特朗普的商务部长人选与中投公司有商业往来

Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump’s incoming commerce secretary, is facing questions over potential conflicts of interest stemming from his business ties to China’s largest sovereign wealth fund.

唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)政府即将上任的商务部长威尔伯?罗斯（Wilbur Ross，上图右），正面临关于潜在利益冲突的质疑，这场质疑是因罗斯与中国最大主权财富基金的商业往来而起。

The billionaire investor and China Investment Corp, the state-controlled fund, were part of a consortium that invested $1bn in Diamond S Shipping, an oil products tanker business, in 2011. The company is one of the few that the financier-turned-politician has decided not to sell to join the Trump administration, according to disclosure documents.

这名亿万富翁投资家与中国政府控制的基金中投公司(China Investment Corp)曾同属一个于2011年向油轮公司钻石航运(Diamond S Shipping)投资10亿美元的财团。根据公开披露的文件，钻石航运是这名金融家出身的政客决定不会因为加入特朗普政府而出售的少数几家公司之一。

CIC, which owns about 9 per cent of the company, has been one of Beijing’s main overseas investment vehicles. Mr Ross, meanwhile, is set to be one of China’s leading interlocutors in the Trump administration on matters of trade and investment once he is confirmed by the Senate.

在钻石航运拥有约9%股份的中投公司，一直是中国政府主要的海外投资工具之一。而罗斯一旦获得美国参议院批准，将成为特朗普政府负责在贸易和投资方面与中国对话的主要人物之一。

Legal experts say their ties could affect the ability of one of Mr Trump’s top economic advisers to deal with Beijing.

法律专家表示，这层关系可能会影响特朗普最高级别经济顾问之一与北京方面交涉的能力。

Mr Ross’s commerce department oversees the prosecution of anti-dumping and other trade enforcement cases. In past administrations it has played a broad role in trade negotiations and other issues between the US and China, including internet privacy.

罗斯的商务部掌管反倾销诉讼及其他贸易执法案件。在过去几届政府中，商务部在美中贸易谈判及其他事项（包括网络隐私权）方面发挥了广泛作用。

Kathleen Clark, a Washington University law professor, said: “By reason of that type of co-investor relationship, Ross’s impartiality in handling a commerce department proceeding involving CIC could reasonably be questioned, so he should recuse [himself] from any proceedings involving CIC.”

华盛顿大学(Washington University)法学教授凯瑟琳?克拉克(Kathleen Clark)称：“由于这种共同投资人关系，人们有理由怀疑罗斯能否公正地处理商务部涉及中投公司的诉讼，因此，他应该回避任何涉及中投公司的诉讼。”

Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush, said that by keeping a 32 per cent stake in Diamond S Shipping, Mr Ross would also have to recuse himself regularly from broader trade policy discussions — given the direct impact these could have on his oil poducts tanker business.

小布什(George W Bush)任内的白宫伦理律师理查德?佩因特(Richard Painter)表示，因其在钻石航运保留了32%的股份，罗斯还必须时常自行回避更广泛的贸易政策讨论——因为这些政策可能对其油轮业务产生直接影响。

Another leading lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous as he is working with several Trump administration nominees seeking US Senate confirmation, said an ethics agreement signed by Mr Ross in which he revealed he would hold on to his shipping stake was worded in a way that could expose the commerce secretary to legal attacks.

另一位知名律师表示，在罗斯签署的一份道德协议中，他透露自己将继续持有该航运公司股份，而该协议的措辞方式可能给他招来法律方面的抨击。这名律师要求匿名，因为他正与多名寻求美国参议院批准的特朗普政府被提名人共事。

A spokesman for Mr Ross said he had been willing to divest his stake in Diamond S Shipping but had been told he could keep it by government ethics officials.

罗斯的一位发言人说，罗斯一直都愿意剥离自己在钻石航运的股份，但政府道德官员告知他可以继续持有这些股份。

The spokesman also noted that CIC was “a passive minority investor” in Diamond S Shipping and that the structure of his own stake once he entered government meant Mr Ross would have no knowledge or control over the company’s business decisions.

发言人还指出中投公司是钻石航运的“被动少数股权投资者”，而且一旦罗斯进入政府，他所持股份的结构意味着他对公司的业务决策将一无所知、且没有控制力。

“Mr Ross has committed that, if confirmed, he will faithfully execute the law and the commitments in his ethics agreement, and will follow the advice of the department’s ethics officials with respect to any matter about which they advise him that a conflict of interest would arise,” the spokesman said.

发言人表示：“罗斯已经承诺，如果得到参议院批准，他将忠实地执行法律及其道德协议中的承诺，并将在部门道德官员提醒他会出现利益冲突的一切事项上遵循他们的建议。”

“The department’s ethics officials are career staff with extensive experience, and together with Mr Ross are committed to serving the public and faithfully executing the law,” he added.

发言人同时表示：“商务部的道德官员都是经验丰富的专业人士，罗斯将与他们一起致力于为公众服务，并将忠于执法。”

Scrutiny of Mr Ross’s potential conflicts of interest could have implications for the Trump administration. The 79-year-old former banker has been identified as one of the central figures steering the new US trade policy, which aims to put “America first” by renegotiating deals with partners across the globe.

审查罗斯的潜在利益冲突可能会对特朗普政府产生影响。这位79岁的前银行家被认为是执掌美国新贸易政策的核心人物之一，新政策旨在通过与全球伙伴重新谈判来实现“美国优先”。

Mr Ross, who has agreed to divest most of his holdings and business interests, has been cleared by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) over potential conflicts. He told the Senate commerce committee in January that “I intend to be quite scrupulous about recusal in any topic where there’s the slightest scintilla of doubt”.

罗斯已同意剥离自己的大多数持股和商业利益，政府道德办公室(Office of Government Ethics)已宣布他不存在潜在利益冲突。他在1月份曾向参议院商务委员会表示“任何话题只要存在一丁点疑问，我都会非常谨慎地考虑回避。”

Charles Borden, a lawyer at Allen & Overy, said the fact that OGE and commerce department officials had approved Mr Ross’s ethics agreement indicated they did not think his shipping interests were of concern under federal conflict-of-interest laws.

安理律师事务所(Allen & Overy)律师查尔斯?博登(Charles Borden)表示，政府道德办公室和商务部官员已经批准了罗斯的道德协议，这一事实表明，他们不认为根据联邦利益冲突法，他的航运利益引人担忧。

Nowhere in the ethics agreement approved by the OGE is the CIC co-investment mentioned, raising questions over whether the body reviewing conflicts of interest is aware of Mr Ross’s connection to the Chinese fund. The OGE and CIC declined to comment.

政府道德办公室批准的道德协议中并没有提到与中投公司的联合投资，这产生了一个问题：利益冲突审查机构是否知道罗斯与这家中国基金的关系？政府道德办公室和中投公司均不予置评。