中国洽购俄火箭发动机技术引发美国担忧
中国航天发射公司——中国长城工业集团有限公司(CGWIC)正与俄罗斯顶级火箭制造商谈判，以求获得敏感的发动机技术。这突显了两国之间日益加深的航空航天合作纽带，在华盛顿引发担忧。
Russia’s leading rocket engine manufacturer, NPO Energomash, confirmed to the FT on Wednesday that the talks were taking place, although attempts to reach Great Wall Industries were unsuccessful. China’s National Space Administration also declined to comment.
俄罗斯领先的火箭发动机制造商——动力机械科研生产联合体(NPO Energomash)周三向英国《金融时报》证实，谈判正在进行之中，尽管记者尝试采访长城公司的努力未获成功。中国国家航天局(CNSA)也拒绝置评。
Energomash’s engine, the RD-180, is so highly rated that it is used by the US for its own satellite launches — a curious exception to Washington’s sanctions on Russia implemented following the 2014 invasion of Crimea.
动力机械科研生产联合体研发的RD-180发动机受到如此高度的评价，以至于美国都将其用于卫星发射——成为2014年俄罗斯吞并克里米亚后美国对俄实施制裁中一项耐人寻味的例外。
US politicians have threatened to block future purchases of the RD-180 under pressure from competitors such as SpaceX and geopolitical concerns over relying on Russia for strategic technologies.
在SpaceX等竞争对手的压力下，加上对依赖俄罗斯战略技术的地缘政治担忧，美国政界人士已威胁要阻止未来对RD-180的采购。
That uncertainty surrounding the RD-180 has given special significance to Russian negotiations with China as an alternative buyer. While the RD-180 is intended for civilian rockets it has obvious military applications, with China creating a new generation of ballistic missiles including ‘carrier-killers’ designed to sink ships. Great Wall’s parent company, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Company (CASC) is China’s most prominent developer of ICBMs.
围绕RD-180的不确定性，使俄罗斯与作为替代买家的中国之间的谈判具有特别重大的意义。虽然RD-180设计用于民用火箭，但它明显具有军事用途——考虑到中国正在研发新一代弹道导弹，包括旨在击沉舰船的“航母杀手”。长城公司的母公司中国航天科技集团(CASC)是中国最知名的洲际弹道导弹(ICBM)研发机构。
“I’d be deeply sceptical of anything space-related staying ‘within channels’, especially if it has military applicability, if it’s at CASC,” said Scott Harold, an expert on China’s defence industries at Georgetown University and the Rand Corporation in Washington. Attempts to reach CASC were unsuccessful.
乔治敦大学(Georgetown University)和兰德公司(Rand Corporation)的中国军工产业专家斯科特•哈罗德(Scott Harold)表示：“我对任何太空相关合作坚守民用的前景都深感怀疑，特别是如果相关技术具有军事用途，或者如果涉及到中国航天科技集团。”记者未能联系上中国航天科技集团。
The increased sharing by Russia and China of technology with possible military applications is unlikely to please Washington. A report last year by the US Congress’ US-China Economic Security and Review Commission said the export of Russian aerospace technology to China was “challenging US air superiority and posing problems for US, allied, and partner assets in the region”.
俄中在具有潜在军事用途的技术方面扩大共享合作，不太可能令华盛顿高兴。美国国会下属的美中经济与安全审查委员会(US-China Economic and Security Review Commission)去年发布的一份报告称，俄罗斯向中国出口航空航天技术正在“挑战美国的空中优势，给地区的美国、盟国和伙伴国资产带来问题”。
Igor Arbuzov, Energomash’s director-general told the FT that a remaining obstacle to a sale was that China had not formally joined the Missile Technology Control Regime, a global non-proliferation agreement. China applied to join the MTCR in 2004 but has not yet been admitted.
动力机械科研生产联合体总经理伊戈尔•阿尔布佐夫(Igor Arbuzov)对英国《金融时报》表示，对华出售RD-180仍存在的一个障碍是，中国尚未正式加入全球不扩散协议“导弹及其技术控制制度”(MTCR)。中国已于2004年申请加入该制度，但尚未获准进入。
Chad Ohlandt, senior engineer at Rand, said while the RD-180 was decades old, its “oxidiser-rich” engine was still more efficient for lifting satellites than anything China currently manufactures. The RD-180 is three times more powerful than China’s most advanced engine, the YF-100, used in the newest generation of Long March rockets, he said.
兰德公司高级工程师查德•奥兰特(Chad Ohlandt)表示，尽管RD-180已经有几十年历史，但其“富氧”发动机在发射卫星的效率上仍然优于中国目前制造的任何发动机。他表示，RD-180的推力是中国最先进的YF-100火箭发动机的三倍，后者被用于最新一代长征(Long March)火箭。
The RD-180 would help China speed up the development of its own launch systems. “It costs Russia very little to share 40-year-old technology,” Mr Ohlandt said. Mr Arbuzov said in an interview with Izvestia, the Moscow newspaper, last week that China does not want to buy finished engines, but rather acquire or license the technology.
RD-180将帮助中国加速发展自己的发射系统。奥兰特表示：“对俄罗斯而言，分享40年前的技术成本非常低。”动力机械科研生产联合体的阿尔布佐夫上周在接受莫斯科《消息报》(Izvestia)采访时表示，中国不想购买成品发动机，而是希望获得技术或技术许可。
However, the negotiations have raised Russian fears that their technology may wind up in the hands of a proven competitor. Russia unofficially halted aircraft sales to China in 2004 because of fears of theft, after China copied Russian aircraft such as the SU-27 fighter bomber, producing the J-11b which competes with Russian aircraft in global markets.
然而，这些谈判已引起俄方担心他们的技术可能落到一个已证实的对手手中。因担心技术被窃取，俄罗斯在2004年非正式停止向中国出售飞机，此前中国曾复制苏-27(SU-27)战斗轰炸机等俄罗斯飞机，然后用仿制的歼-11B(J-11B)与俄罗斯飞机在全球市场上竞争。
“The Russians understand that what the Chinese ultimately want to do is put them out of rocket engine business,” said Rick Fisher, a missile technology expert at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Washington.
华盛顿国际战略和评估中心(International Strategy and Assessment Center)的导弹技术专家里克•费舍尔(Rick Fisher)表示：“俄罗斯人明白，中国最终想做的就是在火箭发动机业务领域把他们排挤出局。”
Sales were revived after Russia’s occupation of Crimea to lessen the impact of international sanctions. Russia now supplies China with the Su-35, its most advanced fighter aircraft, and the S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
俄罗斯在吞并克里米亚后恢复了对华军售，以减轻国际制裁的影响。俄罗斯现在向中国提供其最先进的战斗机苏-35(Su-35)，以及S-400地对空导弹系统。
Mr Arbuzov said that concerns about technology transfers were eased by an agreement on trade in aerospace technologies, signed by both countries and ratified by Russia’s parliament in November.
阿尔布佐夫表示，两国签署、并在去年11月由俄罗斯议会批准的一份航空航天技术贸易协议，缓解了俄罗斯对于技术转让的担忧。
