美国在半导体领域严防中国威胁
唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)即将就任的贸易团队支持奥巴马政府有关在半导体领域对中国采取强硬政策的呼吁，此前即将卸任的白宫官员把北京方面在该行业投资的潜在影响与全球钢铁行业出现的破坏相提并论。
At a confirmation hearing this week, Wilbur Ross, who is poised to become Mr Trump’s commerce secretary and will take a lead role on trade policy, said: “The Chinese are the world’s largest consumer of semiconductors, so far mainly importing . . . from [the US].” But he was “very, very concerned” about China’s growing semiconductor sector.
在本周的提名确认听证会上，特朗普提名的商务部长、将在贸易政策方面扮演领导角色的威尔伯•罗斯(Wilbur Ross)表示：“中国人是世界上最大的半导体消费者，迄今主要是从(美国)……进口。”但他对中国不断发展壮大的半导体行业感到“非常、非常担忧”。
Mr Ross said he had discussed the issue with Obama administration officials, who had raised concerns about China’s state-backed semiconductor sector and its potential strategic threat to the US.
罗斯称，他已经与奥巴马政府官员讨论过这个问题，后者对中国国家支持的半导体行业及其对美国构成的潜在战略威胁也表示了担忧。
Technology executives had expressed concern about China’s behaviour during a recent meeting convened by Mr Trump, he said.
他说，科技行业高管在特朗普最近召集的一个会议上对中国的行为表示关切。
The incoming administration has already promised to take a tough line on China. During the election campaign Mr Trump threatened to impose 45 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and accused Beijing of manipulating its currency.
特朗普政府已承诺要对中国采取强硬态度。在竞选期间，特朗普威胁要对中国输美产品征收45%的关税，并指责北京方面操纵人民币汇率。
But the semiconductors issue highlights one area where the Obama administration is handing it a clear plan of action. Bruce Andrews, outgoing deputy commerce secretary, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that China’s investment in its semiconductor industry posed as great a threat to the US economy as its aggressive steel and solar subsidies had.
但半导体问题突显了奥巴马政府留给特朗普团队一份明确行动计划的一个领域。即将离任的商务部副部长布鲁斯•安德鲁斯(Bruce Andrews)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时警告，中国对本国半导体产业的投资对美国经济构成巨大威胁，就像之前中国向钢铁和太阳能产业大举提供补贴那样。
“With the internet of things and the explosion of the digital economy, semiconductors are a foundational technology, and the United States has always had the most innovative and world-leading companies,” Mr Andrews said.
“在物联网问世和数字经济爆炸式增长之际，半导体是一种基础技术，而美国一直拥有最具创新精神和世界领先的企业，”安德鲁斯表示。
But China had established a $150bn fund to support the sector and identified it as a strategic industry, raising the pressure on US companies. The moves also raised the prospect that China would start to distort global markets, as it had when it aggressively ramped up steel production and exports, he added.
但中国已建立了一只1500亿美元的基金来支持半导体行业，并将其列为一个战略行业，从而加大了对美国公司的压力。他补充说，这些举措还引发了这样一个可能性，即中国将开始扭曲全球市场，就像中国在大举增加钢铁产量和出口之后出现的那种局面。
The Obama administration had raised its concerns regularly with Chinese officials in bilateral meetings over the past 18 months, Mr Andrews said.
安德鲁斯表示，奥巴马政府在过去18个月的双边会议上经常向中国官员表示关切。
In a report this month for President Barack Obama, a commission, whose members included current and former chief executives from chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm, called for the US to do more to create a supportive environment for its semiconductor companies and to retain talent.
在本月提交巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统的一份报告中，成员包括英特尔(Intel)和高通(Qualcomm)等芯片制造商的现任和前任首席执行官的一个委员会，呼吁美国采取更多行动为其半导体公司创造一个有利环境，并留住人才。
It also called for the US to work with the EU and other allies to strengthen global export controls on sensitive semiconductor technologies and for continuing scrutiny of Chinese investment in the sector by the US committee on foreign investment.
该委员会还呼吁美国同欧盟和其他盟友合作，加强对敏感半导体技术的全球出口管制，并由美国外国投资委员会(CFIUS)继续严格审查中国对该行业的投资。
On the committee’s recommendation, Mr Obama last year blocked the acquisition of German chip equipment manufacturer Aixtron by Chinese investors.
根据该委员会的建议，奥巴马去年阻止了中国投资者收购德国芯片设备制造商爱思强(Aixtron)。
The report was designed to provide an action plan for the incoming administration and to pre-empt any economic damage, said Mr Andrews.
安德鲁斯表示，该报告旨在为新政府提供行动计划，防范经济损失。
“This is not about protectionism, it is about fair competition,” he said. “We need to set the circumstances so the US industry continues to be the world’s leader in terms of innovation . . . If we are producing the best technologies in the world that will be incredibly important to competing in the marketplace. But we need to make sure that all of our competitors play by the rules and don’t invest in market distorting technology.”
“这不是关于保护主义，而是关于公平竞争，”他说，“我们需要确立合适环境，使美国的产业继续在创新方面引领世界……如果我们生产世界上最好的技术，那对于在市场上竞争将是非常重要的。但我们需要确保所有竞争对手都遵守规则，不以扭曲市场的方式进行科技投资。”
The concern over the semiconductor industry echoes trade battles of the past. In the 1980s the Reagan administration moved against Japan over semiconductors as part of a broader effort to stem Japanese imports. Robert Lighthizer, Mr Trump’s pick for US trade representative, was one of the US’s top negotiators at the time.
对半导体行业的关注令人回想起昔日的贸易战。上世纪80年代，里根政府曾在半导体领域杯葛日本，作为限制日本输美产品的整体努力的一部分。特朗普提名的美国贸易代表罗伯特•莱特希泽(Robert Lighthizer)当年是美国最高谈判代表之一。
