特朗普对中国放软身段让在华美企宽慰
President Donald Trump’s softening stance towards China has eased the worst fears of American businesses in the country about the prospects of a trade war, prompting US executives to refocus their attention on a drive to ease Chinese investment restrictions.
唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)总统对中国放软身段缓解了在华经营的美国企业对于贸易战争前景的最大担心，让美国高管们重新聚焦于推动中国放松投资限制的努力。“I don’t think [trade tariffs] are going to be one of the top priorities because my sense is the administration has probably seen this may not be the most effective way to apply pressure,” William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, told reporters in the Chinese capital on Tuesday. He called it a “hot topic” during his earlier meetings in Washington but said it was no longer a serious option.
“我不认为（贸易关税）会成为最优先的事项之一，因为我的感觉是特朗普政府很可能认为，这也许不是施加压力的最有效方式，”中国美国商会(American Chamber of Commerce in China)主席蔡瑞德(William Zarit)周二在中国首都对记者们表示。他之前在华盛顿开会期间称其为一个“火热的话题”，但表示它已不再是一个严肃选项。“The administration is looking for a number of other points of leverage and points of pressure to apply to the Chinese to persuade China to open their markets and level the playing field,” Mr Zarit said.
“特朗普政府正在寻找一些别的杠杆点和压力点，用于说服中国开放市场和营造公平竞争环境，”蔡瑞德表示。
When China-based US executives meet members of the US Congress next month, they intend to revive a plan for a bilateral investment treaty. As recently as February, the anxious executives rushed to Washington for urgent meetings with the Trump administration to counter the threat of 45 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
当常驻中国的美国高管下月会晤美国国会议员时，他们打算重启一个谈判达成双边投资条约的计划。就在2月份，这些焦急的高管还匆匆赶到华盛顿与特朗普政府紧急磋商，以化解后者对中国制造商品征收45%关税的威胁。President Trump ran on a ticket that emphasised measures to protect US manufacturers, a policy that alarmed China-based US businesses. Peter Navarro, Mr Trump’s pick to direct the new National Trade Office, is a well-known hawk on China, and has been one of the biggest proponents of high import tariffs on Chinese products.
特朗普总统的竞选纲领注重保护美国制造商的措施，这一政策令在华美国企业震惊。在白宫新设立的国家贸易委员会(National Trade Council)，特朗普任命的主席彼得?纳瓦罗(Peter Navarro)是出名的对华鹰派，也一直是对中国输美产品征收高额进口关税的最大倡导者之一。Those fears have abated since Mr Trump backed off from several campaign trail commitments. In an about-face, he announced last week that he would not label China a currency manipulator and has tweeted that he would offer China trade concessions if it helped defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula.
自特朗普在几项竞选承诺上食言以来，这些恐惧已经减轻。美国总统上周做出的一个立场逆转是宣布不会把中国列为汇率操纵国。他还发表推文称，如果中国帮助化解朝鲜半岛紧张局势，他将向中国作出贸易让步。“The reality check is what seems good on the campaign trail is really not the most important in priorities,” said Lester Ross, a lawyer and chairman for AmCham Beijing’s policy committee.
“现实证明，竞选时期貌似美好的承诺实在算不上最重要的事项，”律师、中国美国商会政策委员会主席莱斯特?罗斯(Lester Ross)表示。
Instead, American businesses are focusing on amending what they see as an unequal investment relationship. For example, American carmakers must form joint ventures with a 50 per cent foreign equity cap to invest in China, whereas Chinese motor groups face no such restrictions in the US.
相反，美国企业正聚焦于改变他们认为不平等的投资关系。例如，美国汽车制造商如果要在中国投资，就必须组建合资企业，还要面对50%的外资股权上限，而中国汽车集团在美国没有受到这样的限制。The Obama administration was in the process of negotiating a shorter “negative list” of investment areas off-limits to foreign investors in China. The list was part of an overall bilateral investment treaty designed to simplify and promote US investment in China.
奥巴马政府曾经在与中方谈判一份更短的“负面清单”，该清单列出中国不对境外投资者开放的投资领域。这份清单是一项全面的双边投资条约的一部分，旨在简化和促进美国在华投资。Yet those negotiations have stalled under the new administration. Key trade positions, including those in the International Trade Commission, continue to go unfilled more than three months into the president’s term.
然而，这些谈判在特朗普上任后陷入停滞。在他就任三个多月后的今天，一些关键的贸易职位，包括美国国际贸易委员会(ITC)的关键职位，仍未任命人选。
