Chapter 12 Chapter 11 The general secretary is furious

Zhongnanhai, May 20, 1981, night.The office of Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was brightly lit. A proof copy of Xinhua News Agency's "Domestic Trends" is on the desk.Hu Yaobang flipped through the pages, writing down a few words from time to time.Among them, there is an article titled "Some Problems Urgently Needed to Be Solved in the Work of the Sino-French Joint Venture Petroleum Company" in the dynamic proof of this issue, which made General Secretary Hu Yaobang frown more and more. Finally, he was furious: shameless!

Under the light, the figure of the general secretary kept moving. "Gu Mu, Comrades Yilin Bingqiuli: Which department should be responsible for solving the problems reflected in this matter? If the land problem in Zhanjiang City is true, then the problem is too serious, and there is no overall interest in it. Concepts, can we say that there are national and national concepts? The provincial party committee must find out and ask them to solve them within a time limit. Other problems must also be found out, corrected and resolved quickly.” After Hu Yaobang finished writing the above paragraph of instructions, he still felt puzzled, so he wrote two large characters at the top of the instructions: Send it quickly!

The general secretary's angry instructions were sent to the three vice premiers, Gu Mu, Yao Yilin, and Yu Qiuli, who were in charge of economic work that day.All three made specific instructions on the same day.Instruct Kang Shien, who returned to the Ministry of Petroleum to preside over the work, to deal with it. What happened in Zhanjiang that made the general secretary so angry?Qin Wencai found a large stack of well-preserved documents from that year from his file cabinet, patted them lightly and said: "In the early days of opening up to the outside world, some ordinary people didn't know how to deal with the relationship with 'foreigners', and always regarded them as "foreigners". Treat it as a bad person. The common people’s thinking is understandable, and the egotism and closed thinking of some regions and departments is really annoying. This also exposes the difficulty and depth of China’s opening up to a certain extent.”

What happened in Zhanjiang was like this: In mid-April of this year, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency followed representatives of the Hong Kong Branch of Bank of China, China Resources, China Merchants and Shekou Construction Headquarters organized by the Hong Kong Working Committee to Zhanjiang. South China Sea Oilfield Headquarters visited and studied.During this process, the reporter discovered some problems in our cooperation with foreign companies through interviews and investigations. For example, land issues.According to the Sino-French cooperation agreement, after the contract is signed, the employees of the French company need to have their own living base, which is also clearly stipulated in the Sino-French contract.Although the offshore oil exploration work site is on the sea, the drilling platform is only a place for construction and cannot be a guarantee for life and logistics. Therefore, oil drilling teams in each ocean area have their own fixed living bases, and international cooperation projects are no exception. .The agreement between the French company Total and the Chinese side was signed in May 1980, but by May of the following year, the living base for the French personnel had not yet been established, so Total had no choice but to set up the "New World Center" in Hong Kong. The employees have chartered 30 rooms for the sea staff and their families to live in.

New World Center is also a first-class hotel in Hong Kong. A set of rooms costs hundreds of dollars a day, and these personnel who work at sea have to fly back and forth between Zhanjiang-Guangzhou-Hong Kong at least 3 times a month. , at least a few million dollars.This is just the beginning. If it comes to the stage of oil production in the future, the French staff will have to increase to several hundred people, and this expenditure alone may be as high as tens of millions of dollars.The Chinese side will spend most of this money, because according to the contract ratio, our shares account for 51%.Wang Yan, the chief representative of the Chinese side of the Sino-French Cooperation Committee, was heartbroken by the delay in the establishment of the "Total Village" by the relevant parties in Zhanjiang.He further reported to the Xinhua News Agency reporter: After the signing of the offshore oil exploration agreement between China and France, our petroleum department went to Zhanjiang to investigate and choose. French company living base.That piece of beach land was originally a barren beach, and it has been left unused for thousands of years, despite the wind and waves, no one has ever cared about its value.But after the locals heard that the "Total Village" was going to be built here, it became a treasure overnight.I don’t know who let it go, saying how much money can be obtained from land acquisition, even the price of a piglet for each sapling, so the farmers want to exchange for the easiest way to get rich overnight, and they are scrambling to plant trees on the wasteland. Branches, saplings, in the blink of an eye, the wasteland has become a very bizarre "dense forest"...

"You want land? Yes, then we have to pay for our trees!" "Don't underestimate these saplings of mine. It took me several lifetimes of hard work! What, no compensation? If you don't pay compensation, don't even think about building a house here!" The shameless people are not afraid of whistling and humming folk songs ! "The staff of the base preparatory team were so tormented by the farmers that they didn't dare to show up, so they hoped that the local government department would come forward, and they said with a smile: the work can be done, but you have to spend some 'blood', besides, we have to protect the interests of the farmers! "

"You oil workers have plenty of money. Besides, the money is not your own. It's nothing to spend more. Don't be so stingy. After the reform and opening up, if you don't eat your big families, how can we get rich!" naked. Therefore, "Total Village" just expropriated land for nearly a year without any results. Qin Wencai and the others are in a hurry!On the one hand, it feels distressed to spend so much foreign exchange, and on the other hand, the French side is not satisfied, saying that employees live in Hong Kong for a long time, and go to work for several hours, and it also increases many unsafe factors, which is also harmful to international employment and recruiters will have a big impact.The French side has repeatedly urged the Chinese side to resolve the issue of living bases as soon as possible. "Otherwise, the responsibility for affecting the construction can only be borne by the Chinese side." Total has repeatedly issued similar warnings.

When the sea exploration started, foreigners with blue eyes and high noses appeared on the streets of Zhanjiang every day. The closed Zhanjiang people looked at these foreigners curiously, watching them spend a lot of money on coffee and Chinese food. , very envious.But this situation makes people on the other side very disturbed, that is, the military personnel stationed in Zhanjiang. "Zhanjiang is the headquarters of the South China Sea Fleet of our navy. How can foreigners be allowed to enter this city casually?" "Once military secrets are spied on by foreign agents, who will be responsible?"

The military personnel resolutely resisted personnel from foreign oil companies from entering Zhanjiang city and related waters with the most severe attitude.They quickly reported the problem to the above, and when they got the answer that offshore oil development was approved by the Central Committee and the General Staff, Zhanjiang military personnel took another "secrecy" measure: all places that may involve foreigners passing by Put up a big sign that reads "Foreigners are not allowed to cross without permission".For a time, inside and outside Zhanjiang City, such signs were filled.

"What does this mean? Do you Chinese not welcome us to help you find oil? We are not bad people, let alone spies! We are just hired by oil companies to make money and work." Total employees faced difficulties In the land of Zhanjiang, Qin Wencai was puzzled and questioned them. "It's simply absurd! It's a military secret. Foreigners use satellites to take pictures of our car's license plate number. You want to cover up hundreds of acres or thousands of acres of land? Isn't it ridiculous? " "That's their business. As a naval base, we have to abide by our own secrecy system. Foreigners just can't enter our military restricted zone."

"Military restricted zone? Who is banned? You have to know that the result of your actions is: the major event of the country's opening to the outside world is banned!" "The construction of coastal defense is a bigger matter for the country. Can you guarantee that there are no bad people among these foreigners who come to Zhanjiang? Can you absolutely guarantee it?" "This, isn't this arguing?" "No. We are defending the dignity of the country and the military." "Nonsense! I am also an old soldier! I don't know how to defend the dignity of the country and the army?" "Since you are also an old soldier, you should understand us even more. Isn't it popular to 'understand long live' now? We especially need the understanding of your oil sector." Qin Wencai has directly negotiated with the Zhanjiang military several times, but almost every time he was full of frustration. What's more, construction personnel must take helicopters to work on offshore platforms.As soon as the plane took off, it was immediately stopped by the military and ordered: It must be declared in advance, otherwise it is not allowed to fly over the "military area" without authorization. "It's okay to declare, and we will pay attention to it in the future. But the scope of the 'over the military area' you mentioned is too limitless. It is obvious that the route the helicopter flies is far away from your military base. Why are you not allowed to fly?" "Of course not. Because the plane has a height, the higher it flies, the wider the field of view looking down. Isn't our military base exposed to the eyes of foreigners?" "Then our plane will fly lower, as low as you think it can be." "It's not enough to fly low. During the whole flight, the cabin windows of the plane must be covered, and people on board must not be allowed to look out." "This... what is this?" "It has to be, otherwise the helicopter can't fly." When the comrades of the Nanhai Oilfield Headquarters reported these problems to Qin Wencai, as a person in charge of the industrial department who had experienced many battles, he was neither crying nor laughing. "Minister Qin, Tanggu is even more amazing! The local people were furious when they saw that the Japanese marine exploration and living base was built only a few hundred meters away from the Dagu Fort. The houses of the 'Japanese invaders' have been smashed! They regard our partners as invaders, what can we do?" There are more dumbfounding things—— This is true at the local level and the military, and the situation within the oil system is not much better.Thoughts are still in an era of closed and outdated ideas, and people have a sense of fear and hatred towards foreigners, especially those from the Western world.It is no wonder that the Chinese people and the Chinese nation have suffered from the oppression and humiliation of foreign invaders for a hundred years since the Opium War in 1840. After the founding of New China, they have been living under the banner of independence and self-reliance. But it was a day when no one bullied, and the spirit was proud.Now the high-nosed, blue-eyed foreigners want to "prey" again. Their national pride and patriotic feelings make them unable to accept and understand the meaning of opening up to the outside world and sincerely accept foreigners as friends at their doorsteps and in their daily lives. To get rid of outdated concepts and eliminate the habit of psychological hatred of foreigners is a more difficult task for Qin Wencai and others to cooperate with foreign companies to find oil at sea, and it is not even easier and easier than marathon negotiations with foreigners. Some things made Qin Wencai and the CNOOC staff in charge more worried, troubled, and even worried. According to the contract, the Chinese and foreign parties will carry out the specific exploration work in the name of the joint venture company during the official construction.Due to the influence of the idea of ​​"prefer the left to the right", I always think that the more severe the attitude towards foreigners, the more "patriotic" I am, and the higher the price when negotiating prices, the more "patriotic behavior".For example, a foreign company needs to rent a simple office of more than ten square meters, and charges five or six yuan a day, which is more expensive than the Dongfang Hotel in Guangzhou at that time.The foreign employees in the joint venture company all wear suits to work. In order to make the staff in the joint venture company neatly dressed, the Chinese side pays a fee for making suits.But some cadres insist on wearing their work clothes and old clothes, saying this is "the difference between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie."The French company hired dozens of Chinese service personnel, including drivers, porters, etc., for work needs, but these "Chinese working class" stared and played temper when they saw foreign managers taking care of them, and instead asked them: "In our On the land, what do you foreigners have to be proud of?" "I am the master here, can you control me?" He even insulted the other party publicly.Some people came forward to stop this kind of behavior, but they were scolded as "foreigners' lackeys" and "flattering to the invaders". "How unreasonable!" Qin Wencai became angry when he heard such a report many times, but "how unreasonable" things are not limited to these. In a blink of an eye, it is the end of September of the new year.On the desk of Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee at the time, another copy of Xinhua News Agency's "Domestic Trends" published an article entitled "Several Problems that Need to be Researched and Solved in the Work and Life of Foreign Experts Working in the Offshore Oil Exploration Bureau" , whose content once again made the general secretary furious. It's really unreasonable!I saw the general secretary flicking his pen with a dignified expression, and wrote such an instruction: ... This material reflects some absurd things. After reading it, it really makes people angry and funny.Now, the whole party agrees to create a new situation and improve economic efficiency. If we don't focus on "creating" these abominable things, how can we create a new situation?How can efficiency be improved?Over the past few years, I have deeply felt that many of our regulations and practices, together with some people, are not aimed at building socialism at all, but hindering socialism.You need to make up your mind on these issues, and scan as many as you have, otherwise everything will be empty talk! What "hateful" thing made the general secretary so angry?It turns out that this internal reference from Xinhua News Agency reflects the following problems in the cooperation project of Japanese oil companies in the Bohai Sea region of Tianjin, my country: For example, the Ministry of Petroleum's work area of ​​the Ocean Exploration Bureau in Tanggu, many places have also been included in the "military restricted zone". Foreigners participating in Sino-Japanese and Sino-French offshore oil cooperation projects must go to Tianjin every time they go out and in. Offices, public security bureaus, police districts and other units apply for permits, and the procedures are cumbersome and complicated, and sometimes they have to wait for a long time, making it impossible for foreign staff to work normally.The Offshore Oil Bureau hoped that relevant parties would move the "Military Restricted Area" sign. Someone told them: This is a restricted area established in the 1950s, and anyone who wants to move even one meter has to report for approval. For example, inspectors of American Bureau of Shipping often go to a company of the Ministry of Petroleum in Shanggulin, Dagang to inspect jacket components. It takes one and a half hours to go there from Tanggu via the salt field.But because foreigners are not allowed to go on this road, they can only go around Tianjin, which results in an extra five hours of running. "I should work eight hours a day, but now I can only work for less than two hours. How can you tolerate such low efficiency in China?" the American inspector complained. For another example, there is a row of army poles near a certain oil exploration base.Because experts from foreign oil companies have to pass by the road under the power pole every day to and from get off work, the relevant unit approached the Petroleum and Marine Bureau and asked them to pay for the power pole to be moved by 100 meters. "Otherwise there might be foreigners tapping into the phone." The absurdity is much more than that.Some of the strange things before Qin Wencai and others would make them laugh out loud, but all of them are true and well-founded.After the British BP oil company in the South China Sea signed an offshore oil exploration cooperation project with my country, according to international practice, they signed a service contract with China Huawei through bidding.Unexpectedly, a few days after the contract was signed, a news was published in the Yangcheng Evening News one day, saying that the contract was an "illegal contract", and the China Nanhai Petroleum Service Company announced the news. "It's just playing the piano!" Qin Wencai and the people from CNOOC headquarters were angry and funny after reading the news.Later, I learned about the situation: the head of the Nanhai Petroleum Service Company thought that his company was the "big oil company" in Guangdong, so he had to give any good projects to foreign oil companies here, otherwise it would be "illegal".The general manager of the Nanhai Petroleum Services Company held a press conference in Guangzhou for such reasons, and announced that the contract between British BP and Warwick was "illegal". "It's ridiculous!" This matter was later reported to the leaders of the State Council. The Premier personally intervened and asked a deputy secretary-general to coordinate with the leaders of Guangdong Province. Only then did the disturbance that foreigners could not understand. All of these things, which seem to be strange things, are all blockhouses that they need to overcome and bumpy roads that must be paved for the opening to the outside world. On the premise of ensuring that China's sovereignty is not violated, how to enable foreign companies to work smoothly in China's waters according to the contract; how to enable foreign experts and employees to work and live normally in China's territory; and how to make China's own The company obtains opportunities as much as possible in service contracting; how to enable our team to learn skills in contracts with foreign companies, how to integrate our laws and regulations with international practices, and so on. At this moment, Qin Wencai and other Chinese marine The minds of the oil pioneers and organizers flashed and pondered.During this period, Qin Wencai and others, under the unified leadership of the party group of the Ministry of Petroleum, followed the major policies of foreign cooperation set by the central government, and began to research and formulate relevant laws and regulations that can not only reflect Chinese characteristics, but also be in line with international standards... "That's when my hair started to turn gray." Qin Wencai stroked the silver hair on his head, recalling the eventful years with such emotion. "It's not easy to come by! I remember that in order to build a special wharf, I went to more than 40 departments in Beijing alone. I can't even remember how many times I kowtow. For "Standard Contract", dozens of experts spent more than ten months soliciting opinions from all aspects, and traveled to oil companies in dozens of countries to compare and scrutinize time and time again... This is the difficulty of work in the early days of reform and opening up. But no matter how difficult it is, the wheel of history is still moving forward at a fast pace. Those of us who work on the concrete work rely on a revolutionary passion and the ability to cross the river by feeling the stones to overcome one difficulty after another and make foreign cooperation a step forward. During this process, I am really grateful to Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the chief designer, because when CNOOC encountered unavoidable problems in its foreign cooperation, it was Comrade Xiaoping who came forward and made decisions in person. The Party Central Committee and the State Council Wise decision-making and efficient work style are also fundamental guarantees. But another sentence I want to say is: China's reform and opening up is an overall problem. It is not enough to rely on the determination of the top, and the bottom must also be proactive. Especially in the early stage of reform and opening up , Many of the country's supporting policies are not perfect, and funds are very scarce. At this time, it is particularly important to give full play to the enthusiasm and initiative of the following. For example, when we engage in offshore oil foreign cooperation projects, the country has never done it in the past. All problems are new and incompatible with the old system. What should we do? You have to wait for policies and funds to be available before doing it, and all opportunities may be lost, and work cannot be progressed. So our idea is to play our own Work initiative and initiative, without money, we will seek policy support, with this, we will have everything..." Qin Wencai listed a series of strategies for CNOOC from scratch, from weak to strong The results, almost without exception, confirmed his experience and experience. In the early days of reform and opening up in China, all industries were waiting to be flourished, and the contradictions and struggles between the old and new systems and concepts were extremely complicated. It is difficult for young people today to understand the price that was paid for each new job promoted at that time.Especially the problems encountered in the process of foreign cooperation are often ridiculous but real.Qin Wencai said with a smile that the eight years of cooperating with "foreigners" he experienced in the early days of reform and opening up were no easier than the eight years of fighting against little devils when he was an "Eight Route". "It is gratifying that our hard work has not been in vain. Many regulations and systems for PetroChina's foreign cooperation that we studied and formulated, including management concepts, technical standards, business models, and even cost accounting, benefit statistics, etc., have continued to this day. , is still being continued and inherited. This is what I often say that there are two major tasks that we must complete in opening up to the outside world and in cooperation with the outside world: one is to train and improve our own team, and the other is to build our platform to the world... " Qin Wencai's goal has been achieved.