Leader_An amber light for China in UK nuclear power
FT社评：欣克利角核电项目仍有不确定性
广州英语翻译公司：英国已拍板建设欣克利角核电站，若首相梅计划制定的针对外资的新规则足够严格，它们仍可能给该项目带来变数。
After unexpectedly announcing a review at the end of July, the UK government has given the go-ahead for construction of the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. This is the most important strategic decision since Theresa May became prime minister — one that has a bearing not only on the UK’s future competitiveness, but on its relations with China and France.
在7月底出人意料地宣布重新评估后，英国政府已经拍板建设欣克利角(Hinkley Point)核电站。这是特里萨•梅(Theresa May)出任首相以来作出的最重要的战略决定，这个决定不仅关系到英国的未来竞争力，也关系到其与中国和法国的关系。广州英语翻译公司。
Regrettably, Mrs May has eschewed the chance to amend the commercial terms of the project, to be built at the gargantuan cost of £18bn by EDF, the French utility, with co-investment from the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and China Guangdong Nuclear Power. She has, though, announced a plan for new rules governing foreign investment in critical infrastructure. The impact of these on the nuclear programme is uncertain. If sufficiently stringent they could yet put the Hinkley project in doubt.
遗憾的是，梅没有利用这个机会修改这个巨额项目的商业条款，该项目造价180亿英镑，将由法国公用事业公司——法国电力(EDF)承建，中国核工业集团公司(CNNC)和中广核集团(CGN)参与投资。不过，她宣布相关计划，拟出台规范外资投资于英国关键基础设施的新规则。这些规则对该核电项目的影响尚不明朗。如果新规则足够严格，它们仍可能给欣克利角项目带来变数。
When it was first conceived a decade ago as part of plans to kick-start a nuclear “renaissance” as old coal-fired plants become obsolete, the Hinkley project was a more attractive proposition. Expected to be competitive with other power sources, it would also help Britain meet ever tougher emissions targets. A decade on — and at a time when the costs of wind power, solar energy and natural gas have all been falling — the price built into the deal is nearly four times higher. The French utility will receive more than double the present UK wholesale power price, indexed and guaranteed for 35 years. Questions therefore remain as to whether the project marries Britain’s energy needs with emission reduction targets in the most cost-effective way.
10年前刚构思时，欣克利角项目是作为一套整体规划的一部分，目的是在老旧的燃煤电厂逐渐淘汰之际，启动一场核电“复兴”；那时该项目是一个更具吸引力的主张。当时预计，核电与其他电力来源相比将具有竞争力，而且将帮助英国达到日益严厉的排放目标。10年后的今天，风电、太阳能和天然气的成本都在下降，而该项目商定的电价高出近四倍。法国电力获得的电价将是英国当前批发电价的两倍多，而且将随着通胀上调，保证35年。因此，仍然悬而未决的问题是，该项目是否以最具成本效益的方式既满足英国的能源需求，又达到减排目标？广州英语翻译公司。
Mrs May ordered the review to assess concerns over the cost, the unproven technology involved and the role of Chinese investors in a plant that is due to meet about 7 per cent of domestic electricity demand. Her amendments all focus on national security. As part of a new, as yet unclear, legal framework for foreign investment in critical infrastructure, the government will in future hold a golden share in all nuclear power projects. Unexceptionally, this ensures that significant stakes cannot be sold without UK consent.
梅下令审查是为了评估三方面的顾虑：该项目的成本和未经验证的技术，以及中资在一家将要满足英国7%电力需求的电厂所扮演的角色。她修改的部分全都集中于国家安全。作为一个新的、尚未明确的针对外资投资于关键基础设施的法律框架的一部分，未来英国政府将在所有核电项目持有一份黄金股。显然，这确保了没有英国政府的同意就不能出售可观股份。
Of more concern potentially to Beijing is the additional security scrutiny to which the government plans to subject future nuclear projects. Again, the principle is sound from a UK perspective, but the details remain obscure.
更有可能让北京方面担忧的是英国政府计划对未来核电项目进行的额外安全审查。同样，从英国的视角看，原则是站得住脚的，但细节仍无从得知。广州英语翻译公司。
China’s objective in putting £6bn into Hinkley Point was to be able to build its own reactors in the UK. During the “golden era” of Sino-UK relations proclaimed by the previous government of David Cameron when President Xi Jinping visited London last year, Beijing envisaged Hinkley as a springboard for its nuclear industry seeking other deals worldwide.
中方对欣克利角投资60亿英镑的目标是将来能够在英国牵头承建核反应堆。在前首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)领导的英国政府在中国国家主席习近平去年访问伦敦时宣告的中英关系“黄金时代”期间，北京方面把欣克利设想成一个跳板，让中国核工业在世界各地角逐其它项目。
Both EDF and the Chinese have welcomed Mrs May’s decision to go ahead with the project. At least publicly, Beijing sees no obstacle towards its other planned investments with EDF. However, uncertainty over the long-delayed project has survived the review in important respects. Should additional regulatory scrutiny get in the way of Beijing’s other nuclear ambitions in the UK, notably a planned power plant at Bradwell, it could jeopardise the rationale for Chinese investment at Hinkley Point. EDF has warned that, without Chinese money, it may not proceed with the Hinkley scheme.
EDF和中方都对梅决定放行该项目表示欢迎。至少在公开场合，北京方面认为其与法国电力的其他投资计划没有任何障碍。然而，围绕这一拖延已久的项目的不确定性并未在此次审查中完全解决。如果额外的监管审查妨碍了北京方面在英国其它核电项目上的雄心，尤其是在布拉德韦尔(Bradwell)拟建的一座核电站，那可能危及中方投资于欣克利角项目的逻辑。法国电力已警告称，若没有中方的资金，它可能不会推进欣克利角项目。广州英语翻译公司。
The last word on Hinkley may not have been written. Mrs May has addressed the concerns of security chiefs with a compromise that avoids an outright block. But she has deferred greater clarity on the extent to which she sees China playing a strategic role as an investor in the UK.
欣克利角项目也许仍然没有定论。梅通过一个妥协方案解决了安全部门负责人的担忧，同时避免彻底否决该项目。但在她设想中国作为对英国的投资者在多大程度上扮演战略角色的问题上，她推迟表明更加明确的态度。
