中韩货币互换协议未能续签
中国和韩国未能续签560亿美元的货币互换协议。目前两国之间围绕首尔方面安装有争议的美国反导系统一事出现外交紧张。
The extension of the eight-year-old deal had been seen as a yardstick for relations between the two neighbours, which have frayed over Seoul’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence despite Beijing’s opposition.
这个持续已8年的协议能否续签，此前就被视为两个邻国之间关系的标尺。首尔方面顶住北京方面的反对，部署了“末段高空区域防御系统”(THAAD，中文简称：萨德)，此举引起两国关系紧张。
South Korean officials said talks were continuing with China about renewing the deal, although experts remained sceptical about the possibility of resuming the swap.
韩国官员表示，正在继续同中方进行续签货币互换协议的谈判，尽管专家们仍质疑挽救该协议的可能性。
“As we talk, expiration isn’t all that important and negotiations are still taking place,” Lee Ju-yeol, Bank of Korea governor, said on Tuesday, hours before the deal expired. “我们在商谈，到期并不是那么重要，谈判仍在进行中，”韩国央行(Bank of Korea)行长李柱烈(Lee Ju-yeol)周二在该协议到期数小时前表示。
South Korean officials have expressed hopes for the extension of the swap, which has been regarded as a financial safety net that helps stabilise the won — often seen as a play on global growth — in case of external shocks.
韩国官员已表示希望续签这一货币互换协议，该协议被视为一个金融安全网，有助于韩元(往往被视为全球经济增长的风向标)在受到外部冲击的情况下企稳。
“The extension of the swap is beneficial for our economy,” said Kim Dong-yeon, South Korean finance minister. “China, too, is deeply interested [in extending the deal], given [its role] in making the renminbi an international reserve currency.”
“续签这个货币互换协议对我国经济有利，”韩国财政部长金东兖(Kim Dong-yeon)表示。“鉴于它使人民币成为一种国际储备货币的作用，中国对此也深感兴趣。”
The two countries first signed a currency swap worth $26bn in 2009 to steel themselves amid the global financial crisis. The deal was expanded to $56bn in 2011 and has since been extended twice. It was South Korea’s biggest currency swap that accounts for about 45 per cent of its swap arrangements.
两国最初在2009年签署了价值260亿美元的货币互换协议，以抵御全球金融危机。该协议在2011年扩大至560亿美元，而且自那以来已续签两次。此前它是韩国最大的货币互换协议，占其全部互换安排约45%。
But talks to renew it have been complicated by China’s ire over the Thaad system, which has sparked Beijing’s economic retaliation against South Korean companies operating in China. Beijing believes the missile defence system’s powerful radar can be used to spy on its territory.
但是中国对萨德的愤慨使得进一步续签的谈判复杂化。部署萨德已促使北京方面对在华经营的韩国企业发起经济报复。北京方面认为，这种导弹防御系统的强大雷达可能被用来侦察中国领土。
“It won’t be easy to renew the deal as China continues to have a negative perception of our country because of the Thaad deployment. I doubt if Beijing will separate economics from politics,” said Lee Sang-jae, economist at Eugene Investment & Securities, a brokerage.
“续签这个协议不会容易，因为部署萨德使中国继续对我们国家持负面看法。对于北京是否会将经济与政治分开，我表示怀疑，”券商尤金投资证券(Eugene Investment & Securities)经济学家李相宰(Lee Sang-jae)表示。
China has signed bilateral swap agreements with more than 30 central banks since 2008 as it seeks to promote greater international use of the renminbi for trade and investment. The facilities are designed to ensure that both sides have access to foreign currency trade finance in periods of financial stress, when market-based funding can dry up.
自2008年以来，中国与30多家央行签署了双边货币互换协议，以求促进国际上更多地使用人民币进行贸易和投资。这类安排旨在确保双方在承受金融压力、市场融资可能枯竭的时期可以获得外汇贸易融资。
China’s Global Times, a state-backed daily newspaper, said on Tuesday that political tensions made the deal’s renewal uncertain. “It is more likely that the deal will be suspended temporarily because of the declining investment and trade between the two countries make it meaningless to maintain the swap,” Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the newspaper.
政府背景的中国《环球时报》周二表示，政治紧张给中韩货币互换协议的续签带来不确定性。武汉科技大学金融证券研究所所长董登新对该报表示，该协议更有可能被暂时搁置，因为两国间的投资和贸易下滑，使得维持货币互换协议没有意义。
The PBoC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
中国央行周三没有立即回应记者的置评请求。
