特朗普启动对华知识产权调查为何掌声寥寥？
不久前，特朗普政府推出的一项新倡议从硅谷那里得到了明显不够热情的欢呼。
Given the antipathy stirred up by the White House’s policies on immigration and several other issues, even that lukewarm welcome was more than what the current administration has been accustomed to. But this was an issue close to the technology world’s heart, and it might have been expected to draw a far more enthusiastic welcome.
鉴于白宫在移民和其他一些问题上的政策所引发的反感，即使是不冷不热的欢迎可以说也让现任政府受宠若惊。但这个问题对科技界来说非常重要，白宫原本可能期望它得到硅谷更热烈的欢迎。
The occasion was commerce secretary Wilbur Ross’s announcement of an investigation into how China acquires US intellectual property. American companies have long complained about being forced to hand over IP in return for market access, and of losing control of it to outright theft.
这件事就是商务部长威尔伯•罗斯(Wilbur Ross)(见本文题图)宣布对中国获取美国知识产权的方式进行调查。美国企业长久以来一直抱怨被迫交出知识产权来换取进入中国市场的资格，或因公然的盗窃失去了对其知识产权的控制。
The fact that the White House salvo did not have tech companies racing to the IP barricades says much about the current state of play in both tech and Sino-US politics.
白宫的这一通炮火齐发，并没有让科技公司趁着炮火掩护朝知识产权工事飞奔，这一事实极大地揭示了科技和美中政治的状况。
The tech companies that have built a mainland Chinese presence are not eager to risk their position on a political fight with a highly unpredictable outcome. One problem for them is that it is hard to gauge whether the US administration will stay the course. The Trump White House has made much of its willingness to do deals, something that could turn the charges of IP theft into a pawn in a larger negotiation about trade or security.
已经在中国内地立足的科技企业，不愿在一场结果极度难料的政治斗争中用自己的地位来冒险。他们面临的问题之一是，很难判断美国政府是否会坚持到底。特朗普领导的白宫很愿意做交易，可能把窃取知识产权的指控变为有关贸易和安全的更大谈判中的一颗棋子。
Another consideration is that many tech companies have already made the accommodations required to get a Chinese foothold, for instance by forging partnerships — and handing control — to local companies. Five years ago, the subject of IP was far more likely to arouse a passionate reaction in Silicon Valley. But now, the reality of doing business in China has sunk in.
另一种考虑是，很多科技公司为了在中国立足，已经按要求做出了让步，比如与当地企业建立合伙关系——并且交出控制权。5年前，有关知识产权的话题远比现在更可能引发硅谷的热情反应。但如今，美国企业已经接受了在华经营的现实。
IBM, for instance, gave up on selling its own servers in China and instead licensed its Open Power chip technology to local manufacturers. And in 2015, Hewlett-Packard sold a majority stake in its Chinese networking subsidiary, H3C, to Tsinghua, the Beijing institution that embodies many of the country’s tech ambitions.
例如，IBM放弃了在中国销售自己的服务器，而是把其OpenPower芯片技术授权给了当地制造商。2015年，惠普(HP)把其旗下的中国网络公司华三通信(H3C Technologies)的多数股权卖给了清华大学旗下的公司——这所大学承载着中国很多科技抱负。
Meanwhile, Qualcomm, nudged by antitrust pressure, agreed new terms for licensing its technology to Chinese handset makers last year. Others have adapted in their own ways. Intel, which long restricted its activities there, opened its first full-scale chip factory in China at the start of the decade, although it has not employed its most up-to-date process technology.
与此同时，在反垄断压力下，高通公司(Qualcomm)去年同意了新条款，将其技术授权给了中国手机制造商。其他公司也以自己的方式适应了中国。长久以来一直限制在华业务规模的英特尔(Intel)于2010年代初在中国开设了首家完整规模的芯片厂，尽管它并未采用最新工艺技术。
Critics say that many US tech companies have traded their IP crown jewels for a form of market access that will have little value once local partners and licensees have extracted what they need. Mark Anderson, an independent technology analyst who has warned of wholesale stripping of American IP, says the country’s chief executives have faced a tough choice: as competitors bow to Chinese demands, it has been hard for others to stand firm.
批评者表示，许多美国科技公司都以代表其“看家本领”的知识产权换来了市场准入，而一旦中方合作伙伴和被许可方取得他们所需要的东西，市场准入将变得没有任何价值。曾就美国知识产权可能大量流失提出警告的独立科技分析师马克•安德森(Mark Anderson)表示，美国的首席执行官们面临一个艰难选择：当竞争对手屈服于中国要求时，其他公司就很难坚守自己的立场。
Other changes on the tech landscape, like the rise of cloud computing, have also reduced the urgency of the IP debate. Software piracy has been a long-running complaint; but when new movies, video games and Windows software are all accessed online, their distribution can be controlled more carefully.
科技行业的其他变化——比如云计算的兴起——也降低了知识产权辩论的紧迫性。软件盗版是长期以来引起抱怨的一个问题;但当新的电影、电子游戏和Windows软件都可以在线获得时，它们的发行能够得到更小心的控制。
Instead, the cloud has created a different dilemma for US tech companies. Control of data, rather than control of IP, becomes a central issue, and one that is forcing companies that want to do business in China into positions that do not sit well with the principles they espouse back home. Just as Google was once forced to censor its search results in return for market access, a bargain it eventually abandoned, Apple has this year ceded control of its local data centre to a Chinese partner (although the California company says it still controls the data and only hands it over in response to lawful requests).
相反，云技术给美国科技公司造就了一种不同的两难处境。对数据而非对知识产权的的控制，成了一个核心问题，迫使想在华开展业务的公司处于与它们在国内信奉的原则不太吻合的境地。正如谷歌(Google)曾为进入中国市场而被迫审查其搜索结果(它最终放弃入华)那样，苹果(Apple)今年已把中国数据中心的控制权移交给了一家中方合作伙伴(不过，苹果表示，其仍控制着数据，只会应合法要求交出数据)。
Even so, protection of IP will remain a long-term issue for the US tech industry in China. The country’s Made in China 2025 initiative has targeted 10 industries for rapid development, including electric vehicles. Tesla, which already looks to China for nearly 20 per cent of its sales, hopes to announce a local manufacturing partner before the end of this year. That puts it next in line to face a tug of war over IP as it tries to break in.
即便如此，保护知识产权对在华美国科技企业而言仍将是一个长期问题。中国的“中国制造2025”计划瞄准了要求快速发展的10个行业，其中包括电动车。特斯拉(Tesla)指望中国市场能占到其总销量的近20%。该公司希望在今年底之前公布一家中方生产伙伴。在特斯拉尝试打入中国市场之际，这会让它成为下一个即将面临知识产权拉锯战的公司。
If the Trump administration really means business, economic sanctions against companies or government entities responsible for commandeering US technology may be the only effective response, says Mr Anderson. It is still too early to tell how hard the Trump administration is prepared to fight.
安德森表示，如果特朗普政府确实是认真的，对强占了美国科技的公司或政府机构发起经济制裁，也许是唯一有效的应对措施。现在要判断特朗普政府准备以多大力度投入战斗为时尚早。
