On June 14, 2000, a rusty "scrap iron" was towed out of the Ukrainian Black Sea shipyard, the ship did not have any power system, and even the advance required other small boats to tow, but it was such a "scrap iron", but the buyer was willing to spend hundreds of millions of yuan to buy, because this "scrap iron" was the predecessor of the later Liaoning aircraft carrier - Varyag.
Varyag aircraft carrier: How did Xu Zengping successfully buy and give it to the motherland on the verge of bankruptcy, so that the development of China's aircraft carrier entered the fast lane? Now more than 20 years later, what is Xu Zengping's current situation?
With the eyes of Western countries, how did he successfully buy the Varyag?
The Varyag was once the pride of the Soviets, and its design against the American Nimitz aircraft carrier made it a source of attention in the former Soviet era. However, the aircraft carrier was only 68 percent complete before it encountered upheaval in Eastern Europe, and the end of the Soviet era led to its assignment to Ukraine.
The Black Sea Shipyard, the world's largest military shipyard at that time, could have completed the construction of the Varyag, but Ukraine at that time was so poor that it could only be left to waste in the wind and rain. ”
The Ukrainian economy is in trouble, the country is in dire need of capital turnover, and in desperation, it was decided to idle the Varyag aircraft carrier. As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted global attention, and the United States, South Korea, India and other countries have expressed their willingness to buy, and China is no exception, with the intention to buy this aircraft carrier.
After the end of World War II, Ukraine dismantled a large number of missiles due to poverty, and the world pattern was reshuffled. Aircraft carriers began to become the standard configuration of major powers, but our country did not have a single aircraft carrier at that time.
In the face of the increasingly grim international situation, the Admiral is deeply worried. Since the seventies of the last century, Admiral ** has been running around for the research and development of China's aircraft carriers.
During this period, he also boarded a US aircraft carrier for a tour, and the US missile cruiser USS Fox (USS Focus), the amphibious assault ship (USS Tarawa), and the USS Kitty Hawk (USS Kitty Hawk) aircraft carrier all left his figure.
Due to the conditions, Admiral ** could only stand on tiptoe to visit the US aircraft carrier. Although the U.S. Navy has shown great respect for our delegation, due to the constraints of the international environment, they have not revealed much core technology.
Therefore, the visit of the admiral was only a superficial tour and failed to gain an in-depth understanding of the core steps of R&D. In this case, the first admiral urgently needs a suitable "second-hand aircraft carrier" to fill the gap in our country's perception of aircraft carriers.
And the Varyag meets exactly this need.
According to intelligence, the ** admiral learned that the Varyag was equipped with the most advanced engine in the world at that time, and also carried nearly 40 tons of engineering drawings, which were extremely important for the development of aircraft carriers in our country.
He was well versed in the truth that "it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish", and decided to bring the Varyag back to the country. However, at that time, Ukraine set a number of additional conditions when selling the Varyag, one of which was that it would only be purchased in the name of individuals.
In order to meet these requirements, the ** general decided to place an order in the way of "saving the country with a curve", which not only meets the requirements of Ukraine, but also avoids the attention of the United States, Russia and other countries, making the purchase process smoother.
In 1997, when China urgently needed to carry out aircraft carrier research and development work, General He Pengfei got in touch with Xu Zengping, a retired businessman from the Guangzhou Military Region. Xu Zengping was a businessman full of patriotic feelings, and upon hearing the news, he did not hesitate to accept the task of purchasing the Varyag aircraft carrier.
In order to win the trust of Ukraine, Xu Zengping set up a "Macau Chuanglu Company", and went to Ukraine many times to negotiate the purchase in the name of transforming the Varyag into a large-scale maritime comprehensive tourist destination.
In the end, Ukraine agreed to pay $18 million for the Varyag aircraft carrier, which provided important support for China's aircraft carrier research and development work.
Xu Zengping, a patriotic businessman, in order to prevent the aircraft carrier from being used for military purposes, insisted that all the first-class systems on the aircraft carrier be dismantled, the power system and even the rudder could not be retained, and the construction drawings of the aircraft carrier were not for sale.
However, in order to preserve the equipment and drawings of the Varyag aircraft carrier, he negotiated with Ukraine ** for several days. During this period, his company had a shortage of funds, and the negotiations reached an impasse.
However, Shao Chun, chairman of Huaxia**, urgently docked the capital inflow of the Varyag, and finally after several days of contact, Ukraine agreed to sell the construction drawings to Xu Zengping for $2 million**, and promised not to dismantle the rudder.
Xu Zengping took a photo during his stay in Ukraine, and on the day the drawings were handed over, there was another accident in Ukraine, and only a small part of the original drawings of nearly 40 tons were provided. Oriental Huizhong Investment Holdings*** urgently intervened in the name of Macau Chuanglu Company, and after several months of negotiations, finally purchased all the drawings for 20 million US dollars.
The parties signed a purchase contract at the Black Sea Shipyard. With the joint efforts of Xu Zengping and others, the Varyag was finally successfully taken by our country. After all the handover procedures were completed, Xu Zengping immediately returned to China by air and began to arrange various matters for the return of the Varyag.
However, the Varyag took a full 3 years to arrive at the port of Dalian in our country.
In mid-June 1997, the Varyag, towed by a tug from the Dutch company International Transport Contract, bid farewell to the many aircraft carrier engineers at the Black Sea shipyard and began its voyage.
According to the original plan, the Varyag would pass through the Turkish Strait and it would take only about 60 days to reach the Chinese port of Dalian. However, just three days after the Varyag set off, it was detained by Turkey** just as it was about to enter the Bosphorus.
Turkey**'s reasoning is simple, according to the Montreal Strait Convention, large ** needs to apply to the Turkish side and obtain approval before they can pass through the strait.
And the length of the Varyag reaches 306 meters, and Turkey ** considers this ship to be a large **. As a result, the Varyag's sailing plans were put on hold for the time being.
In order to prove that the development of the Varyag had not been completed, Macau Chuanglu Company provided various evidences to Turkey**, including documents approved by Ukraine**, but Turkey** still insisted on not allowing it to be released.
In the end, Macau Chuanglu had no choice but to ask the Chinese Embassy in Turkey for help, but the negotiation process dragged on for more than 100 days.
In the course of the long negotiations, Turkey repeatedly made demands, including towing the Varyag back to the Black Sea shipyard, or cutting it into two parts and passing it in batches, and even demanding that our country pay a deposit of $1 billion.
However, our country has always adhered to its position and resolutely refused to accede to these unreasonable demands. After more than a year of hard work, our country has made many representations with Turkey**, and after satisfying more than 20 additional conditions and obtaining guarantees from Greece**, Turkey** finally agreed on November 7, 2001 to let the Varyag sail out of the Turkish Straits.
Despite the arduous process, our country's determination and courage ultimately won the victory.
In March 2002, the Varyag finally arrived in the western part of Dalian's inner harbor after many hardships, and although there were many changes along the way, countless patriots paid great sacrifices for it, including businessman Xu Zengping, who almost lost his family fortune and his company was even on the verge of bankruptcy.
However, it was all worth it. Immediately after the return of the Varyag, our scientific researchers began to study and develop aircraft carriers. After seven years of hard work, on September 25, 2012, the transformed Varyag was officially unveiled, becoming the first aircraft carrier Liaoning in service in China.
Drawing on the valuable experience of the transformation of the Liaoning ship, China's aircraft carrier research and development has become more and more handy. After the Liaoning, the Shandong and Fujian ships followed, and the development of the Chinese Navy entered a new stage.
In this process, we have not forgotten the outstanding contribution made by Xu Zengping. In 2013, after the Liaoning ship was commissioned, Xu Zengping was invited to let him board the Liaoning ship to experience it in person.
For Xu Zengping, this is an extremely glorious moment. After boarding the Liaoning, Xu Zengping had mixed feelings, he never thought that a rusty "empty shell of an aircraft carrier" could bring such earth-shaking changes to China's navy.
After completing the important task of purchasing the Varyag aircraft carrier, Xu Zengping once again devoted himself to the business world. After several years of hard work, his company was in trouble for a while, but it eventually got through it.
Today, Xu Zengping has become a wealthy entrepreneur, but he has never forgotten his social responsibility. In 2011, he donated 200 million yuan to Tsinghua University, hoping to reserve future scientific research talents for the country and promote the rapid development of China's science and technology.
This is the foresight that every Chinese should have.
Xu Zengping, this businessman, undoubtedly deserves our deep respect. He used everything he could, single-handedly, to promote China's aircraft carrier from scratch, and it is with the silent dedication of people like him that China can develop to unprecedented heights and prosper in just a few decades.
Their spirit is what our descendants should uphold and inherit, let us continue to move forward bravely and work hard for the strength and prosperity of the motherland.