中国水电(Sinohydro)董事会秘书:我们不是殖民者

“Do we look like colonists? We haven’t killed any locals.” The remarks by Wang Zhiping, board secretary of Sinohydro, highlight the debate about China’s role in Africa, writes Leslie Hook.

中国水电(Sinohydro)董事会秘书王志平表示：“我们看上去像殖民者吗？我们没有杀害任何一个当地人。”这番言论突显出围绕中国在非洲的角色的争论。

“We use our actions and the things we do to show we are not neocolonialists,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

他在接受英国《金融时报》采访时说：“我们用我们的行动和我们所做的事来证明，我们不是新殖民主义者。”

Xi Jinping, Chinese president, during his first trip overseas as head of state last month, countered a rising tide of criticism among officials in Africa about China’s role there.

上月，中国国家主席习近平在作为国家元首的首次出访期间，为中国在非洲扮演的角色进行了辩护，回击了非洲官员日益高涨的批评声音。

Mr Wang defended Sinohydro’s work in Africa, where it has been involved in more than 70 hydro-power projects, as beneficial for all parties. “A dam is a sign of social progress and civilisation,” he said. “You have resources. I have money, technology and management. We can develop together.”

王志平辩称，中国水电在非洲参与的70多个水电项目让各方受益。他说：“大坝是社会进步和文明的象征。你们有资源，我们有资金、技术和管理。我们可以共同发展。”

Sinohydro and other engineering companies have been at the centre of Chinese policies in Africa, where they have built highways, high-rises, dams and football stadiums. On his visit to three African countries, Mr Xi vowed to increase investment, highlighting the importance of Africa to China’s foreign policy strategy.

中国水电等工程公司一直处于中国对非洲政策的核心位置，他们在非洲建设了高速公路、高楼大厦、大坝和足球场。在访问非洲三国期间，习近平承诺要加大投资，并强调了非洲对中国外交政策战略的重要性。

The role of Chinese state-owned enterprises in Africa has been controversial at times, because their projects are often funded bygovernment loans that the recipient nation repays with exports of resources.

中国国有企业在非洲的角色时不时地会引起争议，因为他们的项目往往获得政府贷款支持，而接受国则是用资源出口来偿还这些贷款。

Proponents say these infrastructure projects enable development in places where western companies are unwilling to work because of political risk or sanctions. Critics say they place overly heavy loan burdens on the recipient countries and have a poor record of compliance with local environmental and labour rules. Many such projects rely on workers flown in from China.

支持者认为，这些基础设施项目促进了非洲的发展，而西方企业出于政治风险或者制裁的考虑往往不愿这么做。批评者表示，他们给接受国带来了过于沉重的贷款负担，而且没有很好地遵守本地环境和劳动法规。很多此类项目都依靠来自中国的工人。

The International Monetary Fund intervened in China’s $9bn aid package to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008 to force a rewrite of the debt terms because the loans were deemed too expensive. Sinohydro and China Railway Engineering received a majority stake in two large copper and cobalt mines as part of the deal.

2008年，国际货币基金组织(IMF)介入中国对刚果民主共和国总额为90亿美元的援助项目，要求中国重新制定债务条款，原因是它们认为这些贷款代价过高。作为协议的一部分，中国水电和中国中铁(China Railway Engineering)获得了两座大型铜钴矿的多数股权。

Other high-profile projects by Chinese companies in Africa, such as the Merowe dam in Sudan, have been heavily criticised by environmental groups.

中国公司在非洲的其他引人注目的项目，比如苏丹的麦洛维大坝(Merowe dam)，受到了环保组织的强烈批评。

Mr Wang said Sinohydro paid close attention to its environmental rules, and denied that it selected projects to further China’s foreign policy aims.

王志平表示，中国水电密切关注非洲环境法规，并否认公司选择项目以拓展中国外交政策目标。

“The reason we are going abroad is just to make money,” he said. “In this process, we will protect the environment, assume social responsibilities, help development and help alleviate local poverty.”

他说：“我们进军海外只是为了赚钱。在这个过程中，我们将保护环境、承担社会责任、促进发展并缓解当地的贫困状况。”