The sunset shines, and the Manhattan block outside the window is covered with a layer of golden light. The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and other skyscrapers built before World War II are full of historical heaviness and also show the prosperity of its civilization.

Lu Zheng stood by the window, holding a teacup and slowly savoring the tea.

The door was knocked gently, and Secretary Xiao Wang hurried over to open the door. Dukecheng came in.

"Mayor, I'll buy you a newspaper." After pouring a cup of tea for Dukecheng, Xiao Wang explained and left the room.

"How is it? The negotiation meeting is successful, right?" Lu Zheng asked with a smile.

Dukecheng smiled and said, "If you don't succeed, you always feel that you are short of anything if you don't attend. In the words of Americans, well, it's called soulless. Will a soulless investment promotion be a successful investment promotion conference?"

Lu Zheng laughed and said, "I think you are going to be Westernized. But this time we come, we are indeed not prepared enough and the response is average, but this is what we expected. The environment at home and abroad is like this, right? The icebreaking journey is the instructions given to us by the central leadership and the best comment on the situation of our economic and trade group."

Patting Dukecheng's shoulder, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If we look at our visit to New York from a historical perspective, it will be very successful."

While the two were chatting, the door was knocked gently, and Xiao Wang brought in a stack of newspapers.

Dukecheng looked at it and laughed: "Is this a search of the newsstand?"

Lu Zheng said: "This is just one, the New York Times, three times a day, each time dozens of pages. Hey, it's a newspaper, and the content is more than monthly magazines every day." As he said that, he took the newspaper and read it, and said: "Our Special Administrative Region mainly focuses on the advertisements of the paper media. I have to take a look, and it's not in vain to buy a wide range of money."

Dukecheng was stunned for a while and couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly: "Oh, the United States, newspapers are different from us." He remembered another incident and said: "You should try to go to the evening party."

Lu Zheng nodded: "Well, I'll go." Suddenly he was stunned. Although the New York Times has many pages, most of them are advertisements. Of course, in the United States, the scope of advertisements is very wide. For example, the election articles posted by various political action committees that support their political parties, information about their candidates, etc., are all considered advertising.

Lu Zheng was stunned because in an advertisement calling for the Democratic presidential candidate Collin to vote for support, there was a statement from Mrs. McCain, "In the incident of Chinese Li Changgen, I made a wrong judgment because I was disturbed by unknown information, and I hereby express my sincere apology to all the injured public..." and so on.

A brief and ambiguous statement that Mrs. McCain's campaign PR team responded so quickly that she apologized in the newspaper before Brown's side responded. This statement could minimize the possible attack on her by Brown's supporters on the matter.

Although the apology statement was extremely vague, Brown's supporters could not be entangled in the Li Changgen incident. A Chinese who applied to come to the United States for refuge is in a state of sympathy in the eyes of the people. It is irrelevant to prove whether he is a criminal or a liar. This incident might have been used to label Mrs. McCain as a hypocrite who is good at lying, but Mrs. McCain's team has made up for the blind, minimizing the negative impact of this incident on Mrs. McCain to a minimum.

Looking at Mrs. McCain's apology statement, thinking of her gloomy and deep blue eyes, Lu Zheng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Perhaps, in the eyes of her voters, she was noble and elegant, but when facing herself, a Communist official, she was more like a beast that chose people to eat, and in her eyes, she was really like a beast.

The evening reception was held in the banquet hall on the fifth floor of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, which can accommodate thousands of people. Consul General Fan Haihui enthusiastically welcomed the Wushan Economic and Trade Group in his toast, and highly praised the great significance of the Wushan Economic and Trade Group's trip.

Everyone gathered together to chat in groups. After Gong Yumen and other entrepreneurs took a photo with Consul General Fan Haihui, the entrepreneurs of the economic and trade group could not sit still and went up to ask for a photo. Such photos can be used as a souvenir for the rest of their lives.

Fan Hai would smile and meet their requirements one by one, obviously he was already commonplace with such scenes.

Lu Zheng picked up a few Chinese dim sum and cushioned his stomach. When Fan Haihui came over with a smile, Lu Zheng handed the plate to Xiao Wang, the secretary who had been by his side. With Fan Haihui's gesture of inviting him, he entered the lounge on the side door of the banquet hall with Fan Haihui.

"Mayor Lu, what happened to Li Changgen has changed dramatically today." Fan Haihui smiled and looked at Lu Zheng's expression.

Before Lu Zheng and Wushan Economic and Trade Group came to New York, Fan Haihui received a call from Minister Dong in the department. On the phone, Minister Dong asked him to cooperate with Lu Zheng's work in New York more.

Fan Haihui heard of the young mayor who had served as ambassador to Myanmar, and also knew that this young mayor was highly appreciated by Minister Dong when he was in the diplomatic system, and it was just a economic and trade group in the city. Minister Dong personally called to inquire, so he could not ignore it.

Influential media in New York, there are special staff in the consulate to read, classify and analyze every day. The infamous anti-communist congresswoman publishes statements involving domestic fugitives, which immediately attracted the attention of relevant staff. Not only did the newspapers come to Fan Haihui's desk, but also a special person began to use various channels to inquire about this matter.

But Fan Haihui intuitively knew that this matter should be related to Lu Zheng. Lu Zheng and Federal Senator Brown were the result of Fan Haihui's efforts. Fan Haihui also knew that after meeting with Brown, Lu Zheng had a short time contact with Mrs. McCain at a Western restaurant. Fan Haihui had no idea what channel he could get to Mrs. McCain from.

Moreover, I always feel that the Li Changgen incident was involved in the Republican Republic. The competition between the Democratic parties for the senator seats is a situation, a situation that Li Changgen began to set up just after he fled to the United States. However, I can't figure out the key points. For example, why is Mrs. McCain's campaign team guided by misinformation? Mrs. McCain has always been critical of China. Whether Li Changgen is a criminal is irrelevant to her. She can have a hundred reasons to put pressure on the Immigration Bureau to approve Li Changgen's asylum application. However, in the campaign speech, Li Changgen's fictional tragic story was extended, which is another situation.

However, it is no longer important why the Li Changgen incident has developed to the present situation. What is important is that the mistakes of Mrs. McCain's team have caused the Li Changgen incident to begin to develop in completely different directions.

"Today's New York Times, McCain published an apology statement." Fan Haihui said with a smile.

Lu Zheng didn't hide it and nodded: "I saw it."

Fan Haihui smiled and said, "I guess you saw it too." He also said, "The Li Changgen incident has developed to the present day. I think there will be two possibilities. The first is that the Immigration Bureau quickly approves Li Changgen's asylum application; the second is of course what we hope, that the Immigration Bureau will reject Li Changgen's application and deport him. No matter which possibility, McCain will inevitably exert influence to make the matter settled as soon as possible. She will not tolerate this application entering a long complaint process. In that case, it can be delayed for several years or even more than ten years, and may enter the public's vision from time to time. McCain will not allow such a situation."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "I think so too."

Fan Haihui smiled and said, "I can reveal some news to you that the immigration officer responsible for the interview with Li Changgen is a loyal fan of Councillor McCain. I think this may also affect the development of the Li Changgen incident."

Lu Zheng nodded silently. In fact, he had known this information for a long time, and had known it clearly before he came to the United States.

The door of the lounge was open. Fan Hai would see a staff member standing at the door, so he waved to him and asked, "Xiao Li, what's the matter?"

Xiao Li walked over quickly and whispered a few words beside Fan Haihui.

Fan Haihui smiled and said to Lu Zheng: "That's right. There was a New York Times reporter who attended the cocktail party today. I hope he could interview you."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Ask me a name?"

Fan Hai would nod.

Lu Zheng thought for a while and said, "Do you think I can accept an interview?"

Fan Hai would laugh: "You are so stumping me. How can I say that, Western media reporters are very difficult to deal with. You should know this, but if you think you can control the situation, it is not harmful to deal with them. Everything is up to you. Don't worry at home. I will report it for you and there will be no trouble."

Fan Haihui is the department-level Yu Department like Lu Zheng, but Lu Zheng is the mayor of the domestic emerging economic city with millions of people developing vigorously. Moreover, Fan Haihui still has a certain understanding of Lu Zheng's background, but he did not expect that Lu Zheng is very humble and polite. He really makes your decision when you make your decision and ask for your opinions on everything. Therefore, Fan Haihui has a very good impression of Lu Zheng, and his words are extremely sincere in the end.

Lu Zheng thought for a while and said, "Okay, then I'll make an appointment with him."

Fan Haihui nodded slightly, "I will help you prepare the information of this reporter as soon as possible."

In fact, Lu Zheng naturally had more channels than Fan Hai, but he just smiled and said, "Thank you."

The night before Lu Zheng was about to return to China, he met this young New York Times reporter in the business suite of the Pearl Hotel.

At this time, Lu Zheng's understanding of him was far beyond his imagination.

Leonardo Smith, 29 years old this year, does not graduate from a prestigious university, but he is very hard-working. Although he has a relatively low qualification, he has been promoted to a national news reporter by the editor-in-chief.

Leonardo, who just got married, has no children, his wife’s job is not very decent, and the relationship between them is not very sweet after marriage.

It seems that Leonardo is a little uncomfortable. Perhaps he himself did not expect this interview opportunity. If it weren't for the delegation of the Communist country to visit New York, he would have no chance to contact the mysterious Eastern world.

In the study, after a few greetings with Leonardo, Lu Zheng smiled and took out a small tape recorder and put it on the table, saying, "Do you mind, will it affect your interview?"

Leonardo was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Of course I don't mind." He took out the recorder from his travel bag, placed it next to Lu Zheng's recorder, and asked, "Can we start?"

Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

In the study, Secretary Xiao Wang and a female translator were present. Leonardo initially thought Lu Zheng needed to translate, but it was obvious that Lu Zheng's English was extremely fluent. In addition to being surprised, he gradually understood the intention of the other two Chinese people present.

"Mr. Lu Zheng, you are very fluent in English. Which university did you ever attend in China?" Leonardo smiled slightly and said sorry: "I'm sorry, this question is not within the scope of my question, but I think we can start to chat casually and get familiar with each other so that the next interview will be easy and natural."

Before arranging this visit, Leonardo also fully agreed to the conditions agreed by the Economic and Trade Group Propaganda Team. All the questions were arranged. After confirmation by the Ministry of the Economic and Trade Group Propaganda Team, most of them were topics about the Wushan Special Zone.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Yes." I think I know that he is unknown in the West. What can I do with a local official in Red China? Apart from being a little curious, Leonardo must have other plans, and he will not really ask as agreed. The whole manuscript is asking about Wushan and waiting for you to answer how good Wushan Special Zone is. That is just the style of the domestic media.

"I am now studying for the Bachelor of Laws from Beijing Huaxia University." Lu Zheng's answer was concise.

Leonardo nodded thoughtfully and said, "Did you learn foreign languages ​​in college? Or did you hire a personal teacher?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's considered self-study."

Leonardo recorded a sentence carefully and asked again: "I'll ask you, are you married?"

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "I want to keep her situation confidential for the time being because I hope she can have more private space." He felt helpless. In fact, Leonardo's current problem was that he hoped that he could relax and guide himself into his rhythm step by step. But what the reporter didn't know was that the questions he asked were very sensitive to him, and almost all his weaknesses in keeping them strictly confidential. The more he chatted with him, the more vigilant he became. He would definitely not have thought of this effect.

"Mr. Smith, let's get to the point." Lu Zheng smiled and signaled.

Leonardo had to ask the first question as arranged by the Chinese in advance: "Mr. Mayor, please talk about the city you manage."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Actually, regarding Wushan, we have posted a large number of advertisements in the electronic and graphic media in New York recently, and relevant information can be found. Let me briefly say a few points. Wushan is a special economic zone in northern my country. It is a very dynamic city with a large number of foreigners living in it. Changming Group, one of the three major computer companies in the world, has settled in our Wushan. I believe that with the upcoming establishment of the World Trade Organization and China becoming one of them, overseas computer companies will feel the power of Changming Group. As China's Silicon Valley, Wushan's enterprises have made great contributions to the development of many technical fields in my country. I believe that as China gradually opens up to the world, the whole world can see the great success we have achieved."

Leonardo heard the eyelids twitching here, and immediately asked: "There have been news that China has obtained a lot of technology from abroad in recent years. Can listening to the mayor's remarks confirm this news?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "The technological innovation of enterprises and the source of technology, I think this is a business issue, right?"

Leonardo immediately asked: "So does the mayor mean that in your country's special economic zones, private enterprises will become the dominant policy, and promoting the development of private enterprises will become your country's special economic zones in the future? So, is this contradictory to the capitalist concept you have always resisted?"

Lu Zheng's face became serious and said, "On the contrary, I think at this stage, with the imperfect supervision system of the market economy, excessive shareholding and privatization of state-owned enterprises will cause serious problems. The Li Youcai incident is a good proof."

Leonardo immediately asked with a smile: "I heard that you and Mrs. McCain had dinner together. Is it related to the incident of Li Youcai?"

Lu Zheng smiled. Actually, this is his intention. Maybe he got the news from some channel, or maybe it was the wind released by Brown's team. The young reporter in front of him was more concerned about why he, a Communist official, met with the anti-communist fighter Mrs. McCain, and what did the two of them talk about.

Seeing Lu Zheng's deep smile, Leonardo's face became slightly warm. This young Chinese official was much more complicated than he thought. Perhaps he had guessed what he was going to do. He was not qualified to do a political interview, and he never thought that he would have an interview with a politician on the New York Times half of the page. However, what he didn't expect was that after talking with the young official, Leonardo suddenly felt that this visit was far from as bad as he imagined, and he might even have the chance to become his first interview with a foreign politician.

In this atmosphere of conversation, it seems that my vision is too small when I suddenly ask about the meeting between the Chinese official and Mrs. McCain.

Leonardo smiled apologetically and said, "Okay, let me change the question, Mr. Mayor, it sounds like, you don't agree with your country's private ownership reform? But as far as I know, you have always been a relatively radical reformist, and have also suffered the price for this, so, is your point of view a bit contradictory?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "This is not a contradiction. Wushan and China, the reform and opening up policies will never change. There is no doubt that your Western private ownership system and theories have been developing for hundreds of years. We have been in the transition and there is no precedent to learn. Moreover, I never think that everything is good if you copy your things. Your social organizational structure has developed over hundreds of years. Similarly, your social individuals have affected the development of your social organizational structure little by little over the past few hundred years and adapted to the changes in this social organizational structure. If you rashly copy this social organizational structure to a completely different social individual group, it would only be a disaster. For example, a stable society can be regarded as a well-operated machine. Social individuals are the various parts that make up this machine. If they are suddenly replaced with all different parts, will this machine still operate well?"

"I never think that China today can develop rapidly and stably without a strong central government."

"I think a developing country with a large population needs a relatively strong government leadership, accumulating time, and creating a large number of middle class through time. Only when the middle class reaches a certain level will the people of this country know what they want."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Okay, let's talk about going back to Wushan, otherwise in this report, I'm afraid you will write the title as the whining of a Communist official."

Leonardo shook his head and said sincerely: "Mr. Mayor, although I do not agree with some of your views, I can hear your voice. You are a real politician. If you run for Mayor of New York, I may vote for you."
Chapter completed!