双边投资协定将令中美两国共同受益

These are challenging times for world leaders seeking to stimulate the global economy. The G-20 wants to see $2 trillion of global GDP and tens of millions of jobs added by 2018 through what officials described in Sydney in February as 'ambitious but realistic policies.' Multilateral talks are already underway to drive growth by further liberalizing trade, which are important initiatives but which have yet to bear fruit. So businesses will be particularly encouraged to see dialogue restarting that aims to give cross-border investment a boost, especially since the talks involve the world's two largest economies.

对于寻求刺激全球经济增长的世界各国领导人而言，这是一个颇具挑战性的时代。二十国集团(Group of 20，简称G20) 2月份在悉尼召开会议时，官员们希望通过“宏大但务实的政策”，在2018年前将全球经济总量提高2万亿美元，同时增加数千万个工作岗位。通过进一步推动贸易自由化来促进经济增长的多边谈判正在进行之中，这样的谈判是非常重要的举措，但目前尚未取得成果。因此，企业尤其希望看到重启意在扩大跨境投资的对话，特别是在全球最大两个经济体也展开对话的情况下。

The talks concern the U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty, or BIT. Such an agreement would clarify the rules for investment between the two countries while removing many barriers that remain to such investments--rather like a free-trade agreement for capital flows instead of goods and services. A high-standard BIT will help remove ambiguities that detract from greater investment and broader economic activity, and give the U.S. and China increased stakes in each other's success. In the interest of stability and predictability, the BIT should be a strategic imperative for both countries.

这样的对话关乎美中双边投资协定(Bilateral Investment Treaty，简称BIT)的命运。该协定将阐明两国之间的投资规则，同时打破这些投资领域仍然存在的诸多壁垒，这更像是一个允许资本流动的自由贸易协议，商品和服务贸易则不包括在内。达成高标准的BIT有助于消除妨碍扩大投资和经济活动的歧义条款，美国和中国在彼此经济成就中的利益会更大。从保持稳定行和可预见性的角度看，BIT对中美两国都应该是一种战略需要。

A comprehensive investment treaty would be good business for both sides. In general, investment treaties prohibit favoritism for local investors; protect foreign investors from arbitrary treatment (by requiring fair compensation for any expropriation or nationalization of assets); provide for dispute resolution in international arbitration; and protect foreign-invested enterprises from local content requirements and export quotas.

达成全面的投资协定可令两国实现共赢。总的来说有以下几个益处：投资协定能够防止对本地投资者的偏袒行为；能够保护外国投资者免受不公平待遇（因为投资协定会要求资产被征收或国有化时获得合理补偿）；能够解决国际仲裁纠纷；还能够保护外资企业不受当地成分要求和出口配额的影响。

For the U.S., the case for attracting more inbound Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) is compelling. Out of the $175 billion in FDI into the U.S. in 2012, China, as the world's second-largest economy, accounted for a mere $4 billion of that amount. A BIT would help bring greater transparency and clarity to investment approval processes.

对美国来说，获得更多来自中国的外商直接投资(FDI)的前景非常吸引人。2012年美国的FDI总额为1,750亿美元，来自中国的投资仅为40亿美元。BIT将提升投资审批程序的透明度。

Recent research suggests that Chinese-owned companies provided more than 70,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. in 2013, a more than eight-fold increase compared to 2007. More two-way investment under a successful BIT means many more American jobs.

近期调查显示，2013年中国控股的公司在美国提供的全职岗位超过了70,000个，较2007年水平增加了八倍多。若BIT成功签署，将增加双边投资额，这意味着美国将增加更多就业岗位。

The BIT also would increase the global reach of American businesses, allowing them to invest in Chinese markets in industries that are largely restricted today, such as financial services, transportation and telecommunications. This treaty would allow American manufacturing and agricultural exporters to establish critical distribution platforms in China to facilitate their sales of American products into that market. As a condition of restarting the talks, Beijing has agreed to put almost all industries on the table, dropping its earlier desire to shelter a large number from American investment.

BIT还能帮助美国企业在全球的扩张，让美国企业投资于如今在中国基本不对外开放的一些行业，比如金融业、运输业和电信业。该协定还将允许美国制造业和农业出口商在中国建立起至关重要的分销平台，这样一来，向中国市场出售美国产品就会变得更容易。作为重启相关谈判的一个条件，北京已经同意把几乎所有行业都摆到桌面上，放弃了此前希望保护多个行业不受美国投资冲击的立场。

The protections of a BIT are especially important in markets where Chinese state-owned enterprises dominate, because it will require that those companies act based on commercial and not political principles. For example, state firms' access to non-commercial financing would be challenged. The BIT would also end the occasional Chinese practice of requiring American firms that manufacture in China to transfer their technology to Chinese businesses or use local technology in their manufacturing processes. This would help to address the concerns about intellectual-property theft that often discourage American investment.

在那些国有企占主导地位的中国国内市场中，BIT尤其具有重要性，因为这将要求那些企业按照商业原则而非政治原则行事。举例来说，国企利用非商业融资的做法就会受到挑战。BIT还将结束中国偶尔会采取的某种做法：要求在中国生产商品的美国制造企业将技术转移给中国企业，或在生产过程中使用中国的技术。这将有助于缓解有关知识产权方面的忧虑。这种担忧常令美国投资者望而却步。

For China, the BIT will help advance the economic reform goals reiterated by its leaders at last month's National People's Congress. It can help China achieve these goals by increasing capital available to private firms (especially small- and medium-sized businesses), which often rely on informal lending. The foreign capital, and the management expertise that so often comes with it, would promote innovation and entrepreneurship, which are critical to any economy's long-term success. Deploying private capital also helps foster healthy competition, making state-owned enterprises more efficient and better suited to compete in the global marketplace.

对中国来说，BIT有助于推进上个月两会时重申的经济改革目标。它能让民营企业（特别是中小型的企业）可获得的资本越来越多，从而帮助中国实现这些目标。在中国，民营企业通常依靠非官方渠道获得融资。外国的资本以及随同带来的管理方面的专长会推动创新和创业，而对任何一个经济体来讲，创新和创业都是长期成功不可或缺的要素。动用民营部门的资本还有助于实现良性竞争，让国企变得更有效率，更能适应在全球市场的竞争。

Nor are business benefits the only advantage to a U.S.-China investment treaty. There would also be considerable political advantages to concluding a deal. The difficulties faced by each country's investors in the other's economy have created significant friction between Washington and Beijing over the years. This is the case both when Chinese investments in the U.S. generate political controversy, and when American companies discover they aren't allowed to invest in booming Chinese industries. An investment treaty would help ratchet down such tensions by improving market access and ensuring greater predictability.

而且，企业受益也不是美中投资协定能带来的唯一利益。达成这样一项协议也会带来相当大的政治利益。多年来，这两个国家的投资者在对方国家遇到的困难已经让华盛顿和北京产生了重大摩擦。不管是中国投资在美国引发政治争议，还是美国企业发现自己不被允许在中国欣欣向荣的行业投资，这些都是摩擦的来源。投资协定将改善市场准入，提高可预测程度，从而有助于缓解此类紧张局面。

Leaders of the two largest economies in the world should focus on policies and initiatives big enough to result in meaningful economic growth but modest enough to be achieved. The U.S.-China investment treaty is one such initiative. Both sides have a great opportunity to advance their countries' interests and the global economy. The business communities on both sides of the Pacific have much to gain and should come together to play a constructive role supporting the negotiations and seizing the opportunity to do our BIT for global growth.

两个全球最大经济体的领导人应该把注意力集中在规模足以令经济出现明显增长的政策和倡议上，同时，这样的政策和倡议又要避免因太过宏大而无法实现。美中投资协定就是这样一个倡议。双方有一个绝佳的机会推动实现两国的利益，也让全球经济受益。太平洋两岸的企业都将获益良多，因此，两岸企业界人士应该协力扮演一种建设性的角色，支持相关谈判，抓住这个机会，为全球经济增长尽一份力。