Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

206: Chapter 206 ZTE’s ”Heart Transplant”April 15th, 8:00 PM, Shenzhen High-Tech Park.

The 36th floor of the ZTE headquarters building was brightly lit, but in a special conference room on the third basement level, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead. This was an electromagnetic shielded room, with walls, floors, and ceilings covered in copper mesh to ensure no electronic signals could enter or leave.

Two groups of people sat on either side of a long table.

On the left: ZTE Corporation Chairman Hou Zhenghua, along with the heads of the technical, procurement, and legal departments. Their faces were weary, and their eyes were bloodshot—three days after the ban took effect, the company was already on the verge of a standstill.

On the right: Su Chen was alone.

He hadn’t brought a team, only a black briefcase. This detail left the ZTE side both surprised and uneasy—for such a major collaboration, the other party had come alone?

Hou Zhenghua looked at this man, thirty years younger than himself, with mixed emotions. Three years ago, Spark was still a company producing drones, while ZTE was already a telecommunications giant. Now, their positions were almost reversed.

”President Su, thank you for being willing to come at a time like this,” Hou Zhenghua said, his voice raspy. ”We are currently... indeed ’severely ill patients’.”

Su Chen opened his briefcase, took out two documents, and pushed them to the center of the table.

The first: ”Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement.”

The second: ”Technical Licensing and Joint R&D Agreement.”

”President Hou, take a look first,” Su Chen said calmly.

Hou Zhenghua put on his reading glasses and opened the first document. The more he read, the more his hands trembled.

Core terms of the agreement:

ZTE Corporation will comprehensively procure xinghuo system products:

Base station chips: Xinghuo Chip will provide the ”Flint-Tongxin T1” series, custom chips based on a 16nm process.

Base station equipment: Xingchen Communications will provide the ”Sky Dome” base station system.

Operating system: Xingchen Communications will provide the ”Morning Star” communication equipment version.

Procurement price: 20% lower than original America suppliers, but requires a five-year exclusive procurement right.

Technology sharing: Xingchen Communications will open some 4G/5G patents to ZTE, and ZTE will open some overseas market channels to Xingchen.

The most critical clause: All products using Xingchen and Spark technology can carry the ZTE brand, but the core technology belongs to Xingchen Communications.

”This...” Hou Zhenghua looked up. ”President Su, is this... an organ transplant? You’re giving us a new heart?”

”It’s not a transplant,” Su Chen corrected. ”It’s giving you a stronger heart.”

He pushed over a tablet computer, the screen displaying a technical catalog:

[Xingchen Communications 5G Enhanced Technology Pack]

Massive MIMO (Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) Enhanced Version

Number of antennas: 1024 units (industry mainstream is 256)

Beamforming precision: 0.1 degrees (industry average is 1 degree)

Spectrum efficiency improvement: 40%

Millimeter wave and Sub-6GHz dynamic spectrum sharing

Intelligent switching algorithm, automatically selecting the optimal frequency band based on the environment

Transmission rate: Millimeter wave peak 10Gbps, Sub-6GHz peak 2Gbps

Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) IoT protocol

A single base station supports millions of device connections

Device battery life: Theoretically up to 10 years. [These technologies are system tech that Su Chen has successively redeemed over the past three years. After research by the Xingchen Academy of Sciences, they were implemented as commercial technologies. Through this opportunity, Xingchen Communications is stepping into the spotlight.]

Technical Director Engineer Zhao, standing behind Hou Zhenghua, leaned in to look, his eyes widening: ”These parameters... are even higher than Huawei’s!”

”But we have conditions.” Su Chen switched the screen. ”All products equipped with these technologies will have their intellectual property belong to Xingchen Communications. ZTE will be the ’white glove’—you will be responsible for production, sales, and after-sales. The products will bear the ZTE brand, but the core is ours.”

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Hou Zhenghua understood what this meant: ZTE would become a carrier for Spark’s technology. They could survive in the short term, but would lose their autonomy in the long run.

”President Su, this is equivalent to handing our lives over to you,” Hou Zhenghua said with difficulty.

”President Hou, your lives are currently in the hands of the people from America,” Su Chen looked directly at him. ”When the ban is lifted in seven years, will America sell chips to you again? They will. But how much will the price rise? When will the next sanction come?”

He paused. ”I’m giving you a third path: no need for America technology, and no need to rely on Spark forever. The agreement term is five years. After five years, ZTE can conduct its own research and development or choose a new partner. But for these five years, you need to survive and complete the technical transition.”

Hou Zhenghua closed his eyes.

He thought of the termination notice sent by the America supplier three days ago. He thought of the despair at the board meeting. He thought of the livelihoods of thirty thousand employees.

”Can the technology... really reach these parameters?” he asked finally.

Su Chen took a small box out of his briefcase and opened it.

Inside was a chip, silver-grey, slightly larger than a fingernail, with the words ”flint-t1” printed on the surface.

”This is a sample,” Su Chen said. ”It can be tested on-site.”

Engineer Zhao took the chip, his hands trembling. ”This is... the base station main control chip?”

”Yes. 16nm process, 28W power consumption, 120Gbps processing capacity. The American chips you are using now are 28nm, with 45W power consumption and 80Gbps processing capacity.”

”Power consumption reduced by 38%, performance increased by 50%...” Engineer Zhao murmured. ”This is impossible...”

”Whether it’s possible or not, you’ll know after testing,” Su Chen said. ”ZTE has a testing lab, right?”

Hou Zhenghua nodded. ”Yes, on the fifth floor.”

”Then let’s go now.”

9:00 PM, fifth-floor lab.

This was originally where America chips were tested. The equipment was still there, but the chip supply had been cut off.

Engineer Zhao carefully installed the ”flint-t1” onto the test board and connected the instruments.

The power was turned on, and the chip’s indicator light turned green.

First test: Power consumption.

The digital meter showed: 27.8W.

”Even lower than the rated 28W...” Engineer Zhao murmured.

Second test: Processing capacity.

Data packets began to be injected, and the chip’s processor utilization curve rose steadily.

Peak: 122Gbps.

”It’s exceeded the specs...” the test engineer exclaimed.

Third test: Temperature.

After running at full load for an hour, the infrared thermal imager showed the chip’s surface temperature: 68 degrees Celsius.

”The America chip was 85 degrees under the same load,” Engineer Zhao compared the records. ”The heat dissipation pressure is much lower.”

Fourth test: Compatibility.

Connected to ZTE’s existing base station system, the software identified it as an ”unknown device,” but after loading the driver provided by Xingchen Communications, the system started normally.

The monitoring screen showed: all modules normal, network self-test passed.

”It really... works.” Engineer Zhao turned around, his voice choking up. ”President Hou, this chip is much stronger than the ones we used before.”

Hou Zhenghua walked to the test bench and looked at the chip in operation. The green indicator light flashed rhythmically, like a beating heart.

This heart was made in Huaxia.

”President Su,” he took a deep breath, ”we will sign the agreement. But I have one request.”

”Please say it.”

”Within five years, can ZTE’s R&D team participate in the technical development of Xingchen Communications? We don’t want to be just an OEM; we want to... learn.”

Su Chen smiled. ”Of course. There is a technology sharing clause in the agreement. ZTE engineers can work in Xingchen Communications’ labs. What we want to cultivate is talent for the entire Huaxia communications industry.”

Hou Zhenghua’s eyes turned red.

He shook Su Chen’s hand. ”Thank you. Truly... thank you.”

It wasn’t thanks for saving their lives, but thanks for giving them dignity—it wasn’t charity, but a partnership.