419: Chapter 419 Denying Investment, Various Rumors Spread

Whether it was due to Mayor Liu's persistent invitation or Green Group's desire to start construction on their super-large paper mill as soon as possible, they arrived very quickly.

Led personally by their chairman, Chairman Liu Liren, the group consisted of over twenty people, a large and high-profile delegation.

Mayor Liu led a large group of officials to personally receive, accompany, and conduct inspections with them.

Once the inspection was nearly complete, both sides sat down to negotiate specific cooperation details. Qin Chuan also joined them in the large reception room.

As the Municipal Party Secretary, Qin Chuan could represent Dongjiang City. The people from Green Group knew this and had just specifically introduced the results of their inspection.

Chairman Liu Liren said with satisfaction, "Secretary Qin, the conditions in Dongjiang City are quite good. Main arteries of high-speed rail and expressways run through it, and it's very close to Guangdong Province. It's an ideal place for us to invest."

"We've already discussed many details with Mayor Liu. We plan to invest 30 billion to build the largest paper mill in the country here in Dongjiang City..."

After his introduction, Mayor Liu added, "Secretary Qin, once this mega-factory is completed, it will generate an annual GDP of over 20 billion and provide tens of thousands of jobs for our Dongjiang City."

Qin Chuan nodded slightly. These weren't the things he valued most; what needed the most attention was the discharge of wastewater and exhaust gases. So, he began to inquire.

"Chairman Liu, after the factory is built, what will be the annual wastewater discharge? What about exhaust gas emissions? And how many tons of solid waste will be produced?"

Chairman Liu Liren was slightly stunned.

From yesterday to today, Mayor Liu had never asked about these aspects. What he asked about most was the total investment amount, the factory's total output value, annual tax revenue, and so on.

After a brief moment of surprise, Chairman Liu Liren replied, "As a mega-paper mill, wastewater and exhaust gas emissions are inevitable..."

He was quite knowledgeable and provided relatively accurate figures for the annual wastewater and exhaust gas emissions, as well as solid waste production.

Qin Chuan's brow furrowed slightly. These emission levels were even higher than he had imagined. No wonder Guangdong Province wanted them to move out.

"Chairman Liu, these emission levels are too high. Can they be halved? Also, what are the emission standards? Are they according to the old national standard or the new national standard? It would be best if they could follow international standards."

Chairman Liu Liren smiled. "Secretary Qin, you must be joking. What I just mentioned are the minimum emission levels. To be honest, the actual emissions might be higher than those figures. As for the emission standards, we can only follow the old national standard."

In the 1990s, national standards for wastewater and exhaust gas emissions for paper enterprises were published. After all these years, those standards had fallen behind the times. A few years ago, the state published new emission standards.

The new standards were more comprehensive and demanding. At least half of the paper enterprises in the country would find it difficult to meet them. Meeting the new standards would mean investing a large amount of capital to add new environmental protection equipment, and production costs would also increase significantly.

Chairman Liu Liren didn't hide anything. Currently, investment was being sought everywhere. With capital in their hands, they didn't worry about finding a place to build a factory.

It would be best to build the factory in Dongjiang City because the conditions here were indeed good. If it didn't work out, they would go elsewhere.

"Secretary Qin, we have always followed the old national standard in Guangdong Province, and we can only follow that standard in Dongjiang City as well."

Qin Chuan's attitude was firm. "The old national standard is definitely not acceptable. Our Dongjiang City has beautiful scenery and is a major tourism city. Your minimum standard must be the new national standard. If you can follow international emission standards, that would be even better."

Chairman Liu Liren said, "Secretary Qin, you're joking."

Seeing that the talks were about to collapse, Mayor Liu quickly tried to smooth things over. "Secretary Qin, the old national standard is also fine. From what I know, many paper enterprises still follow this standard."

Qin Chuan flatly rejected it. "No. If you want to invest and build a factory in our Dongjiang City, the minimum standard must be the new national standard."

Consequently, the talks really did collapse.

Relying on the fact that they weren't worried about finding a location, Chairman Liu Liren refused to yield.

For the sake of Dongjiang City's green mountains and clear waters, Qin Chuan naturally wouldn't yield either. He wasn't even very interested in this investment.

He didn't want high-energy-consuming, high-pollution enterprises that others had rejected.

Since they couldn't reach an agreement, Chairman Liu Liren left with his team.

Watching them drive away, Mayor Liu's gaze was dark as he peeked at Qin Chuan, feeling like the cooked duck had flown away.

On the surface, he didn't dare show his dissatisfaction; he even maintained a humble appearance in front of Qin Chuan, but in his heart, he had major grievances.

Whether it was intentional or for some other reason, news that the investment had fallen through gradually spread throughout Dongjiang City.

"Such a large investment, one that could rank in the top three in the history of our Dongjiang City, it's a real shame it fell through!"

"I heard everything was negotiated and they were about to sign, but Secretary Qin flatly rejected it."

"What is Secretary Qin thinking, rejecting an investment that came right to our door?"

"..."

Qin Chuan soon heard some of the rumors. Deputy County Mayor Zhang Tianxiong, Secretary-General Tian Chaoqun, and others even reported some of the things they had heard to him.

Deputy Secretary Zhou Nan also knocked and entered Qin Chuan's office.

"Secretary Qin, I suspect someone is intentionally fueling this behind the scenes. Many rumors are very unfavorable to you."

Qin Chuan smiled. "It's likely being exploited by some people with ulterior motives who want to attack me through public opinion."

They didn't dare do it openly, so they could only resort to such underhanded tactics in the shadows.

Deputy Secretary Zhou Nan said, "Secretary Qin, I've already made arrangements to clear your name. Rejecting this investment was entirely out of environmental considerations. I believe this ill wind will be stopped soon."

Qin Chuan said, "Besides that, there's another major event. I believe public opinion will soon take a 180-degree turn."

"Oh? What major event?" Deputy Secretary Zhou Nan showed clear interest.

The matter was basically settled, so Qin Chuan had no intention of hiding it. "The day after tomorrow at noon, the bosses of 17 hundred-billion-level domestic enterprises will come to our Dongjiang City as a group for an investment inspection."

What!

Hundred-billion-level enterprises!

Seventeen of them in total, my goodness!

Deputy Secretary Zhou Nan was stunned, as if struck by a massive surprise.

"Really? This has never happened in the history of our Dongjiang City. No, looking at the entire Jiangnan Province, this has never happened before."

Qin Chuan nodded. "Dongjiang City cannot rely on tourism alone; we must have strong industrial power. I asked a friend to help coordinate, and it's settled. The inspection delegation will arrive at the Provincial Capital Airport by chartered flight tomorrow at noon."

Deputy Secretary Zhou Nan looked at Qin Chuan with a slightly different gaze. Impressive! Just how much influence does one need to have to get the bosses of so many large enterprises to come personally for an investment inspection?

Qin Chuan called his secretary in with a phone call. "Xiao Zhang, send out a notice. An enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee will be held at 11:00 AM today. All non-standing committee county leaders will also attend. Notify the heads of the Investment Promotion Bureau, Finance Bureau, Industry and Commerce Bureau, and Tax Bureau to attend as observers."