Before he knew it, almost two hours had passed. Roosevelt asked Li Sanjie and others to have lunch. Although this was not arranged during the itinerary before departure, Li Sanjie still readily obeyed.

In fact, there was no lunch in the initial meeting arrangement, but firstly, it was time for lunch, and the content of the meeting had not been completed. We were discussing the three-party negotiations all morning. Another issue of the East China government, the investment promotion, has not been discussed. We can't let Li Sanjie and his group go back for lunch before they talked about it. Secondly, it was also a negotiating delegation like the East China government. Although Roosevelt repeatedly stated that the United States would remain neutral in this negotiation, it was obvious that it was from Japan and Russia in the previous talks, so it was also a kind attitude to invite Li Sanjie and his party to have lunch.

Of course, through the morning conversation, Roosevelt had a good impression of Li Sanjie, with reasonable and well-founded words, neither humble nor arrogant attitude, and quick reactions. He was indeed a very outstanding diplomatic talent. Although Roosevelt had known the name of overseas Chinese for a long time and the East China government had established two offices in the United States, this was the first time that Roosevelt had formally contacted overseas Chinese. Bi Jing's position in the East China government was a bit awkward at this moment, and the office was neither official nor private, both business and politics. Therefore, Roosevelt had not met Gu Kai or Zhou Fengshan, but only contacted them by officials at a lower level and then reported to Roosevelt.

Judging from today's talks, if the officials of the East China government are of the same level as Li Sanjie, then the potential of this political entity will not be underestimated. Although the United States does not want the East China government to grow bigger in the Far East, if this trend is inevitable, then the United States also needs to seriously consider whether to establish a relationship with the East China government in the future, whether to be friends or enemies with the East China government. Therefore, this lunch will also establish a certain personal relationship with the East China government officials first.

The lunch dishes are not complicated because they were not arranged in advance, so they mainly focus on pure American food, mainly bread, butter, barbecue, roast chicken, eggs, fruits, coffee, etc. Fortunately, Li Sanjie and others are not opposed to Western dishes, and the atmosphere of lunch is also good, because everyone avoids talking about this negotiation again, but some relaxed topics.

After lunch, everyone visited Roosevelt's villa again. At 2 pm, the two sides started the talks again. However, the talks were mainly US Secretary of Commerce Oscar Strauss and He Handong, while Roosevelt and Li Sanjie rarely spoke. Of course, the atmosphere of this talks was relatively relaxed. After all, the United States was established by business. There was a joke in the old time and space that the United States was actually a giant consortium disguised as a country. Moreover, after the establishment of the East China government, it attached great importance to foreign trade. Since its trade with the United States developed very quickly, and the internal management of the East China government was quite standardized, and the administrative departments were also very efficient. Therefore, the United States also used the East China government as a window to expand into China inland, and trade in China expanded very quickly. This also made many American business giants and industrial giants quite favor the East China government and hoped to carry out more deepening cooperation with the East China government.

Gu Kai, the East China government's representative to the United States, established good personal relationships with many American entrepreneurs, and was quite famous in the business circles of the United States. Although he had never met Roosevelt, he had a few encounters with Strauss.

He Handong first introduced the East China government's emphasis on US trade, and said that the East China government will carry out large-scale construction in the Northeast region, mainly based on railways, highways, electricity, and ports, and will also establish a series of large, medium and light and heavy industrial enterprises. He hopes that relevant American companies will vigorously participate in investment, joint ventures, joint ventures, etc.

Straus was also very interested when he heard this, because just from 1902 to 1903, an economic crisis broke out in the United States. Although the economic crisis was not long, it still had a significant impact on the US economy. During this crisis, the United States' pig iron production fell by 8.4%, and steel production fell by 7.3%. In 1904, the railway construction volume decreased by 36.4% compared with 1902, and the locomotive production decreased by 33.2%. In 1904, the unemployment rate was as high as 10.1%, and wages decreased by 10%-20%.

However, the United States still relied on the rise of some emerging industries such as electricity, automobiles, chemistry, as well as the construction of railways and heavy industries, to quickly end the economic crisis and entered a period of rapid growth. Now the United States' economic indicators have exceeded before the economic crisis. However, the rapid economic development has also caused the soaring of raw materials. The prices of iron, copper, wood, stone, cement, etc. have risen rapidly. In addition, the world's capital has also poured into the United States, stocks have soared, and stock market speculators have also increased in large numbers, and the financial bubble is constantly expanding. Therefore, many people with insight realize that a new round of economic crisis is in the process of brewing. Financial giant John Pierpont Morgan once reminded the Roosevelt government to strengthen financial supervision, establish a central bank, and manage currency uniformly to prevent economic crises.

But one of the founding ideas of the United States is "freedom", and the theory of free economics was popular in this era, so Morgan's suggestion was destined to be impossible to achieve in the United States at this time. In addition, according to the economic crisis, the general interval is about 10 years. Now it is less than five years since the last economic crisis, and the new round of economic crisis will arrive so quickly. However, Morgan is not an ordinary person. He is not only a financial giant in the United States, but also the founder of the Morgan consortium. His warning also made Roosevelt dare not underestimate it.

But although the United States cannot strengthen financial supervision now, it has experienced so many economic crises and some experience. As long as it finds new economic growth points and gives funds a direction of investment, it can avoid or delay the occurrence of economic crisis. The investment in the real economy in the United States is basically saturated. To find a new economic growth point, it must develop abroad. Moreover, it must be investments in railways, heavy industry, electricity, automobiles, chemistry, etc., so that American capital can find the direction of investment and avoid financial bubbles.

But now the world is basically divided, and there are not many places that can accept such large-scale investment. European countries can do it themselves. Other places are either without money or colonies of other countries. Only the East China government has this condition. After the East China government occupied the Northeast, its territory expanded by nearly one million square kilometers. Moreover, the East China government also attaches great importance to the construction of railways, heavy industries and emerging industries. If an investment agreement can be reached with the East China government, it will have huge benefits for the development of US capital.

In fact, the United States has been working hard to get capital abroad. This time, this time, there is another important reason. It is that after Japan defeats Russia, the United States will gain the power to build railways in Northeast China. Now that the East China government has won, the United States not only has the opportunity to build railways in Northeast China, but also has a series of physical investment opportunities, which can support the development of the United States' economy for more than 10 years. Therefore, Strauss looked at He Handong's expression, as if he saw a bunch of green dollars and rising stock signs.

However, when Strauss looked at Roosevelt, he found that Roosevelt's face was calm and he couldn't help but feel trembling. Then he remembered that the United States supported Japan and Russia this time, so he hurriedly calmed down and stated in a formula that the US government would provide convenient conditions for the East China government's investment promotion, etc.

The afternoon talks were over an hour, and all the things that should be discussed were discussed. Roosevelt said: "Mr. Member, you only arrived in New York yesterday, so you will have a good rest tomorrow. The meeting between the three parties the day after tomorrow is also a preparatory meeting for this tripartite negotiation to determine the various matters of the negotiation."

Li Sanjie also nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your arrangements. It's getting late today, and we have delayed the president's time, so we've said goodbye."

Roosevelt said: "Okay, at 8 a.m. the day after tomorrow, I will arrange for someone to pick you up at the hotel."

So Li Sanjie and others stood up and said goodbye. Roosevelt, Rut and Strauss together, sent them to the door. After they all got in the car and left, they returned to the room. The three of them sat back. Roosevelt said, "What do you think?"

Rut said: "I am pessimistic about the outcome of this negotiation. It is impossible for the East China government to make concessions on compensation. Japan, Russia has the promises of Britain and France, and it will not compromise on negotiation issues. Therefore, unless a miracle occurs, it will not be effective."

Roosevelt nodded, saying, "Yes, it seems that a new war is inevitable, and we must be prepared after the negotiations fail."

Strauss said: "It is difficult to find that after the negotiations fail, will Britain and France really send troops to join the war?"

Rut said: "Although it is impossible to be absolutely certain before Britain and France officially sends troops, I think the possibility is very high. After all, Japan, Russia and they are both countries with military alliances, so Britain and France cannot really ignore it."

Straus sighed and said nothing. Once the war restarted, the economic exchanges with the East China government would be greatly affected, and large-scale capital exports would be impossible.

Roosevelt glanced at him and said, "Oscar, I understand your mood. Economic interests are important, but not the most important thing. We must distinguish the importance."

Strauss said: "But what to do with the economic crisis? According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, our economy has indeed reached a dangerous position now."

Roosevelt said: "If the war begins again, although Britain and France can provide funds to Japan and Russia to alleviate their domestic crisis, there is only funds. There must be enough supply of goods and materials. Only the United States can provide this, which should be able to alleviate the domestic situation."
Chapter completed!