李书福批评中外合资车企股权政策

One of China’s most prominent industrialists has attacked a key plank of Beijing’s strategy to foster a global auto industry, saying the shared equity structure with foreign brands had turned domestic manufacturers into spoilt children.

中国最著名企业家之一批评了中国政府促进国内汽车业全球化的一项关键政策，称国内车企与外国品牌合资时的股权比例，已经让一些国内汽车生产商变成了宠坏的孩子。

Li Shufu , billionaire chairman of carmaker Geely, said the government had handed Chinese manufacturers a “sugar-coated bomb” by insisting foreign peers establish joint ventures in the country and control no more than 50 per cent. Chinese brands have become complacent, he said, knowing they would always control half of businesses run with profitable overseas manufacturers that generate healthy sales fuelled by foreign brands.

汽车制造商吉利(Geely)董事长、亿万富翁李书福表示，政府坚持要求在中国运营的外国汽车制造商开设合资公司，并且控制的股份不可超过50%，这给了中国汽车制造商一颗“糖衣炮弹”。他表示，中国品牌变得自鸣得意，它们知道，自己总能控制与有盈利能力的外国制造商合资运营的企业的一半，在外国品牌的推动下，这些企业能产生不俗的销售额。

“This actually is not so constructive for the healthy growth of the ‘kids’,” he said, referring to the domestic brands. “It has defeated its own purpose by harming the Chinese players.

“实际上这对‘孩子们’的健康成长并不是那么有益，”他说，指的是那些国内品牌，“这项政策损害了中国的车企，并没有达成自身的目的。”

“Chinese . . . companies do not have to think about whether they do something to enhance their competitive edge in international markets. That’s the problem,” he told the Financial Times, speaking through a translator.

“中国……企业不用思考它们是否应该采取一些措施提高它们在国际市场上的竞争力。这就是问题所在，”他通过一名翻译对英国《金融时报》的记者说。

China is the world’s biggest car market with annual sales of more than 23m vehicles last year, versus 16.5m in the US. However, the country has no globally renowned national champion and, outside the industry, few have even heard of its domestic marques — including Geely.

中国是世界最大的汽车市场，去年汽车销量超过了2300万辆，同年美国销量为1650万辆。然而，中国没有全球知名的冠军车企，在行业之外，也很少有人听说过中国的汽车品牌——包括吉利。

That is despite careful orchestration by Beijing over the past three decades, allowing foreign carmakers to produce locally and avoid hefty import taxes on the condition that they took on a domestic partner.

尽管过去30年中国政府进行了精心安排，允许外国汽车制造商在本地进行生产，并在与本土企业合资的情况下避免高昂的进口税，情况仍是如此。

This was largely to facilitate the transfer of manufacturing technologies and know-how between the partners.

中国政府的安排主要是为了促进中外合作伙伴之间的生产技术和知识转移。

It is now three decades since Volkswagen set up the first Chinese auto joint venture in the country. But while foreign automakers have enjoyed runaway success and chunky profits, the desired technology transfer has yet to happen.

自从大众(Volkswagen)在中国建立第一家汽车合资企业以来，时间已过去了30年。虽然外国车企获得了巨大的成功和丰厚的利润，中国想要的技术转移却仍未发生。

Stephen Reitman, analyst at Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, said foreign carmakers had been good at protecting their intellectual property.

法国兴业银行(Société Générale)公司和投行业务分析师史蒂芬•赖特曼(Stephen Reitman)表示，外国车企在保护自己的知识产权方面一直做得不错。

Chinese brands such as Geely, the owner of Volvo and the London Taxi Company, have sought to gain global presence by acquiring interests in overseas assets. Shanghai Automotive, China’s biggest domestic carmaker by output, acquired the MG brand from the collapsed Rover group a decade ago, and Dongfeng last year bought a 14 per cent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën.

拥有沃尔沃(Volvo)和伦敦出租(London Taxi)的吉利等中国品牌，力图通过收购海外资产获得全球影响力。十年前，中国产量最大的汽车制造商上汽(Shanghai Automotive)从破产的罗孚(Rover)收购了MG品牌，去年东风(Dongfeng)收购了PSA标致雪铁龙(PSA Peugeot Citroën) 14%的股份。

But Geely is far from an untainted success. Net profit fell 46 per cent in 2014, partly because of weak sales in its domestic market. Analysts remain sceptical about the level of technology transfer between Geely and its Volvo subsidiary, though Chinese and Swedish employees work side by side at a research centre in Gothenburg.

但吉利远远没有获得完满成功。2014年吉利净利润同比下降46%，部分原因在于其国内市场销售疲软。虽然中国与瑞典的员工在哥德堡研究中心一同工作，但分析师对吉利与其沃尔沃子公司之间的技术转移水平仍持怀疑态度。

Mr Li is a relative outsider in China, as a self-made man running the first non-state owned automaker, and has argued for state-owned companies to tie up with private Chinese partners.

作为白手起家、运营着中国第一家非国有车企的企业家，李书福在中国相对而言是一个局外人。他主张国有企业应与民营企业密切合作。

Foreign carmakers have been the target of regulatory action by Chinese authorities clamping down on alleged anti-competitive behaviour and this month became the subject of the annual Consumer Day television programme.

外国车企一直是中国当局监管行动的目标，中国有关部门在打击涉嫌反竞争的行为。本月外国车企还成为一年一度的3.15国际消费者权益日电视节目的曝光对象。

China specialists at law firm Hogan Lovells said this was a sign that the government was not happy with the state of the market.

霍金路伟律师事务所(Hogan Lovells)的中国问题专家表示，这表明中国政府对市场状态并不满意。