Apple's China R&D effort could fail to move the needle
在华投资研发尚难逆转苹果衰势
广州科技翻译公司：杰夫科特：苹果虽然在中国设立了研发中心，但与华为等拥有庞大本地研发团队的中国对手相比，这笔投资不会引发太多涟漪。
Apple is to launch two new research and development (R&D) facilities in China, aiming to expand its presence in this burgeoning consumer market and facilitate closer working relationships with some of the world’s leading consumer electronics and hardware manufacturers. Whether this investment will reverse the trend of falling revenues, however, remains to be seen.
苹果(Apple)将在中国设立两个研发机构，旨在扩大其在这个蓬勃发展的消费市场的影响力，并推动其与一些世界领先的消费电子和硬件制造商建立更紧密的工作关系。然而，对于这一投资能否逆转苹果收入下滑的趋势，还有待观察。广州科技翻译公司。
In September, it was revealed that Apple is planning to open a $45m research centre in Beijing, employing 500 people tasked with the development of innovative hardware. One month later, it was announced that a further R&D facility will go ahead in Shenzhen, Guangdong, an area often described as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.While locating in Beijing is a somewhat surprising decision, due to its distance from the main development hubs, Shenzhen is a more predictable choice and much closer to tech companies such as Huawei, Tencent and Baidu. The company has not yet announced how many employees will be based at the Shenzhen facility.
今年9月，苹果宣布计划在北京设立一个投资4500万美元的研发中心并雇佣500名员工，负责开发创新硬件。一个月后，苹果宣布将在有中国“硅谷”之称的广东省深圳市设立第二个研发机构。考虑到北京与主要的研发中心相距遥远，苹果研发中心选址北京有些令人惊讶，深圳则是一个更可预测的选择，这里距离华为(Huawei)、腾讯(Tencent)和百度(Baidu)也近得多。苹果还未宣布将有多少名员工在深圳研发中心工作。
Despite some uncertainty about employee numbers, the scale of Apple’s R&D investment in China is unlikely to challenge its Chinese competitors significantly. According to data sourced from the Market Research Centre SINO for the first half of 2016, two of Apple’s main competitors – Huawei and OPPO – both saw sales volumes increase over this period.
尽管员工人数还存在一些不确定性，但苹果在中国的研发投资不太可能在规模上对其中国竞争对手构成重大挑战。根据赛诺市场研究(Sino Market Research)的数据，苹果的两大竞争对手——华为和OPPO在2016年上半年销售量都上升了。广州科技翻译公司。
Vivo, another Chinese multinational smartphone company, also generated sales revenues similar to those of Apple in the first half of the year. Bearing in mind that Huawei Mobile has more than 20,000 R&D engineers at its headquarters in Shenzhen, and Vivo has around 4,000, it is clear that Apple’s investment is unlikely to cause many ripples.
另一家中国跨国智能手机企业VIVO在今年上半年的销售收入也可以与苹果比肩。鉴于华为的移动业务在其深圳总部雇佣了逾2万名研发工程师，VIVO也雇佣了约4000名研发工程师，显然苹果的投资不太可能引发多少涟漪。
One of the main reasons for Apple’s R&D investment is probably diplomacy. The Chinese government is keen to foster home-grown innovation and while Western businesses are welcome, particularly where they bring significant knowledge and expertise, they also need to invest to secure their position in the marketplace.
苹果在中国进行研发投资的主要原因之一很可能是外交。中国政府热衷于鼓励本土创新，尽管西方企业受到欢迎，尤其是在它们带来重要知识和专业诀窍的领域，但它们也需要进行投资来确保自己的市场地位。
Apple may also have some making up to do with the Chinese government, following the media regulator’s decision to order the closure of its iBooks and iTunes stores earlier this year.
苹果可能也需要修复与中国政府的关系，此前中国的媒体监管机构在今年早些时候做出决定，责令苹果关闭iTunes影片和iBooks商店服务。广州科技翻译公司。
Apple’s R&D investment in China is not just about offsets, however. With sales in China falling away year-on-year the only route to growth is to collaborate and work more closely with manufacturing partners; drawing on the fast-developing resource of R&D talent in the territory. The sheer force of competition developing in China’s consumer electronics sector makes investment in the area essential, not to mention the opportunity it presents to tap into local talent.
然而，苹果在中国的研发投资不仅仅是为了修复关系。随着苹果在中国的销售同比下降，唯一的增长之道是与制造业伙伴更紧密地协调合作；利用本地快速增长的研发人才资源。中国消费电子行业日趋激烈的竞争让投资该领域变得不可或缺，更不必说利用当地人才带来的机遇。
This is another area where Apple will need to compete aggressively. To attract the best people, it will need to offer good salaries and incentives. Market surveys have shown that large domestic companies such as Huawei and Alibaba are the employers of choice for graduates. While Western companies are known to provide stable employment on reasonable terms, prospects for career development are perceived to be more limited. Apple will need to counter such perceptions to succeed in attracting engineering graduates to its new R&D facilities.
这是苹果需要积极竞争的另一个领域。为了吸引最优秀的人才，苹果需要提供优厚的薪资和奖励。市场调查表明，华为和阿里巴巴(Alibaba)等大型国内企业是毕业生的首选雇主。尽管西方企业在以合理条件提供稳定就业方面名声不错，但这些企业的职业发展前景被认为更加有限。苹果需要对抗这种认知，这样才能成功地吸引工程专业毕业生到该公司的新研发机构就职。
For one of the world’s most valuable brand names, increasing its operational presence in China could pose cultural and reputational issues, which will need to be managed carefully. The leading Chinese tech companies have a well-established, long-hours culture, which is unlikely to gel with an ethos that promotes work-life balance.
作为世界上最有价值的品牌之一，增多在中国的业务活动可能会带来文化和声誉方面的问题，这些问题需要谨慎管理。中国国内主要科技公司都有根深蒂固的加班文化，不太可能与推崇工作/生活平衡的价值观融合。广州科技翻译公司。
Apple’s decision to make these R&D investments in China is recognition of the importance of the Chinese marketplace and the wealth of talent that is emerging from its rapidly-growing consumer electronics sector. Whether it will be enough to address sliding sales and position the brand for market growth is uncertain, but the company will be hoping it sparks a new era of global cooperation and innovation.
苹果决定在中国进行这些研发投资，表明苹果认识到中国市场很重要，而且中国快速发展的消费电子业涌现出丰富的人才资源。尚不确定这是否足以应对苹果的销售下滑，并使苹果品牌定位于市场增长，但该公司将会希望此举开启一个全球合作和创新的新时代。
Dominic Jephcott is Chief Executive Officer of Vendigital, a firm of supply chain and procurement specialists. He is based in Hong Kong.
多米尼克•杰夫科特(Dominic Jephcott)是供应链和采购公司Vendigital的首席执行官。他常驻香港。
