中興因違反美國製裁禁令被罰11.9億美元

HONG KONG — As one of China’s few truly international technology companies, ZTE is often held up by Beijing as part of a new generation of firms that is able to compete beyond Chinese borders.

香港——作爲中國極少數真正意義上的跨國科技公司之一，中興常被北京當作能夠參與國外競爭的新一代公司中的榜樣。

On Tuesday, the United States government made an example of ZTE in a different way.

週二，美國政府以另一種方式把中興樹立成了榜樣。

As part of a settlement for breaking sanctions and selling electronics to Iran and North Korea, ZTE agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.19 billion in fines, the United States Department of Commerce said in an announcement. The penalty is the largest criminal fine in a United States sanctions case.

美國商務部在一份通告中稱，作爲因違反制裁，向伊朗和朝鮮銷售電子產品而達成的和解的一部分，中興同意認罪，並支付11.9億美元（約合82.2億元人民幣）罰款。這是美國製裁案件中金額最高的刑事罰款。

The action is the latest in a series of skirmishes between the United States and China over technology policy. It also offered a chance for President Trump’s young administration to make a statement about the seriousness of United States sanctions. In addition to ZTE, the Commerce Department is also investigating the company’s larger Chinese rival, Huawei, for violating United States sanctions.

此次行動是美國和中國圍繞科技政策發生的一系列小衝突中的最新一起。它也給特朗普總統的新政府提供了一個機會，表明美國對待制裁的嚴肅態度。除中興外，美國商務部還在調查中興的競爭對手華爲是否違反了美國的制裁。同爲中國公司的華爲規模比中興更大。

“We are putting the world on notice: The games are over,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross. “Those who flout our economic sanctions and export control laws will not go unpunished — they will suffer the harshest of consequences.”

“我們警告全世界：遊戲結束了，”商務部長威爾伯·L·羅斯(Wilbur L. Ross)說。“那些公然藐視我們的經濟制裁和出口管控法律的人不會逍遙法外，他們將承擔最嚴重的後果。”

ZTE was found to have breached United States sanctions against Iran by selling American-made goods to the country last March. At the time, the Commerce Department said it would force American companies to obtain a special license to sell to ZTE, which makes smartphones and telecommunications infrastructure equipment. The restrictions would have had the potential to cripple ZTE’s supply chain.

去年3月，中興被發現違反美國對伊朗的制裁，向其銷售美國製造的商品。當時，美國商務部表示將迫使美國公司獲得一種特別許可證，才能向生產智能手機和電信基礎設施設備的中興銷售產品。這些限制本來有可能會破壞中興的供應鏈。

The ban, however, was never put in place, and instead the Chinese company was given a series of reprieves.

然而，這一禁令從未實施。這家中國公司獲得了一系列緩刑。

Still, ZTE, which is China’s second-largest maker of telecom equipment, has not fared well over the past year. Its revenue from the expansion of China’s 4G cellular networks has slowed and its smartphone business has faced major competition from new Chinese handset makers, as well as Huawei.

但作爲中國第二大電信設備生產商，中興過去一年裏的經營狀況並不好。它從中國4G手機網絡擴張中得到的收入開始減緩，智能手機業務也面臨中國新興手機生產商以及華爲的激烈競爭。

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said that along with selling prohibited American electronics to build Iran’s telecom networks, ZTE also made 283 shipments of microprocessors, servers and routers to North Korea, violating American embargoes in that country as well.

週二，商務部表示，除銷售違禁美國電子產品供伊朗建設電信網絡外，中興還違反美國對朝鮮實施的禁令，向朝鮮運輸了283批微處理器、服務器和路由器。

“ZTE engaged in an elaborate scheme to acquire U.S.-origin items, send the items to Iran and mask its involvement in those exports,” said the acting assistant attorney general, Mary B. McCord. “The plea agreement alleges that the highest levels of management within the company approved the scheme.”

“中興參與了一個精心制定的計劃，購買美國生產的物品、將它們運送至伊朗並掩蓋自己在這些出口中的作用，”代理助理司法部長瑪麗·B·麥科德(Mary B. McCord)說。“認罪協議稱該公司內部的最高管理層批准了該計劃。”

She added that ZTE repeatedly lied to and misled federal investigators, its own lawyers and internal investigators.

她補充說，中興一再欺騙和誤導聯邦調查人員和該公司自己的律師及內部調查人員。

In a statement, ZTE said that it had strengthened its compliance policies and undergone a shake-up of top leaders; the company named a new chief executive last April.

在一份聲明中，中興稱已加強公司合規政策，並對高層領導進行了調整。該公司於去年4月任命了新總裁。

“ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them and remains committed to positive change in the company,” said Zhao Xianming, chairman and chief executive of ZTE.

“中興承認所犯的錯誤，承擔錯誤的責任並繼續致力於在公司進行積極的改革，”中興董事長兼總裁趙先明說。

Although China and the United States have occasionally traded barbs over technology policy and cyberattacks, the actions against ZTE by the United States government have not had a major impact on the relationship of the two countries, though Beijing could respond harshly to the new fine.

中美兩國偶爾會因科技政策和網絡襲擊而展開言語交鋒，但美國政府對中興採取的行動並未對兩國關係產生大的影響，不過北京可能會對新公佈的罰款處理進行猛烈還擊。

It is unclear whether the Commerce Department has completed its investigations into Chinese telecom equipment makers.

尚不清楚商務部是否已完成了對中國電信設備生產商的調查。

In a rare step accompanying the announcement last March, the Commerce Department provided two internal ZTE documents.

去年3月，除發佈通告外，商務部同時還提供了中興的兩份內部文件。此舉頗爲罕見。

One, from 2011 and signed by several senior ZTE executives, detailed how the company had “ongoing projects in all five major embargoed countries — Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Syria and Cuba.” Another document laid out in a complex flow chart a method for circumventing United States export controls.

一份是2011年的文件，上有多名中興高管簽名。文件詳細列出了該公司如何“在全部五個主要禁運國家——伊朗、蘇丹、朝鮮、敘利亞和古巴獲得正在開展的項目”。另一份文件用一張複雜的流程圖說明了一種避開美國出口管控的方式。

Citing an unnamed company as a model for circumventing United States sanctions, that second document seemed to implicate ZTE’s more politically important rival, Huawei.

第二份文件把一家未具名的公司作爲規避美國製裁規定的榜樣。它似乎指的是該公司政治色彩更濃厚的重要競爭對手華爲。

The New York Times reported last year that the United States government was also investigating whether Huawei broke export controls. The Commerce Department subpoenaed Huawei, demanding it turn over all information regarding the export or re-export of American technology to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

《紐約時報》去年報道，美國政府也在調查華爲是否違反了出口管控。商務部曾用傳票傳喚華爲，要求其呈交有關向古巴、伊朗、朝鮮、蘇丹和敘利亞出口或再出口的所有信息。

Huawei has said it is committed to complying with laws and regulations where it operates.

華爲稱其致力於遵守業務所在地的法律法規。

Huawei and ZTE are private companies, but they have deep ties to the Chinese government, in part because they supply much of the equipment that makes the country’s telecom backbone function.

華爲和中興都是私營公司，但它們和中國政府淵源深厚。這在一定程度上是因爲承擔中國電信中樞功能的設備中，很多都是它們供應的。