In our time, it is difficult to imagine how the new China overcame many difficulties and successfully developed into the world's second largest economy. We always jokingly say that "any technology mastered in China will become backward", but we seem to gradually forget the hard work of our ancestors for these "backward technologies".
For example, we used to spend a lot of foreign exchange to import vitamin C because our production technology was restricted by foreign countries, but now domestic vitamin C only costs a few yuan a bottle in pharmacies, and the international vitamin C market is almost monopolized by Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
So, is it worth the effort to get vitamin C?
In our daily lives, vitamin C is a nutrient that we are very familiar with. Some people even consider vitamin C as a "panacea", whether it's a cold, mouth sores or chapped lips, they will choose to consume vitamin C to relieve symptoms.
However, although vitamin C is not so miraculous and capable of all diseases, it is indeed one of the essential nutrients for the human body. In addition, it is important to note that while most mammals can rely on the liver to synthesize vitamin C, humans and some other primates cannot synthesize vitamin C on their own and must obtain it through food, medicine, or supplements.
Probably the most well-known story about vitamin C is that humans discovered it in the 16th century.
Scurvy, once a huge threat to human health, is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, and its symptoms include skin and submucosal bleeding, bleeding gums, loose or even lost teeth, general fatigue, mental depression, etc.
In the 13th century, the role of vitamin C has been discovered. Nowadays, we can prevent and protect our health through scientific diet and vitamin C supplementation.
Although human beings have a long history of understanding scurvy, it was not until 1912 that the vitamin theory was proposed. The proposal of this theory has greatly promoted the research and application of vitamins by human beings, and further improved the living standards of human beings.
In 1928, Hungarian chemist Francis Aldo successfully extracted vitamin C in his research on vitamins, providing a new method for human scurvy.
These historical events reveal the importance of vitamins to human health, and also remind us that the progress of science is inseparable from the unremitting efforts and explorations of scientists.
It was only in 1933 that humans found a way to produce vitamin C. At that time, the Swiss chemist Tadeusch successfully produced low-cost and stable vitamin C in the laboratory through five steps of fermentation, ketoation, oxidation, transformation and refinement, which was very suitable for mass production.
Since then, human beings have finally found an efficient, economical, and anytime way to consume vitamin C, whether in the vast ocean or in frequent battles, without worrying about the lack of fresh fruits that can lead to vitamin C deficiency and scurvy.
With the large-scale production and popularization of vitamin C, it has sparked widespread concern and use boom worldwide. Now, many people think that vitamin C is a "panacea", and similarly, the "boom" of vitamin C has attracted more and more pharmaceutical companies to join in and seek profits.
After a fierce competition and competition, the three leading enterprises in the vitamin C industry have gradually emerged.
The Coalition has exacerbated the pressure on foreign exchange reserves in developing countries by selling vitamin C in developing countries.
According to the data, an American family can buy enough vitamin C for a few years for just a few dollars, while a Congolese worker needs to spend an entire year's income to afford the same amount of vitamin C.
Unfortunately, in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was also one of the "poor countries" that needed to import vitamin C. At that time, our country needed to spend a lot of foreign exchange to buy vitamin C, because vitamin C is essential to maintain the health of our people.
However, importing vitamin C has to accept the highest price increase of the International Vitamin C Federation, which means that we need to pay more money. In this predicament, our country decided to start experimenting with the production of vitamin C on its own.
Although we faced the situation of "one poor and two white" in the early stage, we are still determined to no longer be controlled by others, and for the health of our people, we are determined to develop and produce our own vitamin C.
We cannot sit idly by in the face of a technological blockade. We must take action, produce our own technology, master the core technology, and not be "stuck" by foreign countries. Just like in 1958, if China wants to produce vitamin C, it is necessary to master its own technology and not be "stuck" by foreign countries.
In 1968, we also had to have this spirit, to be self-reliant, to develop better technology.
At that time, due to the technological blockade of foreign countries, China only mastered the production method of vitamin C, and related research on technology, technology and equipment needed to start from scratch.
In this case, Yin Guanglin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, put forward a completely new concept: instead of following in the footsteps of foreigners to study what they have already invented, it is better to invent a completely new method of vitamin C production from scratch.
After 10 years of unremitting efforts, the research team of Academician Yin Guanglin successfully invented the "two-step fermentation method", which has low cost, high quality and low pollution to produce vitamin C, far exceeding the Lai's production method.
Through our data analysis, the Beijing pharmaceutical factory has achieved remarkable results after switching to new technology, which allows us to proudly say that the technological blockade of foreigners has not stopped us from moving forward, but has instead prompted us to find a better way of production, leaving foreign competitors far behind.
Our self-developed two-step fermentation method has attracted the attention of the International Vitamin C Federation, who have approached the Chinese Academy of Sciences to purchase our patented technology.
When people look back on this history now, they may wonder how this kind of patent, which can change the pattern of the international vitamin C industry, can be transferred so easily.
However, at that time, China was in a very difficult economic period, and even key national military projects could come to a standstill due to funding problems. Therefore, it seems understandable that our country made such a decision at that time.
Although Roche only bought the overseas production rights of the two-step fermentation process for $5.5 million, this does not mean that we cannot continue to use the two-step fermentation method to produce vitamin C in China.
In fact, from now on, it may have been one of Roche's biggest mistakes of the year. Perhaps Roche lowered its vigilance because it was skeptical of China's ability to compete with the international peacekeeping league by relying on a two-step fermentation method.
After the acquisition of the two-step fermentation method, the International Vitamin C Federation did not change its production method, but instead shelved the technology and continued to use the Laiss production method for the production of vitamin C.
At that time, Roche may have thought that this would be "all right", however, China's vitamin C industry ushered in a big explosion. Thanks to the introduction of the two-step fermentation method, the number of vitamin C producers in China doubled in the four years from 1986 to 1990, reaching an annual output of 6,050 tons, of which 2 3 were exported.
By 1992, the number of vitamin C manufacturers in China had reached 26, and the annual output was as high as 260,000 tons, of which nearly 90% is exported.
This shows that China's vitamin C industry has become a leading force in the world.
In the face of the first battle of the international peacekeeping alliance, Chinese companies are difficult to withstand. They did not hesitate to lose money for many years, intent on defeating Chinese companies completely. In this war, 22 of China's 26 vitamin C production enterprises have closed down, and only four state-owned enterprises, Northeast Pharmaceutical, CSPC, North China Pharmaceutical and Jiangshan Pharmaceutical, are still struggling to support.
In just 3 years, the international vitamin C** has dropped from $18 to $4. This is a very difficult time for Chinese companies, but it has also taught Chinese companies how to survive and win in the best war.
Down with antitrust! In 1999, the United States began an anti-monopoly war against the International Peacekeeping League, and Roche was fined $500 million for suspected monopoly, and the company's executives were imprisoned.
Other vitamin C manufacturers were fined 9$900 million. This case is one of the famous antitrust investigations in U.S. history. As a result of the war, the International Peacekeeping League quickly collapsed, with Roche being acquired by DSM in the Netherlands, and BASF and Takeda discontinuing production.
The four major vitamin C production companies in China have survived the cold winter and ushered in spring.
In the second year after the collapse of the International Peacekeeping League, the United States responded more quickly to our pharmaceutical companies. On the grounds that they are involved in dumping, they ask our pharmaceutical companies to set a minimum **, claiming that this is to protect American companies.
At that time, China's pharmaceutical companies lacked relevant experience and were forced to accept the requirements of the United States and formulate a minimum level. However, this has become a trap set by the United States. In 2005, the United States filed a lawsuit against China's four major vitamin C manufacturers on the grounds of market monopoly, demanding compensation of 15700 million yuan, which is the first antitrust lawsuit initiated by the United States against China.
In the face of the stipulation that "the enterprise involved in the lawsuit must first suspend the operation of the relevant project and wait for the case judgment to be completed before it can be started", Chinese enterprises have shown tenacious fighting spirit.
Northeast Pharmaceutical, CSPC Pharmaceutical, and Jiangshan Pharmaceutical chose to pay fines, reached a settlement with the United States, and temporarily "retreated" to protect China's share of the international vitamin C market and the "revolutionary fire".
North China Pharmaceutical, on the other hand, resolutely stopped production and fought to the death with the U.S. federal court.
This battle is a crucial test for Chinese pharmaceutical companies. Once they fail, they will not only lose an important share of the international vitamin C market, but also miss the great opportunity for Chinese pharmaceutical companies to "go overseas for development" in the future.
Long before the fight, everyone expected it to be a protracted battle, however, shockingly, it lasted for 16 years.
After 16 years of struggle, North China Pharmaceutical finally won the lawsuit! With a landmark judgment, it will open the door to victory for Chinese companies in the antitrust litigation in the United States. Although North China Pharmaceutical was sentenced to 1$6.2 billion in damages, but they immediately appealed, and in 2016 they ushered in a reversal.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the judgment was reversed in accordance with the principle of international comity, and North China Pharmaceutical won the case. However, the US side was not satisfied with this and requested a retrial.
Finally, after 16 years of litigation, North China Pharmaceutical ushered in the final victory in 2018! This is a memorable moment, because the United States is a case law country, which means that the likelihood of Chinese companies winning in U.S. antitrust litigation will be greatly increased.
This campaign has further enhanced the ability of Chinese enterprises to handle international litigation and injected more confidence into the "going out" Chinese enterprises to protect their rights and interests in accordance with the law. What's more, despite an "anti-monopoly" battle, we still occupy 90% of the international vitamin C market.
In this struggle, we have suffered almost nothing. From relying on imported vitamin C in the past and being controlled by foreign countries, to now dominating the international market, China has put in decades of hard work.
Looking back, this is undoubtedly a valuable asset. Take the little things in our daily lives, it is worth it to buy a bottle of vitamin C at the pharmacy for just a few bucks without having to put in a year's hard work.
Because it is in the hands of foreigners that it is by no means Chinese.