Chapter 117: Signing the Contract

After a week of negotiations, all preliminary matters were finally settled, and it was now just a matter of waiting to sign the contract.

To conclude a project valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars within a week was nothing short of remarkable. There were several reasons for such swift progress. Domestically, the importance attached to this model project was evident, as a military representative, Marshal Nie, was dispatched to oversee proceedings, minimizing bureaucratic wrangling. On the other hand, the main foreign investor, Saudi Arabia, was also eager to move forward, as only after the preliminary completion of this project could they proceed with the main agenda they sought.

Thus, for various reasons, the negotiations were wrapped up at an unprecedented pace, with the chief designer of the South Sea project keeping a close watch throughout. Upon hearing that the talks were complete, he finally set aside his concerns and signed a document establishing the 0011 Base Science and Industry Consortium.

"Xiao Li, come here and deliver this document to the Science and Industry Commission. They'll handle the follow-up. Just keep track of it over the next few days and make sure what's written gets implemented. Don't get caught up in departmental squabbles—this is urgent. Off you go."

…

With special attention from higher authorities and the earnest expectations of the Party and the nation, the 0011 Base finally gained a new identity: the Southwest Aeronautics Science and Industry United Company. With this new designation, it was much easier to present themselves externally, and now the signing ceremony for the new trainer aircraft project was about to begin.

Given the project's significance, the ceremony drew a host of dignitaries. Marshal Nie, Minister of Defense Zhang Aiping, and others from various departments—most of whom were based in the capital—were present, though Yang Hui did not know any of them. There were also uniformed officers, likely those responsible for military equipment as mentioned before, alongside several unfamiliar faces whose high ranks were evident from their age and bearing.

"Today marks a new beginning for the Republic’s aviation industry—a day that will surely go down in history..."

After a lengthy and rather hollow introduction, which nonetheless was delivered with relish for nearly twenty minutes, they finally got to the heart of the matter.

"Now, we commence the signing ceremony for the new advanced trainer aircraft development project between the Southwest Aeronautics Science and Industry United Company and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Thunderous applause echoed throughout the hall. With the project off to such a promising start, representatives from all sides signed their names to the contracts, each party signing multiple copies for their own records.

To demonstrate its commitment, the Republic had Marshal Nie sign as well, signifying his personal oversight of the project, followed by the Southwest Aeronautics Science and Industry United Company.

The new company’s organizational structure was quite interesting. As a consortium, it was formed by merging several previously independent companies, and its leadership was composed of directors from the original bases and factories.

The new company had a rather peculiar structure: the former heads of the various factories were now all vice general managers, with the exception of Director Bai, who, having not taken on the role of chief designer for the engine, had more time and was named general manager. However, it was hard to discern any real difference in authority between the general manager and his deputies.

To coordinate day-to-day operations, Yang Hui, who had originally been responsible for technical liaison with foreign parties, was now appointed executive secretary general—a role that attracted some envy, as in a company where all the general managers had their own responsibilities, the executive secretary general became especially important.

In fact, the daily management of the new company could be said to rest with a handful of “secretaries,” while the large group of managers formed the decision-making body—more akin to a board of directors, though at that time the concepts of a group company or a joint-stock company, and thus a board, did not exist, so they had to make do with a management committee.

During the signing ceremony for the new trainer aircraft project, Director Bai, as general manager, signed on behalf of the Southwest United Company, followed by Madad for Pakistan, Sultan for Saudi Arabia, and the ever-present Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Republic.

After affixing their signatures, each party collected their copies of the contract and exchanged handshakes to express their hopes and good wishes for the project.

“Very well, within a week we will transfer the first fifty million dollars, along with a loan of one hundred million dollars to the Science and Industry United Company,” said the Saudi representative.

Madad added, “We will also have our initial twenty-five million dollars transferred within a week, so we hope your company can commence development as soon as possible—ideally, start parallel development right away.”

Speaking of parallel development, this was an approach that began to be systematically developed in the late 1980s; the Republic had already been implementing it on a large scale before the ‘80s, albeit without a formal theoretical framework. Still, this had not hindered its success, as parallel engineering had been employed in oil exploration, nuclear weapons, aerospace, and other projects, and was touted as evidence of the superiority of the socialist system.

Now, with parallel development proposed for the new aircraft design to accelerate the process, Yang Hui thought of another technology that could be integrated with parallel engineering—a matter that now needed urgent action.

As soon as the signing ceremony ended, Yang Hui sought out Director Yang to request approval for importing foreign technology. Even if the funds were self-raised, official approval was still required.

Arriving at Director Yang’s office, Yang Hui could hardly wait to raise the topic.

“Director Yang, we need to introduce some computer-aided design technology from abroad. We’ll use our own funds, as long as the Science Commission approves. We plan to use this in the new aircraft’s design—it will speed up the entire project.”

Director Yang was not particularly surprised; the two major domestic aviation design institutes were already importing computer-aided design systems, and now that Yang Hui’s team had funding, not doing so would be odd.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. The folks in Jinguancheng already brought it in—they financed it themselves, just filed for approval. I’m not in charge of this, though; you’ll need to go to the office next door—they handle these imports.”

As expected, Yang Hui’s frequent visits to the Science Commission and his connection to Director Yang made obtaining the import permit a simple matter. Bidding Director Yang farewell, he left the Commission's building and hurried to the guesthouse. Now that they had the permit, they could proceed with importing CATIA, but there was still one crucial thing left to do.

Upon entering the guesthouse, Yang Hui immediately sensed the festive atmosphere—everyone was in high spirits after the contract signing. But he had no time to celebrate; he needed to finalize the CATIA import.

“I’ve called everyone here today to discuss introducing computer-aided design. We’ve received approval, but we need to send people to Dassault for training. There are six training slots; once these six complete their courses, they’ll return as instructors to train the rest of our company’s designers.”

The chance to study at Dassault was a dream opportunity, and people immediately began making their cases.

Chief Engineer Yu was the first to speak: “Most of the training at Dassault will be on aircraft design, so our institute should send more people—this is absolutely the best fit.”

Hearing this, Yang Hui felt a further explanation was necessary.

“The training at Dassault isn’t with the aircraft company, but with their industrial software subsidiary. So everyone is welcome to recommend promising young people. The requirements are: eager to learn, able to learn, proficient in English or French, and young. Anyone who meets these criteria can go.”

With that clarified, it became apparent this wasn’t about learning aircraft manufacturing, and the initial excitement faded somewhat. Still, those who understood the value of computer software were eager to go.

Director Bai, well aware of CATIA’s benefits, quickly nominated several young engineers from his institute.

“I think Zhong Jianshe from our second institute is a good candidate. He grew up at the base—everyone knows him well. Including him is a safe bet.”