Chapter 12 Chapter 11 Industrial Capital Wars: The World Is Small, BHP Billiton Is Big
After 28 years, swords are at war again.
Recently, the British and Argentine navies faced off again in the Falkland Islands over the discovery of oil.The means are astounding at all costs.
BHP Billiton hired lobbyists for $400 an hour to conduct high-level public relations with the government.With the ups and downs, why did overseas acquisitions change?We Chinese spent so much money on the acquisition, right?In the end it was a purely Australian company.
Let me tell readers a story that happened in the Falkland Islands (the Malvinas Islands, or Malvinas Islands for short) in the early 1980s.At that time, the political situation in Argentina was very chaotic, and the people were very dissatisfied with the Argentine government, so the government thought of a way to create problems and divert people's attention.The Argentine government even sent troops to attack the Falkland Islands in 1980.The Falklands are to Argentina what Hong Kong is to China, a British colony.We took back the sovereignty of Hong Kong through a peaceful method, but Argentina was not at that time.In order to prevent the domestic people from protesting against the government's ineffective governance and diverting the attention of the people, the Argentine government actually sent troops to attack the Falkland Islands and drove the British away.They thought it was all right.But they don't know much about the British. What kind of country is Britain?Britain and the United States are the same, they are imperialist countries.Do you know anything about Beihai Petroleum?When the ownership of the oil in the North Sea was uncertain, the Icelanders said it belonged to Iceland, and the British said it belonged to the United Kingdom. As a result, the United Kingdom immediately sent troops to occupy this place. Don’t talk too much, and don’t talk to you. This is imperialism. The approach is the same as in the US.For the oil in the North Sea, Britain did not hesitate to go to war with Iceland, a small country, because it is unscrupulous for its own interests.
"The flag of the British Empire must be raised again in the Falkland Islands".This is what Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister at the time, said in a speech in the House of Lords after Argentina sent troops.This stretch of the South Atlantic, known to the British as the Falklands and the Argentines as the Malvinas, is remembered around the world for a war in the 1980s.According to the analysis, the reason why Argentina dared to send troops is probably that it is impossible for the United Kingdom to launch a military operation with a distance of 14,000 kilometers, but the United Kingdom has let the world see their determination to defend the sovereignty of this island. Relevant media even disclosed that, In order to win this war, Britain not only sent a large-scale expeditionary fleet, but also prepared for the worst, carrying nuclear weapons in the task force.So, apart from the political reasons for defending territorial sovereignty, is there any other hidden purpose in the British military raid?
At that time, Argentina believed that Britain would not go to war, because a large number of British overseas colonies had been lost, and it would not travel 14,000 kilometers for a small island.But to the surprise of the whole world, Britain actually organized the largest expeditionary force since World War II in the early 1980s, traveling all the way from Britain to South America to fight!After the war, the British cruiser was sunk by the Argentine army. The situation was not very optimistic, but the British army performed very well. Without the cover of the navy and air force, the British army successfully recaptured the Falkland Islands .Then this incident seems to have come to an end. From the beginning of 1980 to today, nothing happened for 30 years.But do you know what happened recently?The British and Argentine navies have recently faced off again over the Falkland Islands over the discovery of oil there. And I have reason to believe that Britain knew there was oil 30 years ago, so it is impossible for it to give up this island.And what's more interesting?The United Kingdom even made its own Diesel Petroleum Company responsible for oil exploration.Moreover, according to the latest report in February 2010, the British government issued exploration licenses to four oil companies including BHP Billiton.You will definitely feel very strange when you hear this: isn’t BHP Billiton an iron ore company in Australia? On February 22, 2010, Diesel Petroleum Company of the United Kingdom announced that it had started drilling wells in the Falkland Islands disputed by the United Kingdom and Argentina, that is, the waters near the Malvinas Islands.The British government issued mining licenses to four companies including BHP Billiton and Diesel.Argentina expressed strong opposition to this, and sent warships to block the waterway leading to the Falkland Islands. Britain also began to secretly increase the defense force of the Falkland Islands.Twenty-eight years after the Anglo-Afghan war in 1982, the South Atlantic archipelago is once again under the cloud of war.So, what kind of company is BHP Billiton, which was granted offshore oil exploration rights by the British government, and what does this company have to do with us?
Why is the Royal Navy protecting Australia's iron ore companies?Unreasonable.You finally fought the war to conquer this land and exploit oil, why didn't you give it to the British company?How to give to the company in Australia?So we made a related query.First of all, let's take a look at what is BHP Billiton's English? BHP Billiton, BHP is translated into BHP, and Billiton is translated into Billiton.It turns out that BHP is an Australian company and Billiton is a British company.We found that BHP Billiton was the result of a merger between an Australian company and a British company, and Australia was originally a British colony, no, it was not a colony, it was a country in the Commonwealth of Britain.Because of the story of the Falkland Islands, I was reminded of the company BHP Billiton. Readers, do you know how influential BHP Billiton is?Let me read a passage to you: iron ore determines the cost of the steel industry, aluminum mine determines the cost of aluminum, and steel and aluminum almost determine the cost of almost all industrial products such as buildings, automobiles, airplanes, and trains.Industry accounts for 43% of China's GDP. The total industrial output value is more than 40 trillion yuan, of which only 13 industries have a scale of more than 1 trillion yuan.Among these 13 industries, there are only 3 industries that are not directly controlled by BHP Billiton.In other words, 10 of the 13 industries are directly related to BHP Billiton. China's agriculture accounts for 11.3% of GDP, and the price of agricultural products depends on the cost of farm machinery, fuel and fertilizer.As long as potash fertilizer is controlled, all chemical fertilizers are controlled.Why? Because all compound fertilizers are inseparable from potassium fertilizers.In China's chemical fertilizers, the self-sufficiency rate of potassium fertilizer is less than 30%, and the area of potassium-deficient cultivated land in China has accounted for 56% of the total cultivated land area. Therefore, as long as the potash fertilizer is controlled, the price of China's agricultural products can be controlled.Let me ask you again, who is controlling the potash fertilizer?Currently other companies, but BHP Billiton has actively planned to enter this market in order to control China's agriculture. That is to say, BHP Billiton, after the merger between the UK and Australia, not only controls 10 of China's 13 industries, but also actively plans to control China's agriculture.I didn't pay much attention to this company before, but after the incident in the Falkland Islands, we did a lot of research and found out.What is it called?This is called new imperialism.In the past, imperialism could only occupy colonies by means of ships and shells, wasting people and money.I now find that today's new imperialism invades us with a new trick. On February 11, 2010, BHP Billiton released its semi-annual financial report. As of December 31, 2009, within half a year, the company achieved a net profit of 6.1 billion US dollars, or about 41.64 billion yuan, a net increase of 134.4%. This figure is close to The sum of the annual profits of 68 large and medium-sized iron and steel enterprises in China.According to the data provided by the China Iron and Steel Association at the end of 2009, the 2009 profits of the 68 large and medium-sized iron and steel enterprises included in the statistics fell by 31.43% compared with the previous year, and the annual sales profit rate was only 2.55%.As some foreign media reports pointed out, since 2010, the international iron ore giants represented by BHP Billiton have shown a very tough attitude, and they want to increase the price by another 40% on the basis of 2009.So, how should we know and understand BHP Billiton?
Isn't the confrontation between Britain and Argentina in the Falkland Islands this time a story that happened during our Qing Dynasty?The East India Company wants to do trade with China, isn't it just forcing us to trade with China through British warships?Do you remember?To deal with Argentina, the modern East India Company BHP Billiton is behind.In order to exploit oil, it summoned the British fleet and organized an ocean-going fleet to conquer Argentina.The story of the Qing dynasty keeps repeating itself, but whose interests do it belong to?It belongs to the East India Company, and BHP Billiton is the modern Jardine Matheson, thus inheriting the soul of the East India Company. Dear readers, do you remember that at this time in 2009, China’s Iron and Steel Enterprise Association negotiated with iron ore suppliers, one was called BHP Billiton, the other was called Rio Tinto, and the other was called Brazil’s Vale, among which BHP Billiton’s iron ore Stone accounts for 40%, the largest proportion. The result of the negotiation in 2009 was that they only agreed to cut the price by 33%, but our steel association stopped talking in a fit of anger and decided to purchase goods at the spot price instead of signing a long-term agreement.What are the benefits of a long-term agreement contract?For example, the contract price of the long-term agreement signed for one year is 100 yuan. If the spot price rises to 130 yuan, then the purchase price will be 100 yuan according to the long-term agreement contract price.If the spot price falls to 70 yuan, it will be converted into the spot price, and it will not be based on the long-term agreement.Therefore, as far as we are concerned, as long as we sign a long-term agreement with these three major iron ore companies, we can buy ore according to the long-term agreement. If the spot price is low, we can directly buy ore at the spot price, which is beneficial to us of.But the result of this hateful steel association's non-negotiation made our steel enterprises lose the opportunity to sign a long-term agreement. I would like to ask who the steel association gave you the power not to negotiate, it is too hateful.It is the negotiation level of our Iron and Steel Association that caused our steel enterprises to lose 700 billion yuan in the past two or three years. But starting from February 2010, the three major iron ore companies disagreed.They say that this thing loses money, and they don't want to do it anymore.So unfortunately to tell you that they decided to negotiate with China based on the spot price.That is to say, in the past, we in China have been deprived of the favorable conditions of buying whichever product is cheaper by the three major iron ore companies.Among them, there is BHP Billiton.What is the terrible place of BHP Billiton?Its horror lies in the fact that it clings to our throat step by step.I have a basis for saying this, but what is the basis for this?This is the fertilizer story I just told.I want to use the story of fertilizer to tell you how it controls us. The real purpose of this company is to control China. I would like to read a passage to you: BHP Billiton has more than 10,000 square kilometers of potash mining rights in Canada; in Ethiopia, it has 17,000 square kilometers of mining rights.But these companies in China are very interesting. They are not very interested in mining rights, but like to negotiate.But we can't talk about it, and we always talk about the highest price every time we talk about it. A nation that is so incapable of negotiating likes negotiating the most, and does not like to draw wages from the bottom of the pot, and will not fundamentally solve the problem.Why do you say that?I will give the reader an example.Two years ago, a Canadian Chinese named Zhou Danyuan came back to China twice to seek help in developing her potash mine, but no one was interested in her, and no Chinese company went to Canada to investigate Zhou Danyuan's potash mine.In Canada's Athapascal Potash Co., Ltd., she controls the exploration and mining rights of the second potash mine in Canada. She currently owns 380 square kilometers of mining rights, and also has mining rights in other places, a total of 4,000 square kilometers. A good mine.When she approached our state-owned enterprises, I don't know why, the state-owned enterprises were not very interested in this.Our state-owned enterprises are the least capable of negotiating, and we especially like negotiating. We don't like the things that Zhou Danyuan sends to our door on his own initiative.In the end, by the time Chinese companies come to their senses, it is already too late.Do you know why you come back to your senses?Because in 2010, BHP Billiton announced that it had acquired Zhou Danyuan's potash fertilizer company for US$2.2 billion.After the acquisition of BHP Billiton, our state-owned enterprises said, it's over, it's too late, this is our level. On February 10, 2010, the No. 1 Branch of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate filed a complaint with the Shanghai No. The people's court filed a public prosecution, and the Rio Tinto Hu Stern spy door incident entered the trial stage.The Stern Hu incident not only made people aware of the serious consequences that the leakage of business secrets would have on large Chinese industrial enterprises, but also made all parties deeply aware of the harshness of transnational business negotiations.At present, China is in a fierce game with iron ore sellers headed by the three major miners including BHP Billiton.As the world's largest buyer of iron ore, relevant data from CISA shows that my country imported more than 620 million tons of iron ore in 2009, an increase of 180 million tons over 2008.However, judging from previous confrontations, it is difficult for the identity of the first buyer to fulfill the right to speak at the negotiating table.So, besides negotiation, is there any other way for us to get rid of the monopoly of the international iron ore industry?
The price of our iron ore is getting higher and higher, and the price of our potash fertilizer is the same.Our self-sufficiency rate in China is less than 30%, and we need to import 5 million to 7 million tons of potash fertilizer every year, for which we have to pay 20 billion yuan a year.We have been negotiating for five years, and the price is getting higher and higher.Since the negotiations on the price of potash fertilizer started in 2005, the price has been soaring all the way. Today, the contract price of potash fertilizer is as high as US$565 per ton, and the spot price was once as high as US$1,000 per ton.So China's agricultural market has entered the era of high-priced potash fertilizers, which will undoubtedly increase the pressure on the price of our agricultural products, because you don't know how to ensure the supply of raw materials.After seeing our level of negotiation, BHP Billiton felt that the opportunity must not be missed, and that it would be too sorry for itself not to cheat our country. First of all, acquire all the rich mines that can be acquired, including entering Saskatchewan, Canada in 2006, acquiring Anglo America, and acquiring the Aza Pascal potash mine, and owning 10,000 square kilometers of potash mining in Canada in just three years It has more than 17,000 square kilometers of mining rights in Ethiopia, and has acquired all the rich ore, of course, including Zhou Danyuan's potash mine. Secondly, start the construction project of potash fertilizer transportation and port storage, and complete its pipeline construction.Finally, this is the most important point. They don’t need to deal directly with the leaders of relevant Chinese units. They will definitely collude with potash fertilizer suppliers in Russia and other countries to repeat the history of the three major iron ore suppliers controlling iron ore all over the world. , to reproduce the humiliating history of China's iron ore negotiations.In order to complete the comprehensive alliance with other potash fertilizer suppliers, they will never mess up their positions, let alone kill each other. This kind of stupidity is the patent of our Chinese companies, so they must maintain the stability of market supply, so they decided to It is not possible to increase output to compete at lower prices, but to jointly decide on output with these allies according to needs.That's why BHP Billiton is not going to compete as much as we do, and it only produces around 10 million tonnes a year.Is this amount more or less?This happens to be the total demand for potassium fertilizer in China for a whole year.The result of restricting production can ensure that prices will only rise but not fall, and China will definitely buy from this alliance.We will not buy from Zhou Danyuan, we will buy from this alliance.Why?Because we are a nation that can't negotiate but likes to negotiate.This is the layout of BHP Billiton.After you have heard the iron ore story I told, listen to this story again, and you will find that under the active control of BHP Billiton, our iron ore and potash mines have been completely controlled by others. "BHP Billiton's "Potash Fertilizer Bureau", the Chinese are a step behind", this is the emotion expressed by the "Economic Observer" after BHP Billiton's deployment of potash mines.According to relevant reports, in 1999, China and Mongolia's largest copper mine passed by, and were finally taken by the Rio Tinto Group; in 2002, BHP Billiton sent people to lobby relevant Chinese government departments and steel companies, inviting them to participate in the development of its Mine, ultimately fruitless.Industry experts sighed, "Compared with these big mining giants, Chinese companies obviously lack long-term vision."According to rough estimates, since China started iron ore price negotiations, the iron and steel industry has paid a price of more than 7 trillion yuan, and the potash fertilizer industry has imported more than 100 billion yuan in fertilizers in the past five years.In fact, Chinese companies are always looking for opportunities to break through. For example, the injection of capital into Rio Tinto by Aluminum Corporation of China is an imminent case. However, the final result is that Rio Tinto broke the contract by paying liquidated damages. What role did BHP Billiton play in the process?
Not only that, do you still remember that at the end of 2008, Chinalco acquired a 9% stake in Rio Tinto and became the largest single shareholder of Rio Tinto? On February 12, 2009, Chinalco announced another capital injection of US$19.5 billion through the acquisition of convertible bonds, which increased its controlling stake in Rio Tinto from 9% to 18%.As long as Chinalco can do this, Chinalco will be able to control Rio Tinto.But think about it again, Rio Tinto is such an important company, how could it be possible for us to control it?That is unimaginable.In fact, when this case came out, I was not bragging to you. I was the only one in China who said that Chinalco would not succeed. Why?Because this project is so good, you know what I mean?We can only succeed with a bad project, and we can never succeed with a good project.Why?Because the project is too big.Think about it, Chinalco controls Rio Tinto, what kind of company is Rio Tinto?Could it possibly put you in control?impossible.You know it when you think about it with your ass.Many times now, you just listen to Professor Lang's lectures, and you don't need to try many things.You can judge with your intuition, will BHP Billiton agree? Do you know the final result?The number of shareholders of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto overlaps by more than 70%, so they can be regarded as the same company, so Rio Tinto must go to BHP Billiton to negotiate.But the problem is that it is impossible for BHP Billiton to allow Chinalco to take control of Rio Tinto.In order to collapse the deal between Chinalco and Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton spared no expense.According to a report published by the "Sydney Morning Herald" on October 15, 2009, BHP Billiton hired lobbyists at a price of 400 Australian dollars per hour to conduct high-level public relations with the Australian government.They went to Prime Minister Rudd and Finance Minister Wayne?Swan, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and their advisers.As a result, the Treasury largely accepted the recommendations, arguing that Chinalco's investment in the Rio Tinto deal would jeopardize Australia's national security.BHP Billiton even spent a lot of money in persuading the leader of the opposition party in Australia's House of Lords to speak out.What the leader of the opposition party said was very provocative and touched Australians, but we were very upset to hear it.The Opposition Leader said, "We must not sell off Australia's source of wealth"; he added, "We cannot allow another government to own Australia".What is he talking about, but it is so sensational that the Australian people are extremely disgusted with the acquisition.Since he stood up, public opinion in favor of the takeover immediately took a turn for the worse.According to a survey conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an Australian think tank, nearly 90% of Australians believe that China will become a leader in Asia, while 60% of them express uneasiness about this prospect.Therefore, the leader of the opposition party fooled us: We cannot let other governments control Australia, which immediately aroused the common hatred of the Australian people and controlled the commanding heights of public opinion, so Chinalco was vetoed.Rio Tinto ended up in the hands of BHP Billiton. From the perspective of economic cooperation, Rio Tinto is the third largest diversified mineral resources company in the world, and Chinalco is a large state-owned enterprise in China. There are many cooperation needs between the two.In the context of the international financial tsunami, some large western companies are in trouble and have sent messages to Chinese companies for help.Chinalco, like other large state-owned enterprises in China, implements the strategy of "going out" to expand resource sources and expand business overseas. This is the only way for Chinese enterprises in the era of globalization.Whether it is due to the consideration of Western companies' own interests or the general trend of Chinese companies stepping into globalization, the cooperation between Chinalco and Rio Tinto is a matter of course.Therefore, when Rio Tinto broke the contract, foreign media immediately analyzed and pointed out that this move was a major blow to Chinese companies' global acquisition activities.Since then, Chinalco's failure was actually the result of joint attacks by Rio Tinto's shareholders, the Australian government and even BHP Billiton.
Our China Railway has done the same.The full name of China Railway is called China Railway Materials Corporation.It was in the business of steel trading and railway services and could therefore be understood as a trading company.They are preparing to acquire an 11.38% stake in the Australian Consolidated Mining Company at a price of A$1.35 per share.It is very good that we can go out and buy other people's iron ore resources.But do you think it's possible?Going back to the original sentence, do you think it is possible?In fact, many people were dumbfounded when they heard my speech, and even wondered whether Lang Xianping's views were too extreme.But I would like to ask those who criticize me, when CNOOC wanted to acquire the Unocal oilfield in the United States a few years ago, who was the first one in China to stand up and say that it was impossible to succeed?It's me, what's the final result?Exactly what I said.Who said Chinalco's case could not be successful?Or me, in the end?Sure enough, it was unsuccessful.Why?Because you don't understand the rules of international games, you play less international games. It is impossible for you to succeed because of BHP Billiton. What reason does it have for you to succeed? But China Railway did not listen to my speech, and wanted to acquire the Australian Consolidated Mining Company in September 2009.China Railway agreed to two conditions: first, to purchase an 11.38% stake in the Australian Consolidated Mining Corporation with A$1.35 per share; second, to import 3 million tons of iron ore every year for ten consecutive years.Iron ore is the heart and soul of BHP Billiton, how could it be given to you?So it's getting involved.China Railway Group quoted 1.35 Australian dollars per share, and BHP Billiton quoted 1.3 Australian dollars, lower than ours in China, but they won.How did it win?Or spend money on high-level public relations just like dealing with Chinalco.In addition, I went to the person in charge of the Australian United Mining Company and said, what's the point of selling it to China Railway?Do you know what China Railway is doing?It was a trading company, and there was laughter on both sides.What can the trading company do to help you brothers? What can you not do? What do you need to make iron ore?You need to mine, right?You need prospecting, you need transportation.There is no iron in these things, who has it?I have got.Let me tell you, I have the ability to mine, explore and transport.Although I only give you 1.3 AUD per share, how about I buy all your shares in cash?As for China Railway, it only has the ability to acquire 11.38%.BHP Billiton spent a total of 204 million Australian dollars to acquire the entire shareholding of Consolidated Mining Australia, thus defeating China Railway Group. What's more interesting is that after BHP Billiton's success, on October 22, 2009, its board chairman, Mr. Argus, publicly advised the Chinese side to let go of their hostility and not to be angry. He said: "You Chinese must learn to deal with older children." You Is it an insult to us?Yes, he insulted you, so what do you think?How dare you?what can you doAnd he also said: "You not only have to deal with older children, but also learn to deal with our older children." He even said: "I don't know how the Chinese people's hostility towards me came about." He even said that he I don't know, do you think it's funny? Of course, after talking about so many negative cases, there must be something positive about it.After all, BHP Billiton gave us an extra-judicial favor and let us Chinese go. In the end, it allowed our Yanzhou Coal Industry to acquire the Felix Coal Mine in Australia.This is a very small coal mine, so small that even BHP Billiton doesn't like it.Please see how small it is: in 2008, coal production was only 7.11 million tons, and in 2009 it was only 8 million tons.Queensland, a province in Australia, only accounts for about 3% of the 240 million tons of annual coal output.It only accounts for 3% in Queensland, not to mention the whole of Australia.But what about Australia's investment banks?It fooled us by saying that this coal mine has reserves of 2 billion tons and is the third largest coal mining enterprise in Australia.I really don't know if what the Australian investment banks are saying is true or not.I just can't figure out how they can only produce 8 million tons per year if they have such a large energy storage, can't you produce a little more? In early January 2010, the dust on the acquisition was settled.Why can this be successful?Not because BHP fell asleep, or because we got lucky, but because the mine was too small for BHP to care.But BHP Billiton is still ahead of the game. It mobilized the Australian Foreign Investment Review Committee and set four conditions for us. Please take a look at these four conditions: First, all purchases must be made in cash.So our Yanzhou Coal Industry paid $3.2 billion for this.Second, after the acquisition, the existing Australian wholly-owned subsidiary must be responsible for the operation in Australia. The management team and sales team are all from Australia. Therefore, the entire company is managed by Australians.Whether it is the management team, the sales team, or the workers, all of them are Australians, and the Chinese cannot enter.Third, all the coal produced by this coal mine cannot be decided by the Chinese, and must be sold at international market prices and in accordance with fair and reasonable principles.Comrades, if this is the case, why do you still want to buy?Are you busy and full?In the end, it will be sold at the same price as BHP Billiton and other minerals. Why do you need to buy it?You just buy it from it, why spend $3.2 billion?How stupid, Professor Lang was really rude in his speech, but I hit the nail on the head.The fourth point is more interesting. This coal mine was listed in Australia in 2012 at the latest.Great, let me ask you again: who is the shareholder when listed in Australia?Still Australian. Do you know what BHP Billiton set up for us in the end?That is, the Chinese took advantage of it and spent 3.2 billion US dollars, which was given to the Australians.In the end, you will find that the entire company is all Australians, the management team, sales team, and production team are all Australians, and the price of coal produced is not counted by the Chinese, and it is sold at market prices. We cannot Determine the price.The profits earned from selling at the market price are finally given back to Australian shareholders through listing. This, readers, is our folly.Readers may ask Professor Lang, if it was Professor Lang, would you buy it?I'm sorry to tell readers that if I were to buy it, the result would be the same, but at least I won't buy it. Readers may ask me, what if BHP Billiton disagrees?Then we have no chance.So I can tell you that since 2007, don't we want to go out?Don't you want to go out and buy mineral resources?I told our government and our state-owned enterprises at that time that you should not leave. Next time you want to go out, you can come and listen to Professor Lang's lecture first, and then leave after you have figured it out.Do you want to buy next time?can be acquired.Want to get out there?Well, I suggest that you greet BHP Billiton first, and after it agrees, you go out.If it doesn't agree, don't go out, because the end result is the same. If Indian policy makers do not implement land reform, it will only lead to mass migration of rural people to cities, but cities are not yet ready to accommodate such a large number of rural people.To some extent, agricultural subsidies have played a role in stabilizing the rural population.When India first gained independence, farmers accounted for 82% of the total population. In 2007, this figure was 72%.In contrast, during the same period, China's rural population fell from 88% to 60% of the total population, despite a tightly controlled system of closing cities (through hukou). One policy better than subsidies and empty land reform is to spend more on rural health care and education.In this way, the efficiency of agricultural activities, including rural industry, will gradually increase.The policy of investing the funds obtained from development into urban infrastructure construction to welcome rural immigrants is better than the current policy.On the contrary, distributing funds in the form of subsidies will only make a small number of people in rural areas rich, while the majority remain poor. Indian policymakers once considered rural industrialization, but they soon realized that, as China did 30 years ago, it would be better economically to channel resources into large urban agglomerations. Will there be rebellion in rural India if policy makers in India fail to solve the problems in rural India?This was what Nehru was most worried about.However, Nehru underestimated the endurance of farmers. So why don't the poor in India rebel?Instead, they have flocked to voting booths in every election since the mid-1970s.Turnout in India was 55 percent, but the urban poor and rural areas turned out as high as 80 percent, higher than the 40 percent turnout for wealthy urban dwellers.This is the exact opposite of the trend in the West. The usual commentary focuses on nationalism as an explanation for the phenomenon: poor people in rural areas vote because they want to assert their existence as citizens.Ballots are like a consumer product, and the fun comes from the consumption itself.The comments are often accompanied by photos of voting booths lit up and people flocking to the event in their best attire. In reality, the concept of concerted efforts and collective action for the benefit of the nation, which have played a huge role in China's development, has little meaning for those who are completely dependent on farming other people's land for a meager wage. This article is excerpted from Rafiq Dossani's "India is Coming - How Economic Powerhouses Redefine Global Trade"
At that time, Argentina believed that Britain would not go to war, because a large number of British overseas colonies had been lost, and it would not travel 14,000 kilometers for a small island.But to the surprise of the whole world, Britain actually organized the largest expeditionary force since World War II in the early 1980s, traveling all the way from Britain to South America to fight!After the war, the British cruiser was sunk by the Argentine army. The situation was not very optimistic, but the British army performed very well. Without the cover of the navy and air force, the British army successfully recaptured the Falkland Islands .Then this incident seems to have come to an end. From the beginning of 1980 to today, nothing happened for 30 years.But do you know what happened recently?The British and Argentine navies have recently faced off again over the Falkland Islands over the discovery of oil there. And I have reason to believe that Britain knew there was oil 30 years ago, so it is impossible for it to give up this island.And what's more interesting?The United Kingdom even made its own Diesel Petroleum Company responsible for oil exploration.Moreover, according to the latest report in February 2010, the British government issued exploration licenses to four oil companies including BHP Billiton.You will definitely feel very strange when you hear this: isn’t BHP Billiton an iron ore company in Australia? On February 22, 2010, Diesel Petroleum Company of the United Kingdom announced that it had started drilling wells in the Falkland Islands disputed by the United Kingdom and Argentina, that is, the waters near the Malvinas Islands.The British government issued mining licenses to four companies including BHP Billiton and Diesel.Argentina expressed strong opposition to this, and sent warships to block the waterway leading to the Falkland Islands. Britain also began to secretly increase the defense force of the Falkland Islands.Twenty-eight years after the Anglo-Afghan war in 1982, the South Atlantic archipelago is once again under the cloud of war.So, what kind of company is BHP Billiton, which was granted offshore oil exploration rights by the British government, and what does this company have to do with us?
Why is the Royal Navy protecting Australia's iron ore companies?Unreasonable.You finally fought the war to conquer this land and exploit oil, why didn't you give it to the British company?How to give to the company in Australia?So we made a related query.First of all, let's take a look at what is BHP Billiton's English? BHP Billiton, BHP is translated into BHP, and Billiton is translated into Billiton.It turns out that BHP is an Australian company and Billiton is a British company.We found that BHP Billiton was the result of a merger between an Australian company and a British company, and Australia was originally a British colony, no, it was not a colony, it was a country in the Commonwealth of Britain.Because of the story of the Falkland Islands, I was reminded of the company BHP Billiton. Readers, do you know how influential BHP Billiton is?Let me read a passage to you: iron ore determines the cost of the steel industry, aluminum mine determines the cost of aluminum, and steel and aluminum almost determine the cost of almost all industrial products such as buildings, automobiles, airplanes, and trains.Industry accounts for 43% of China's GDP. The total industrial output value is more than 40 trillion yuan, of which only 13 industries have a scale of more than 1 trillion yuan.Among these 13 industries, there are only 3 industries that are not directly controlled by BHP Billiton.In other words, 10 of the 13 industries are directly related to BHP Billiton. China's agriculture accounts for 11.3% of GDP, and the price of agricultural products depends on the cost of farm machinery, fuel and fertilizer.As long as potash fertilizer is controlled, all chemical fertilizers are controlled.Why? Because all compound fertilizers are inseparable from potassium fertilizers.In China's chemical fertilizers, the self-sufficiency rate of potassium fertilizer is less than 30%, and the area of potassium-deficient cultivated land in China has accounted for 56% of the total cultivated land area. Therefore, as long as the potash fertilizer is controlled, the price of China's agricultural products can be controlled.Let me ask you again, who is controlling the potash fertilizer?Currently other companies, but BHP Billiton has actively planned to enter this market in order to control China's agriculture. That is to say, BHP Billiton, after the merger between the UK and Australia, not only controls 10 of China's 13 industries, but also actively plans to control China's agriculture.I didn't pay much attention to this company before, but after the incident in the Falkland Islands, we did a lot of research and found out.What is it called?This is called new imperialism.In the past, imperialism could only occupy colonies by means of ships and shells, wasting people and money.I now find that today's new imperialism invades us with a new trick. On February 11, 2010, BHP Billiton released its semi-annual financial report. As of December 31, 2009, within half a year, the company achieved a net profit of 6.1 billion US dollars, or about 41.64 billion yuan, a net increase of 134.4%. This figure is close to The sum of the annual profits of 68 large and medium-sized iron and steel enterprises in China.According to the data provided by the China Iron and Steel Association at the end of 2009, the 2009 profits of the 68 large and medium-sized iron and steel enterprises included in the statistics fell by 31.43% compared with the previous year, and the annual sales profit rate was only 2.55%.As some foreign media reports pointed out, since 2010, the international iron ore giants represented by BHP Billiton have shown a very tough attitude, and they want to increase the price by another 40% on the basis of 2009.So, how should we know and understand BHP Billiton?
Isn't the confrontation between Britain and Argentina in the Falkland Islands this time a story that happened during our Qing Dynasty?The East India Company wants to do trade with China, isn't it just forcing us to trade with China through British warships?Do you remember?To deal with Argentina, the modern East India Company BHP Billiton is behind.In order to exploit oil, it summoned the British fleet and organized an ocean-going fleet to conquer Argentina.The story of the Qing dynasty keeps repeating itself, but whose interests do it belong to?It belongs to the East India Company, and BHP Billiton is the modern Jardine Matheson, thus inheriting the soul of the East India Company. Dear readers, do you remember that at this time in 2009, China’s Iron and Steel Enterprise Association negotiated with iron ore suppliers, one was called BHP Billiton, the other was called Rio Tinto, and the other was called Brazil’s Vale, among which BHP Billiton’s iron ore Stone accounts for 40%, the largest proportion. The result of the negotiation in 2009 was that they only agreed to cut the price by 33%, but our steel association stopped talking in a fit of anger and decided to purchase goods at the spot price instead of signing a long-term agreement.What are the benefits of a long-term agreement contract?For example, the contract price of the long-term agreement signed for one year is 100 yuan. If the spot price rises to 130 yuan, then the purchase price will be 100 yuan according to the long-term agreement contract price.If the spot price falls to 70 yuan, it will be converted into the spot price, and it will not be based on the long-term agreement.Therefore, as far as we are concerned, as long as we sign a long-term agreement with these three major iron ore companies, we can buy ore according to the long-term agreement. If the spot price is low, we can directly buy ore at the spot price, which is beneficial to us of.But the result of this hateful steel association's non-negotiation made our steel enterprises lose the opportunity to sign a long-term agreement. I would like to ask who the steel association gave you the power not to negotiate, it is too hateful.It is the negotiation level of our Iron and Steel Association that caused our steel enterprises to lose 700 billion yuan in the past two or three years. But starting from February 2010, the three major iron ore companies disagreed.They say that this thing loses money, and they don't want to do it anymore.So unfortunately to tell you that they decided to negotiate with China based on the spot price.That is to say, in the past, we in China have been deprived of the favorable conditions of buying whichever product is cheaper by the three major iron ore companies.Among them, there is BHP Billiton.What is the terrible place of BHP Billiton?Its horror lies in the fact that it clings to our throat step by step.I have a basis for saying this, but what is the basis for this?This is the fertilizer story I just told.I want to use the story of fertilizer to tell you how it controls us. The real purpose of this company is to control China. I would like to read a passage to you: BHP Billiton has more than 10,000 square kilometers of potash mining rights in Canada; in Ethiopia, it has 17,000 square kilometers of mining rights.But these companies in China are very interesting. They are not very interested in mining rights, but like to negotiate.But we can't talk about it, and we always talk about the highest price every time we talk about it. A nation that is so incapable of negotiating likes negotiating the most, and does not like to draw wages from the bottom of the pot, and will not fundamentally solve the problem.Why do you say that?I will give the reader an example.Two years ago, a Canadian Chinese named Zhou Danyuan came back to China twice to seek help in developing her potash mine, but no one was interested in her, and no Chinese company went to Canada to investigate Zhou Danyuan's potash mine.In Canada's Athapascal Potash Co., Ltd., she controls the exploration and mining rights of the second potash mine in Canada. She currently owns 380 square kilometers of mining rights, and also has mining rights in other places, a total of 4,000 square kilometers. A good mine.When she approached our state-owned enterprises, I don't know why, the state-owned enterprises were not very interested in this.Our state-owned enterprises are the least capable of negotiating, and we especially like negotiating. We don't like the things that Zhou Danyuan sends to our door on his own initiative.In the end, by the time Chinese companies come to their senses, it is already too late.Do you know why you come back to your senses?Because in 2010, BHP Billiton announced that it had acquired Zhou Danyuan's potash fertilizer company for US$2.2 billion.After the acquisition of BHP Billiton, our state-owned enterprises said, it's over, it's too late, this is our level. On February 10, 2010, the No. 1 Branch of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate filed a complaint with the Shanghai No. The people's court filed a public prosecution, and the Rio Tinto Hu Stern spy door incident entered the trial stage.The Stern Hu incident not only made people aware of the serious consequences that the leakage of business secrets would have on large Chinese industrial enterprises, but also made all parties deeply aware of the harshness of transnational business negotiations.At present, China is in a fierce game with iron ore sellers headed by the three major miners including BHP Billiton.As the world's largest buyer of iron ore, relevant data from CISA shows that my country imported more than 620 million tons of iron ore in 2009, an increase of 180 million tons over 2008.However, judging from previous confrontations, it is difficult for the identity of the first buyer to fulfill the right to speak at the negotiating table.So, besides negotiation, is there any other way for us to get rid of the monopoly of the international iron ore industry?
The price of our iron ore is getting higher and higher, and the price of our potash fertilizer is the same.Our self-sufficiency rate in China is less than 30%, and we need to import 5 million to 7 million tons of potash fertilizer every year, for which we have to pay 20 billion yuan a year.We have been negotiating for five years, and the price is getting higher and higher.Since the negotiations on the price of potash fertilizer started in 2005, the price has been soaring all the way. Today, the contract price of potash fertilizer is as high as US$565 per ton, and the spot price was once as high as US$1,000 per ton.So China's agricultural market has entered the era of high-priced potash fertilizers, which will undoubtedly increase the pressure on the price of our agricultural products, because you don't know how to ensure the supply of raw materials.After seeing our level of negotiation, BHP Billiton felt that the opportunity must not be missed, and that it would be too sorry for itself not to cheat our country. First of all, acquire all the rich mines that can be acquired, including entering Saskatchewan, Canada in 2006, acquiring Anglo America, and acquiring the Aza Pascal potash mine, and owning 10,000 square kilometers of potash mining in Canada in just three years It has more than 17,000 square kilometers of mining rights in Ethiopia, and has acquired all the rich ore, of course, including Zhou Danyuan's potash mine. Secondly, start the construction project of potash fertilizer transportation and port storage, and complete its pipeline construction.Finally, this is the most important point. They don’t need to deal directly with the leaders of relevant Chinese units. They will definitely collude with potash fertilizer suppliers in Russia and other countries to repeat the history of the three major iron ore suppliers controlling iron ore all over the world. , to reproduce the humiliating history of China's iron ore negotiations.In order to complete the comprehensive alliance with other potash fertilizer suppliers, they will never mess up their positions, let alone kill each other. This kind of stupidity is the patent of our Chinese companies, so they must maintain the stability of market supply, so they decided to It is not possible to increase output to compete at lower prices, but to jointly decide on output with these allies according to needs.That's why BHP Billiton is not going to compete as much as we do, and it only produces around 10 million tonnes a year.Is this amount more or less?This happens to be the total demand for potassium fertilizer in China for a whole year.The result of restricting production can ensure that prices will only rise but not fall, and China will definitely buy from this alliance.We will not buy from Zhou Danyuan, we will buy from this alliance.Why?Because we are a nation that can't negotiate but likes to negotiate.This is the layout of BHP Billiton.After you have heard the iron ore story I told, listen to this story again, and you will find that under the active control of BHP Billiton, our iron ore and potash mines have been completely controlled by others. "BHP Billiton's "Potash Fertilizer Bureau", the Chinese are a step behind", this is the emotion expressed by the "Economic Observer" after BHP Billiton's deployment of potash mines.According to relevant reports, in 1999, China and Mongolia's largest copper mine passed by, and were finally taken by the Rio Tinto Group; in 2002, BHP Billiton sent people to lobby relevant Chinese government departments and steel companies, inviting them to participate in the development of its Mine, ultimately fruitless.Industry experts sighed, "Compared with these big mining giants, Chinese companies obviously lack long-term vision."According to rough estimates, since China started iron ore price negotiations, the iron and steel industry has paid a price of more than 7 trillion yuan, and the potash fertilizer industry has imported more than 100 billion yuan in fertilizers in the past five years.In fact, Chinese companies are always looking for opportunities to break through. For example, the injection of capital into Rio Tinto by Aluminum Corporation of China is an imminent case. However, the final result is that Rio Tinto broke the contract by paying liquidated damages. What role did BHP Billiton play in the process?
Not only that, do you still remember that at the end of 2008, Chinalco acquired a 9% stake in Rio Tinto and became the largest single shareholder of Rio Tinto? On February 12, 2009, Chinalco announced another capital injection of US$19.5 billion through the acquisition of convertible bonds, which increased its controlling stake in Rio Tinto from 9% to 18%.As long as Chinalco can do this, Chinalco will be able to control Rio Tinto.But think about it again, Rio Tinto is such an important company, how could it be possible for us to control it?That is unimaginable.In fact, when this case came out, I was not bragging to you. I was the only one in China who said that Chinalco would not succeed. Why?Because this project is so good, you know what I mean?We can only succeed with a bad project, and we can never succeed with a good project.Why?Because the project is too big.Think about it, Chinalco controls Rio Tinto, what kind of company is Rio Tinto?Could it possibly put you in control?impossible.You know it when you think about it with your ass.Many times now, you just listen to Professor Lang's lectures, and you don't need to try many things.You can judge with your intuition, will BHP Billiton agree? Do you know the final result?The number of shareholders of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto overlaps by more than 70%, so they can be regarded as the same company, so Rio Tinto must go to BHP Billiton to negotiate.But the problem is that it is impossible for BHP Billiton to allow Chinalco to take control of Rio Tinto.In order to collapse the deal between Chinalco and Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton spared no expense.According to a report published by the "Sydney Morning Herald" on October 15, 2009, BHP Billiton hired lobbyists at a price of 400 Australian dollars per hour to conduct high-level public relations with the Australian government.They went to Prime Minister Rudd and Finance Minister Wayne?Swan, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and their advisers.As a result, the Treasury largely accepted the recommendations, arguing that Chinalco's investment in the Rio Tinto deal would jeopardize Australia's national security.BHP Billiton even spent a lot of money in persuading the leader of the opposition party in Australia's House of Lords to speak out.What the leader of the opposition party said was very provocative and touched Australians, but we were very upset to hear it.The Opposition Leader said, "We must not sell off Australia's source of wealth"; he added, "We cannot allow another government to own Australia".What is he talking about, but it is so sensational that the Australian people are extremely disgusted with the acquisition.Since he stood up, public opinion in favor of the takeover immediately took a turn for the worse.According to a survey conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an Australian think tank, nearly 90% of Australians believe that China will become a leader in Asia, while 60% of them express uneasiness about this prospect.Therefore, the leader of the opposition party fooled us: We cannot let other governments control Australia, which immediately aroused the common hatred of the Australian people and controlled the commanding heights of public opinion, so Chinalco was vetoed.Rio Tinto ended up in the hands of BHP Billiton. From the perspective of economic cooperation, Rio Tinto is the third largest diversified mineral resources company in the world, and Chinalco is a large state-owned enterprise in China. There are many cooperation needs between the two.In the context of the international financial tsunami, some large western companies are in trouble and have sent messages to Chinese companies for help.Chinalco, like other large state-owned enterprises in China, implements the strategy of "going out" to expand resource sources and expand business overseas. This is the only way for Chinese enterprises in the era of globalization.Whether it is due to the consideration of Western companies' own interests or the general trend of Chinese companies stepping into globalization, the cooperation between Chinalco and Rio Tinto is a matter of course.Therefore, when Rio Tinto broke the contract, foreign media immediately analyzed and pointed out that this move was a major blow to Chinese companies' global acquisition activities.Since then, Chinalco's failure was actually the result of joint attacks by Rio Tinto's shareholders, the Australian government and even BHP Billiton.
Our China Railway has done the same.The full name of China Railway is called China Railway Materials Corporation.It was in the business of steel trading and railway services and could therefore be understood as a trading company.They are preparing to acquire an 11.38% stake in the Australian Consolidated Mining Company at a price of A$1.35 per share.It is very good that we can go out and buy other people's iron ore resources.But do you think it's possible?Going back to the original sentence, do you think it is possible?In fact, many people were dumbfounded when they heard my speech, and even wondered whether Lang Xianping's views were too extreme.But I would like to ask those who criticize me, when CNOOC wanted to acquire the Unocal oilfield in the United States a few years ago, who was the first one in China to stand up and say that it was impossible to succeed?It's me, what's the final result?Exactly what I said.Who said Chinalco's case could not be successful?Or me, in the end?Sure enough, it was unsuccessful.Why?Because you don't understand the rules of international games, you play less international games. It is impossible for you to succeed because of BHP Billiton. What reason does it have for you to succeed? But China Railway did not listen to my speech, and wanted to acquire the Australian Consolidated Mining Company in September 2009.China Railway agreed to two conditions: first, to purchase an 11.38% stake in the Australian Consolidated Mining Corporation with A$1.35 per share; second, to import 3 million tons of iron ore every year for ten consecutive years.Iron ore is the heart and soul of BHP Billiton, how could it be given to you?So it's getting involved.China Railway Group quoted 1.35 Australian dollars per share, and BHP Billiton quoted 1.3 Australian dollars, lower than ours in China, but they won.How did it win?Or spend money on high-level public relations just like dealing with Chinalco.In addition, I went to the person in charge of the Australian United Mining Company and said, what's the point of selling it to China Railway?Do you know what China Railway is doing?It was a trading company, and there was laughter on both sides.What can the trading company do to help you brothers? What can you not do? What do you need to make iron ore?You need to mine, right?You need prospecting, you need transportation.There is no iron in these things, who has it?I have got.Let me tell you, I have the ability to mine, explore and transport.Although I only give you 1.3 AUD per share, how about I buy all your shares in cash?As for China Railway, it only has the ability to acquire 11.38%.BHP Billiton spent a total of 204 million Australian dollars to acquire the entire shareholding of Consolidated Mining Australia, thus defeating China Railway Group. What's more interesting is that after BHP Billiton's success, on October 22, 2009, its board chairman, Mr. Argus, publicly advised the Chinese side to let go of their hostility and not to be angry. He said: "You Chinese must learn to deal with older children." You Is it an insult to us?Yes, he insulted you, so what do you think?How dare you?what can you doAnd he also said: "You not only have to deal with older children, but also learn to deal with our older children." He even said: "I don't know how the Chinese people's hostility towards me came about." He even said that he I don't know, do you think it's funny? Of course, after talking about so many negative cases, there must be something positive about it.After all, BHP Billiton gave us an extra-judicial favor and let us Chinese go. In the end, it allowed our Yanzhou Coal Industry to acquire the Felix Coal Mine in Australia.This is a very small coal mine, so small that even BHP Billiton doesn't like it.Please see how small it is: in 2008, coal production was only 7.11 million tons, and in 2009 it was only 8 million tons.Queensland, a province in Australia, only accounts for about 3% of the 240 million tons of annual coal output.It only accounts for 3% in Queensland, not to mention the whole of Australia.But what about Australia's investment banks?It fooled us by saying that this coal mine has reserves of 2 billion tons and is the third largest coal mining enterprise in Australia.I really don't know if what the Australian investment banks are saying is true or not.I just can't figure out how they can only produce 8 million tons per year if they have such a large energy storage, can't you produce a little more? In early January 2010, the dust on the acquisition was settled.Why can this be successful?Not because BHP fell asleep, or because we got lucky, but because the mine was too small for BHP to care.But BHP Billiton is still ahead of the game. It mobilized the Australian Foreign Investment Review Committee and set four conditions for us. Please take a look at these four conditions: First, all purchases must be made in cash.So our Yanzhou Coal Industry paid $3.2 billion for this.Second, after the acquisition, the existing Australian wholly-owned subsidiary must be responsible for the operation in Australia. The management team and sales team are all from Australia. Therefore, the entire company is managed by Australians.Whether it is the management team, the sales team, or the workers, all of them are Australians, and the Chinese cannot enter.Third, all the coal produced by this coal mine cannot be decided by the Chinese, and must be sold at international market prices and in accordance with fair and reasonable principles.Comrades, if this is the case, why do you still want to buy?Are you busy and full?In the end, it will be sold at the same price as BHP Billiton and other minerals. Why do you need to buy it?You just buy it from it, why spend $3.2 billion?How stupid, Professor Lang was really rude in his speech, but I hit the nail on the head.The fourth point is more interesting. This coal mine was listed in Australia in 2012 at the latest.Great, let me ask you again: who is the shareholder when listed in Australia?Still Australian. Do you know what BHP Billiton set up for us in the end?That is, the Chinese took advantage of it and spent 3.2 billion US dollars, which was given to the Australians.In the end, you will find that the entire company is all Australians, the management team, sales team, and production team are all Australians, and the price of coal produced is not counted by the Chinese, and it is sold at market prices. We cannot Determine the price.The profits earned from selling at the market price are finally given back to Australian shareholders through listing. This, readers, is our folly.Readers may ask Professor Lang, if it was Professor Lang, would you buy it?I'm sorry to tell readers that if I were to buy it, the result would be the same, but at least I won't buy it. Readers may ask me, what if BHP Billiton disagrees?Then we have no chance.So I can tell you that since 2007, don't we want to go out?Don't you want to go out and buy mineral resources?I told our government and our state-owned enterprises at that time that you should not leave. Next time you want to go out, you can come and listen to Professor Lang's lecture first, and then leave after you have figured it out.Do you want to buy next time?can be acquired.Want to get out there?Well, I suggest that you greet BHP Billiton first, and after it agrees, you go out.If it doesn't agree, don't go out, because the end result is the same. If Indian policy makers do not implement land reform, it will only lead to mass migration of rural people to cities, but cities are not yet ready to accommodate such a large number of rural people.To some extent, agricultural subsidies have played a role in stabilizing the rural population.When India first gained independence, farmers accounted for 82% of the total population. In 2007, this figure was 72%.In contrast, during the same period, China's rural population fell from 88% to 60% of the total population, despite a tightly controlled system of closing cities (through hukou). One policy better than subsidies and empty land reform is to spend more on rural health care and education.In this way, the efficiency of agricultural activities, including rural industry, will gradually increase.The policy of investing the funds obtained from development into urban infrastructure construction to welcome rural immigrants is better than the current policy.On the contrary, distributing funds in the form of subsidies will only make a small number of people in rural areas rich, while the majority remain poor. Indian policymakers once considered rural industrialization, but they soon realized that, as China did 30 years ago, it would be better economically to channel resources into large urban agglomerations. Will there be rebellion in rural India if policy makers in India fail to solve the problems in rural India?This was what Nehru was most worried about.However, Nehru underestimated the endurance of farmers. So why don't the poor in India rebel?Instead, they have flocked to voting booths in every election since the mid-1970s.Turnout in India was 55 percent, but the urban poor and rural areas turned out as high as 80 percent, higher than the 40 percent turnout for wealthy urban dwellers.This is the exact opposite of the trend in the West. The usual commentary focuses on nationalism as an explanation for the phenomenon: poor people in rural areas vote because they want to assert their existence as citizens.Ballots are like a consumer product, and the fun comes from the consumption itself.The comments are often accompanied by photos of voting booths lit up and people flocking to the event in their best attire. In reality, the concept of concerted efforts and collective action for the benefit of the nation, which have played a huge role in China's development, has little meaning for those who are completely dependent on farming other people's land for a meager wage. This article is excerpted from Rafiq Dossani's "India is Coming - How Economic Powerhouses Redefine Global Trade"