中国驻英大使 英国已落后德法

Britain has fallen behind Germany and France in Beijing’s estimation, China warned, in unusually blunt language, before its premier visits the UK.

中国总理访问英国之前，中国以异常直率的措辞警告称，按照北京方面的估计，英国已落后于德国和法国。

China’s ambassador to the UK complained that visa restrictions and delays in expanding Heathrow airport had hurt Britain’s competitiveness while a freeze in relations after David Cameron met the Dalai Lama had left Britain at a disadvantage to its European rivals.

中国驻英国大使抱怨称，签证限制和伦敦希思罗机场扩建工程的延误，损害了英国的竞争力，而在戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)会晤达赖喇嘛(Dalai Lama)之后两国关系冻结，使英国相对于它的欧洲竞争对手处于劣势。

“Before I came here, we used to say, when we talked about Europe: ‘Britain, France and Germany’, Liu Xiaoming told journalists.

“在我来这里之前，我们过去在谈到欧洲时会说：‘英国、法国、德国，”刘晓明告诉记者。

“But unfortunately many opportunities were missed in the past year or so – and we all know the reason behind it – people now start talking about ‘Germany, France and Britain’.”

“但不幸的是，过去一年左右时间里，很多机会都被错过了——而我们都知道这一切背后的原因——现在人们开始说‘德国、法国和英国’。”

Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, arrives in London on Monday at the start of a three-day trip. This is the first by a Chinese premier to the UK since 2011, before Mr Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama sparked anger in Beijing and put relations on hold for 18 months.

中国总理李克强将于周一抵达伦敦，对英国展开三天访问。这是自2011年以来中国总理首次访问英国。上一次中国总理访英之后，卡梅伦会晤达赖喇嘛引起北京方面愤怒，导致两国关系被搁置了18个月。

The trip is meant to cement the full restoration of diplomatic ties after Mr Cameron visited China last year.

卡梅伦去年访问中国后，英中全面恢复外交关系，李克强此行意在巩固这一成果。

But trade data show the UK still performing substantially worse than France and Germany in its exports to China. Britain’s exports to the fast-growing market were worth $10.1bn last year, compared with Germany’s $73.4bn and France’s $.

但贸易数据显示，英国在对华出口方面仍远逊于法国和德国。去年，英国对快速增长的中国市场的出口达到101亿美元，而德国和法国对华出口分别达到734亿美元和190亿美元。

China has often complained about restrictive British visa rules, comparing the UK unfavourably with the Schengen border-free zone covering most of the rest of the EU. Mr Liu said: “Visa restrictions are eroding Britain’s strength.”

中国经常抱怨英国的苛刻签证规则，称英国的制度不如覆盖欧盟大部分国家的申根(Schengen)区。刘晓明表示：“签证限制正在削弱英国的优势。”

Ministers are expected to announce a liberalisation of visas to Chinese tourists on Monday.

预计英国大臣将在周一宣布对中国游客放宽签证。

Another worry is the lack of capacity at Heathrow, with a consultation on whether to build a third runway not due to report until after next year’s election. Mr Liu said: “We do expect, maybe even pray, that Heathrow airport will have a third runway.” China Investment Corporation, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has a 10 per cent stake in the consortium that owns Heathrow.

另一个令人担心的地方是希思罗机场的承载力，围绕要不要建造第三条跑道的意见征询工作要到明年大选后才会发表报告。刘晓明表示：“我们确实期望，也许甚至祈祷，希思罗机场将有第三条跑道。”中国的主权财富基金中投公司(CIC)在拥有希思罗机场的企业集团中持有10%股份。

Both countries are keen to build business. Mr Cameron last year led what Britain said was the biggest trade delegation ever to visit China. Mr Li will reciprocate next week with a similarly large group of business delegates, 200 in all, although they are not part of the premier’s official entourage.

两国都希望发展商业关系。卡梅伦去年率领号称英国史上最大规模的贸易代表团访问中国。李克强本周将带领类似规模的商界代表（200人）回访，尽管这些人不是中国总理官方随行人员的一部分。

Mr Liu said $30bn of deals will be signed between the two countries during the visit, although he was unclear on the status or timescale of the spending.

刘晓明表示，李克强访英期间，两国将签署总值300亿美元的协议，尽管他不清楚这些支出的具体情况或时间表。

One deal is authorisation for China Construction Bank to clear renminbi trading, enhancing London’s lead over European rivals in a race to be the continent’s main centre for the Chinese currency.

其中一份协议将是授权中国建设银行(CCB)在伦敦清算人民币交易，在成为欧洲主要人民币中心的竞赛中使伦敦进一步领先于欧洲竞争对手。

Other planned investment from Chinese sources has been slow to materialise. Beyond some much hyped UK property projects with long timetables backed by private sector Chinese tycoons, Beijing’s plans for major state investments in British infrastructure are proceeding slowly.

中国其他对英投资计划迄今落实得较慢。除了一些大肆吹嘘的英国房地产项目（这些具有漫长时间表的项目由中国私营部门富豪参与出资）以外，中国国有部门对英国基础设施的重大投资计划进展缓慢。

George Osborne, the chancellor, has announced that two Chinese state-owned companies would take up to 40 per cent in the planned £16bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in Somerset. But industry executives say it could be the end of the year before the companies confirm that investment.

英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)宣布，两家中国国有企业将在160亿英镑的萨默塞特郡欣克利角核电厂项目中持有最高达40%的股份。但业内高管称，这两家公司可能要到今年底才能确认这笔投资。

Mr Li’s suggestion that China could invest in the UK’s HS2 high-speed rail network met a cool response as London says the project will be entirely taxpayer funded.

李克强曾提议，中国可以投资于英国的HS2高铁网络，但英方对此反应冷淡。伦敦方面称，该项目的建设资金将完全来自纳税人。

Mr Cameron’s focus on Chinese trade has seen the British government do all it can to ensure Mr Li is given a warm welcome, including arranging a meeting with the Queen. Mr Liu described reports that Mr Li had threatened to call off the trip if he was not allowed to meet the Queen as a “misunderstanding”, adding: “Chinese diplomacy is more subtle than that.”

卡梅伦对英中贸易的重视意味着，英国政府将竭尽所能确保李克强得到高规格欢迎，包括安排他与女王会晤。此前媒体报道称，中方曾威胁，如果李克强不能见女王，他将取消访英行程。刘晓明形容这样的媒体报道是“误解”。他补充说：“中国的外交做法要更加细腻一些。”

A Downing Street official said: “We are focused on how the relationship can benefit both the Chinese and British people. That’s about building a strong economic partnership between our two countries that delivers growth, reform and innovation.”

英国首相府一名官员表示：“我们专注于让英中关系造福于中英两国人民。这意味着在我们两国之间构建牢固的经济伙伴关系，带来增长、改革和创新。”