Chapter 1222: Hold the pricing power of rare earths!

'Mr. Xia, on behalf of the more than six million fellow villagers in Qianzhou City, I would like to express my gratitude to you!'

Xia Yu smiled faintly and waved his hand, saying, 'Secretary Sun, we are all on the same side, so you don't have to be so formal with me.'

'Mr Xia is right, we are all family. My hometown is also Qianzhou City, and I grew up in Jinggangshan when I was a child.'

Sun Yucai smiled, feeling very good.

Although it was the first time they had met, Xia Yu's easygoing attitude put him at ease.

'Secretary Sun, as the saying goes, it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish. No matter how much money there is, it can all be spent. I hope that Qianzhou City can have its own machine for generating wealth, so that it can provide the endogenous impetus for the city's development.

Xia Yu took a sip of tea, his smile fading slightly, and said solemnly.

Sun Yucai nodded in agreement, saying, 'Mr Xia, you have hit the nail on the head.'

'First of all, I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to take advantage of you. This kind of thing can't last long, and your money didn't come from thin air. I understand that very well.'

'I've been in Qianzhou City for more than a year. When I first arrived, I spent half a year travelling to all the districts, counties and townships in the entire city. What I saw and heard made me feel very sad and guilty. The people in the old districts have made huge contributions to the establishment of New China, but... sigh...'

At the end of his speech, Sun Yucai let out a long sigh, full of complex emotions that few people could understand.

Apart from the fact that he grew up in Qianzhou City as a child, he was too young to go with his father to join the Red Army. After liberation, his father returned home and took the whole family to the national capital. Of course, life in the national capital was different from the grassroots level in Qianzhou City, and there was a fundamental difference.

Although he was not a member of the aristocracy, his standard of living was much better than that of the ordinary people. As an official, how could he not be anxious when he saw that the living standards of the people in Qianzhou City were so low?

He dreamed of letting the people in the old revolutionary base areas live a good life, and even if he could just make the other areas and counties of Qianzhou City reach the same level as Longfeng County, that would already be very good.

Sun Yucai's heartfelt words moved Xia Yu and Xia Anshan.

Xia Yu is a good judge of character. From his previous exchanges with Sun Yucai, Xia Yu could tell that the 50-year-old top leader, who had been parachuted in, was not a bad person at heart, and that he was somewhat bookish. He was a man with faith in his heart who wanted to do great things.

For such a person, Xia Yu was of course willing to give him support and more readily help him.

'Secretary Sun, I wonder what industries in Qianzhen City are more prominent now? Or are they more suitable for development?'

Xia Yu looked at Sun Yucai and asked the key question. He had the money, but it was a matter of where to spend it.

Sun Yucai had already sorted it out. He straightened his face and said slowly, 'Qianzhou City is a hilly area, with many mountains, and there are many limitations on development. As of now, there are very few large-scale characteristic industries in the entire Qianzhou City.'

'The biggest pillar is the mining industry, with non-ferrous metals being the most common, followed by rare earths. Apart from supplying domestic consumption, most of it is exported for foreign exchange.'

'As for industry and agriculture, forestry and fisheries, although they exist, they are not strong, and they are all supporting the entire Qianzhou City.'

'The only thing in agriculture that can be said to have strength and characteristics is still the navel orange industry led by your Jiuzhou Fruit Company, Mr. Xia. I have also visited many times.'

In just a few words, Sun Yucai clearly outlined the situation in Qianzhou City, and it is easy to imagine how poor the city is.

Of course, Xia Yu, who had come from the future, also knew that this was indeed the situation in Qianzhou City, and even in the 21st century, development was very slow.

Apart from its history and culture, Qianzhou City's greatest asset is actually its abundant mineral reserves.

You should know that Qianzhou City is one of the country's key non-ferrous metal bases in the future, and has the reputation of being the 'world's tungsten capital' and 'rare earth kingdom'!

According to statistics from later generations, Qianzhou City has two-thirds of the types of minerals found in the entire province of Jiangxi, and is very rich in minerals.

'Secretary Sun, which direction do you want Qianzhou City to develop in?'

Sun Yucai pondered for a long time, and then said again, 'I have thought about this many times, and I plan to develop Qianzhou City based on its current foundation.'

'Qianzhou City has minerals in every district and county, which is obviously a lot but not strong. The situation is relatively chaotic, but there are abundant minerals, and the foundation for developing industry is there. I plan to develop heavy industry and manufacturing.'

'In terms of agriculture, I also want to further promote the navel orange industry, with Longfeng County as the center, and spread to other districts and counties...'

Xia Yu listened quietly to Sun Yucai's account, and when he looked up, he saw the look of expectation in Sun Yucai's eyes.

It was obvious that he was hoping Xia Yu could support him in these areas.

Xia Yu pondered for a long time, formulating his response in his mind, and suddenly he laughed, 'Secretary Sun, I agree with your direction.'

'In terms of the navel orange industry, the navel oranges in Longfeng County will be able to bear fruit for the first time this year. By next year, production will surge. I have no problem selling them. Even if production increases by several dozen times, I will be able to help sell them all.'

'The key still lies in the government and banks' policy support for farmers, encouraging them to make up their minds to plant.'

'My side can also support the navel orange industry in southern Jiangxi in another way. For example, Jiuzhou Fruit Co., Ltd. can provide seedlings and technical guidance, and at the same time sign a five- or ten-year guaranteed minimum purchase price agreement with farmers, at least ensuring that farmers will not lose money and can feel free to plant with confidence.'

'Agriculture has this navel orange industry, which should be able to serve as a pillar. Once it is established as a national or even world navel orange production base, there will be no problem with the agricultural industry in Qianzhou City.'

With Xia Yu's promise, Sun Yucai beamed with joy and thanked him, saying, 'Mr Xia, farmers are not afraid of large-scale planting and breeding, but they are afraid of being unable to sell their produce. As you know, the domestic supply and marketing system is such that it is difficult to sell produce domestically. However, with your promise, Qianzhou's navel orange industry definitely has a bright future. Thank you!'

'You're welcome!'

Xia Yu chuckled lightly and waved his hand, then continued, 'As for the industrial and mining industries, Secretary Sun, you are absolutely right. Qianzhou City is rich in mineral resources, with large deposits of non-ferrous metals and rare earths.'

'However, as far as I know, the market is currently in a state of chaos. The ownership of mines in various districts and counties underground in Qianzhou City is very confusing. Local governments, local state-owned enterprises and central enterprises are intertwined, and everyone is under the task of generating foreign exchange, which has led to infighting among themselves, driving prices down very low and giving away the store to outsiders for nothing.'

'Rare earths in particular are extremely useful and are used in all kinds of sophisticated scientific and technological applications, such as aircraft, rockets, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, semiconductors and other top technological products. Now the mainland is exporting rare earths at a dirt-cheap price just to get a little foreign exchange, and those foreign companies are laughing at the mainland as a fool.'

'Of course, there are other factors as well. For example, Qianzhou City does not have the technology to separate and purify rare earths, and all it can do is rough processing, so the price is low. If an island country or the United States buys the same rare earth ore, after purification, it can be sold for hundreds of times the price. This is the value of technology.'

'In my opinion, Qianzhou City's heavy industry can develop around non-ferrous metals and rare earths to create an entire industrial chain.'

'But before that, there is one more problem that must be solved first!'

'What problem?'

Sun Yucai blurted out, looking at Xia Yu with burning eyes.

Just now Xia Yu's words were like pearls, and they had touched his heart. In particular, the fact that rare earths could be sold for hundreds of times their original price after purification had caused an unparalleled impact on his mind.

He was deeply aware that Qianzhou City was sitting on a mountain of gold, and was selling it for rock-bottom prices!

He desperately wanted to know what Xia Yu's plan was to get Qianzhou City's heavy industry going!

Xia Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, locked his gaze with Sun Yucai, and said in a firm voice, 'Restructure the entire rare earth market in Qianzhou City, solve the chaos of internal competition, and take control of the rare earth export rights and pricing power!'