Chinese snub of minister highlights tensions with Germany
德国副总理访华遭冷遇
广州德语翻译公司：加布里尔启程前夕，他领导的德国经济部加大中资收购德国企业的难度。耐人寻味的是，此举不仅在中国引发抗议。
Sigmar Gabriel now knows what a frosty reception feels like. The trip to China this week by Germany’s deputy chancellor and economics minister has been a catalogue of snubs and meetings cancelled at undiplomatically short notice.
西格马尔•加布里尔(Sigmar Gabriel)现在明白了冷遇是什么感觉。德国副总理兼经济部长本周访问中国期间遭遇了一个又一个怠慢，会晤被取消，而事先得到取消通知如此临近原定时间，有失外交礼仪。广州德语翻译公司。
Talks with Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, and with Vice Premier Ma Kai, failed to happen, as did a joint appearance with commerce minister Gao Hucheng at a meeting of the German-Chinese economic committee.
与中国国家主席习近平的首席经济顾问刘鹤，以及副总理马凯的会谈未能进行。与中国商务部长高虎城联合出席德中经济联合会(German-Chinese economic committee)的一个会议也未能实现。
It is easy to see why Mr Gabriel got the cold shoulder. On the eve of his trip, his ministry unveiled proposals to make it easier for the government to block Chinese takeovers of German technology companies. Beijing cried foul, accusing the government of protectionism. The stage was set for a showdown.
不难看出加布里尔为什么遭到这样的对待。在他启程前夕，他领导的德国经济部出台提议，拟让柏林方面更容易阻止中资收购德国高科技企业。北京方面表示不满，指责德国政府付诸保护主义。双方摊牌的舞台由此搭建而成。广州德语翻译公司。
But it was not only in China that Mr Gabriel’s intervention sparked protests. Eric Schweitzer, head of DIHK, the German chamber of commerce and industry, warned of the danger of economic isolationism. “No other country is so dependent on free markets as Germany,” he said.
但是，加布里尔的干预不仅在中国引发抗议。德国工商大会(DIHK)主席史伟哲(Eric Schweitzer)对经济孤立主义的危险发出警告。“没有一个国家像德国这样依赖自由市场，”他表示。
On Wednesday, an influential group of economic advisers weighed in, telling German chancellor Angela Merkel in its annual report that Germany should keep the door open. “The international free movement of capital has contributed substantially to German prosperity,” they said.
周三，一个有影响力的经济顾问团队介入这件事。德国经济专家协会(Council of Economic Experts)在提交给德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)的年度报告中力主德国保持开放。“资本的国际自由流动对德国的繁荣作出了重大贡献，”这些顾问们表示。广州德语翻译公司。
Indeed, what jarred for many was the contrast between Mr Gabriel’s plan and Germany’s status as an export-driven economy committed to free trade. Most economics ministers over the past 30 years have been from the FDP, Germany’s veteran liberal party and a cheerleader for open markets.
的确，许多人对加布里尔的计划与德国地位之间的反差感到不适；德国是一个出口驱动型经济体，对自由贸易有着坚定承诺。过去30年期间，德国多数经济部长来自该国的自由民主党(FDP)，该党是德国老牌的自由派政党，一贯是开放市场的啦啦队员。
“What we’re seeing is a break with a very long, and positive tradition,” says Gabriel Felbermayr, head of the Ifo Center for International Economics. He says Mr Gabriel, who leads the left-leaning Social Democrats, is responding to pressure from trade unions and the party rank and file, which have grown much more sceptical of free trade.
“我们正在见证的是告别一个长期而积极的传统，”伊佛国际经济中心(Ifo Center for International Economics)的主任加布里尔•费尔贝迈尔(Gabriel Felbermayr)表示。他表示，身为左翼的社民党(SPD)领导人的加布里尔，正在回应工会和党内基层的压力，后两者对自由贸易越来越怀疑。广州德语翻译公司。
But his response has, says Mr Felbermayr, been ill-judged. “Flexing your muscles and banning certain investments in certain sectors on an ad hoc basis is just bad policy,” he says.
但费尔贝迈尔表示，他的回应判断不当。“在某些行业心血来潮地动用权力禁止某些投资，根本就是糟糕的政策，”他表示。
Instead, Germany should have focused on ongoing negotiations over an EU-China investment agreement, which is meant to improve market access, end discrimination and better protect investors in Europe and China.
相反，德国应该专注于正在进行的欧盟-中国投资协议谈判，该协议旨在改善市场准入，结束歧视，更好地保护在欧洲和中国投资的投资者。
German disenchantment with free trade has affected other countries. There has been strong grass roots opposition to Ceta, the landmark trade accord between the EU and Canada. And it has been more critical than other EU member states of the market power of US technology giants such as Google.
德国对自由贸易的失望影响了其他国家。欧洲各国基层对欧盟和加拿大之间里程碑式的《综合经济与贸易协定》(CETA)存在强烈反对。德国对谷歌(Google)等美国高科技巨擘的市场力量的批评也比其他欧盟成员国更加尖锐。广州德语翻译公司。
Yet nowhere is the new protectionism clearer than in government efforts to shield high-tech groups from Chinese approaches. Mr Gabriel’s ministry has recently intervened to halt two Chinese takeovers — of German chip equipment maker Aixtron and Osram’s lamp business.
然而，新的保护主义最清晰地体现于德国政府阻止中资收购高科技集团的努力。加布里尔领导的经济部最近介入并叫停两宗中资收购，对象分别是德国芯片设备制造商爱思强(Aixtron)和欧司朗(Osram)的灯具业务。
The moves come against a backdrop of surging Chinese investments in Germany, which increased by 200 per cent in the first half of this year. Many target the so-called “hidden champions” of Germany’s Mittelstand, companies that often specialise in unique technology.
这些举动的背景是中国对德国投资飙升，今年上半年的增幅达到200%。许多投资瞄准了德国中小企业(Mittelstand)中的“隐藏冠军企业”，这些企业往往专长于独特技术。
What has troubled Mr Gabriel’s ministry is that 70 per cent of the 20 largest transactions of recent years involved companies that are majority-owned by the Chinese state.
令加布里尔的经济部不安的是，近年20宗最大交易中，有70%涉及由中国政府持有多数股权的中国国企。广州德语翻译公司。
There is also concern that such acquisitions are driven by political interests. According to Bertelsmann Foundation research, at least 51 of 99 recent Chinese deals in Germany fitted in with the government’s “Made in China 2025” strategy. This defines 10 key industries — such as machine tools and robotics — in which China aims to become a global leader over the next 10 years.
还有人担心这类收购是由政治利益驱动的。根据贝塔斯曼基金会(Bertelsmann Foundation)的研究，在中资近期在德国达成的99笔交易中，至少有51笔符合北京方面的“中国制造2025”战略。该项战略列出10个关键行业，如机床和机器人；中国力求在未来10年里成为这些行业的全球领导者。
The anti-China backlash is driven not only by suspicions of political influence, but also frustration that China is not nearly as open to investment as Germany. One of Mr Gabriel’s demands during his trip was that Beijing stop forcing German companies into joint ventures with Chinese partners.
反对中资的反弹不仅出自有关政治影响的怀疑，而且也出于德方对于中国对外资远远没有德国开放的沮丧。加布里尔此行的要求之一就是北京方面停止迫使德国公司与中国合作伙伴建立合资企业。广州德语翻译公司。
“We need a level playing field where Chinese companies can buy European ones and European companies can buy Chinese ones,” says Günther Oettinger, the EU’s digital commissioner.
“我们需要一个公平竞争的环境，让中国企业可以收购欧洲同行，而欧洲企业也可以收购中国同行，”欧盟数字经济专员冈瑟•厄廷格(Günther Oettinger)表示。
That, says Cora Jungbluth of the Bertelsmann Foundation, is not protectionism. “It’s just a way of ensuring that, in the future, investment is fair,” she says.
贝塔斯曼基金会的柯拉•容布鲁特(Cora Jungbluth)指出，这不是保护主义。“这只是一种确保未来投资公平的方法，”她说。
