao Yang has nothing to do with it.

Similarly, after returning to China, how Cao Yang promotes it is also Cao Yang's business and SKF has no control over it.

……

SKF and Nanshan each took the initiative to withdraw the lawsuit.

Although neither party held a formal press conference, the case was closed, and affiliated companies such as Aisin noticed it immediately.

"Okumura, are you clear?"

"What's going on with SKF and Nanshan?"

"Have they reached an agreement to settle out of court?"

Hisato Yoshikawa is more anxious than anyone else right now.

Apart from SKF, Aisin and Nanshan are currently fighting the fiercest and most fiercely.

Aisin even brought his "dad" Toyota out to deal with Nanshan together.

But so far, Aisin has not gotten any advantage from Nanshan.

This is something that everyone at Aixin is very unwilling to do.

"President, I heard that public opinion in Europe is not very favorable to SKF, and the situation in the United States is similar."

"As for China, it goes without saying that SKF has almost become a street rat."

"Coupled with the fact that Nanshan sued SKF for infringing their patents and collected a bunch of evidence to push the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an antitrust investigation, SKF should also be under a lot of pressure."

"In this case, the possibility of them reaching an out-of-court settlement is indeed very high."

Okumura has been following up on these cases during this period, and he has a relatively good understanding of the situations of SKF, Nanshan and other parties.

"We must find out what happened between them."

"Now the next court hearing will be a lawsuit against us."

"At that point all the pressure will shift to us."

Although Hisato Yoshikawa is considered to be in a high and powerful position, he does not have the final say in everything.

"President, there is something I think I need to report to you."

Okumura thought about some of the personnel dynamics in the company during this period, and felt a little uneasy.

"what's up?"

"In the past week, more than a dozen employees at the American branch have officially submitted their resignation applications, and many employees have also expressed their willingness to leave. I think this is a bit abnormal."

Obviously, Cao Yang's original plan has begun to bear fruit.

Although Aisin is a Japanese company, employee stability in China is very high.

But here in the United States, people don't have the consciousness to work in one company for a lifetime.

Whoever offers a higher salary will switch jobs.

This is normal.

As for whether these employees will worry about the people poaching them, that is a completely different topic.

Normally, no business would be that boring at all.

How is it like in China, where some bosses want to lay off employees but don't want to lose money.

We simply teamed up with headhunters to poach the employees, and then they resigned voluntarily...

"Is it because the company's business in the United States has declined sharply that employees are starting to leave?"

Yoshikawa Hisato's first reaction was not a conspiracy, but that the company was in trouble, so the employees resigned.

After all, this is a normal situation.

"I thought so when I first started, but the decline in the company's business did not just start this year."

"It was already clear last year that if those guys were going to leave, they left last year."

"Now we are focusing on this period, which is still the period when we are fighting a lawsuit with Nanshan. I think it is a bit abnormal."

It has to be said that Okumura's struggle experience has gradually enriched.

He could already feel that something was wrong.

"Do you suspect that Nanshan is poaching our employees?"

Yoshikawa Hisato frowned, feeling that things were getting more complicated.

A case of gearbox infringement has already put Aisin into trouble. If there is another large-scale personnel loss, Aisin's business in the United States will really not be able to sustain it.

"President, although there is no evidence, I think this matter has something to do with Nanshan."

"Especially after I inquired about it, I found that FANUC had a situation similar to ours."

"This way, the situation will be clearer as to who is behind it!"

Okumura's tone became more and more determined.

However, he didn't know how to change this situation.

Although Aisin can retain employees by improving wages and other methods, but people's hearts are unstable, and this situation cannot be changed in a short time.

"Okumura, do you think we can win the lawsuit with Nanshan in the end?"

The initiator, SKF, retreated, and Hisato Yoshikawa also began to retreat in his heart.

Japanese companies themselves are not the kind of companies that like to litigate, and most cases are resolved through negotiation.

It's just that this time it involves Nanshan, and the teeth marks on both sides are relatively deep.

That’s why we followed the trend and filed a lawsuit.

Who knew that Nanshan was not afraid at all, and just faced Aixin head-on.

"President, during this period, I have also communicated with the purchasers of General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler Automobile."

"Judging from the current situation, Ford already has its own gearbox, so we sued Nanshan for dumping, but they didn't particularly care."

"But General Motors and Chrysler obviously don't support us doing this."

"Because if the anti-dumping investigation of Nanshan Gearbox is really finalized and high anti-dumping duties are levied on them, then they will have no cheap gearboxes to use."

"No matter where the gearbox is purchased from, the price will definitely be higher than that of Nanshan."

"This is a situation they are not willing to accept."

"I'm worried that if we continue to persist, General Motors and Chrysler will directly threaten us."

When Okumura said this, Yoshikawa Hisato became even more confused.

Although both General Motors and Chrysler have switched most of Aisin's transmission shares to Nanshan.

But after all, there are still some models that continue to use Aisin products for various reasons.

If there are no orders at all, then Aisin will really have to rely on Toyota Motor.

"The most important thing is that I am worried that after the Nanshan anti-dumping investigation is ruled, they may in turn use the same method to deal with us."

"At that time, endless lawsuits will cause the company to simply not be able to survive in the United States."

Okumura obviously wanted to back down.

We are all businessmen, and we can’t afford to do anything early if there is no profit.

It no longer makes much sense to continue fighting the lawsuit.

It is more likely to be a lose-lose situation, which Okumura does not want to see.

"Will these cases have any impact on the company's future situation in China?"

After being silent for a moment, Hisato Yoshikawa continued to ask.

"I am confident that the United States will not lose the patent litigation case. At most, it will become a protracted tug-of-war to see who can withstand it first."

"But if Nanshan also sues us in China, it is very likely that we will really lose the lawsuit. Even if we want to delay it, we may not be able to."

When Okumura said this, Yoshikawa became even more hesitant.

However, it is definitely not up to him to give up the fight against Nanshan.

Fortunately, Okumura is also very good at observing words and emotions, and he understands Yoshikawa's character very well.

So he immediately said: "President, the market structure of 6AT and 6MT gearboxes has been initially formed."

"If we want to regain market share from Nanshan, we need to launch an 8AT automatic transmission as soon as possible."

"At that time, relying on our technological advantages and cost advantages, we at Aisin will be able to embark on the path of rapid development again."

"It's better to stay dormant for a while now and spend all your energy on internal research and development work, and don't waste too much time on Nanshan."

When Okumura said this, Yoshikawa immediately nodded and said: "Your analysis is also correct. The so-called gentleman's revenge is never too late in ten years!"

"This time, we will let Nanshan go first!"

"Next time we will make Nanshan look better!"

Along with this conversation between Yoshikawa and Okumura, Aisin's movements naturally began to change.

Use war to promote peace, and use peace to promote development.

This can be regarded as Cao Yang's main strategy for coming to the United States to respond to the lawsuit this time.

It is impossible to win all lawsuits.

Cao Yang knew this very well.

After all, Nanshan is a Chinese company.

Sometimes, although it seems that everyone is competing fairly in the international market, in fact there is no real fairness at all.

Just like Bill Gates successfully obtained an order from IBM during his entrepreneurial journey, many people felt that this was because the product was good enough and it was the result of fair competition.

Actually it's because he has an awesome mother.

……

SKF backed down!

Ae Shin flinches!

FANUC is not stupid either. Naturally, he will not rush to the front and act as cannon fodder at this time.

So very quickly, Nanshan's situation in the United States took a very big turn.

There were a lot of lawsuits, but all of a sudden they disappeared.

"Mr. Cao, it seems that your original strategy was right. Only by letting everyone see Nanshan's determination and the losses they have suffered, can they truly view Nanshan as an equal."

Zhou Yuan is considered a personal experiencer of these cases.

From the very stressful state at the beginning, to now I feel relaxed.

A lot of things really happened in the middle.

Although Cao Yang didn't tell her much about some things off the stage, and if he did, they wouldn't be suitable to talk about on the podium.

But Zhou Yuan still felt the power of Nanshan, or rather Cao Yang.

"Nanshan's development history in recent years is a history of struggle with international parts giants and equipment giants."

"We have no way out, we can only move forward."

"We will fight whoever stops us!"

“Only by making everyone realize that Nanshan is not something to be trifled with, we can save a lot of trouble in the future.”

"Although we did not win the lawsuit this time, we are actually the winners."

"All of our strategic goals for coming to the United States have been achieved."

"Professor Zhou, you have worked hard during this time."

It seems that it has been more than a month since I left Yangcheng.

It's almost Christmas here in the United States, and Cao Yang is naturally preparing to return to China.

"Mr. Cao, you're welcome. I didn't help much, but I paid you such a high legal fee. It's a bit embarrassing to say that."

At Zhou Yuan's level, there is no shortage of money.

But after helping Nanshan fight the lawsuit for more than a month, he earned more than 100 million yuan.

This remuneration is definitely the best in China.

Cao Yang even paid the Chinese lawyers with reference to the legal fees in the United States.

This is actually very rare.

"No, it is precisely because of the support of Professor Zhou and your legal team that we were able to force SKF and Aisin to proactively seek peace."

“Otherwise, we don’t know what these lawsuits will look like.”

Cao Yang chatted with Zhou Yuan and his attitude was always very good.

This time the case has come to an end, and there will definitely be new cases to be fought in China in the future.

And relying on Zhou Yuan's status in the Chinese judicial community, maintaining close contact with her would only bring benefits and no disadvantages.