中国在非影响力很难超越

Barack Obama hosted the first US-Africa summit this year. The event confirmed a renewed push by developed economies to cement ties with Africa, with Europe holding its own regional gathering and Japan’s prime minister travelling to sub-Saharan Africa for the first time in nearly 10 years.

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)今年主持召开了首届美非峰会。随着欧非峰会的举行、以及日本首相在近10年内第一次出访撒哈拉以南非洲地区，种种迹象表明：发达经济体正在再度大力强化对非关系。

Left unsaid in public was that Washington, Brussels and Tokyo were all aiming to fight back against China’s growing commercial influence in Africa, the second-fastest growing region in the world. Did the US president and his counterparts succeed? In short, no.

他们这么做的潜台词是，美国、欧盟和日本都想抗衡中国在非洲日益扩大的商业影响力。如今，非洲经济增速居于全球第二位。美国总统和他的西方同僚们成功了吗？简言之，没有。

At the inaugural FT Africa summit this week, the chief executives of six companies with huge operations on the continent – ranging from banking to telecoms to commodities and consumer goods – were asked which foreign power was playing its cards best in Africa. The unanimous answer: China is still winning, and big.

在本周召开的首届英国《金融时报》非洲峰会上，6家在非洲业务量很大的公司——所在行业从银行到电信，从大宗商品到消费品——的首席执行官被问及，哪个外来大国在非洲打出最漂亮的牌？他们的回答是一致的：中国仍占上风，而且优势十分明显。

“China is doing a fantastic job because they are coming with patient capital and [a] long-term vision,” said Vimal Shah, chief executive of the Nairobi-based consumer group Bidco. “They are not trying to dictate to you how to run your country,” he added.

“中国做得非常棒，因为他们带来了耐心资本，具有长远眼光，”总部位于内罗毕的消费者集团Bidco的首席执行官马尔•沙阿(Vimal Shah)说。“他们不发号施令，告诉你该如何治理自己的国家，”他补充道。

Ivan Glasenberg, the South African chief executive of commodities company Glencore, said: “China is investing big in Africa . . . and they are doing a lot in infrastructure.”

大宗商品交易商嘉能可(Glencore)的南非籍首席执行官伊凡•格拉森伯格(Ivan Glasenberg)说：“中国正对非洲大举投资……他们在基础设施方面投入很大。”

Herbert Wigwe, head of Nigeria’s Access Bank, echoed the consensus view when he said: “I have gone to almost every country in Africa – at least to 50. The Chinese influence is growing by the day and they are getting it right.”

尼日利亚Access Bank掌舵人赫伯特•维格维(Herbert Wigwe)呼应了共识观点。他说：“我差不多去过非洲所有国家——至少50个。中国在非洲的影响力与日俱增，他们找对了门路。”

That China is still ahead in Africa is, perhaps, not surprising. Chinese trade with the region has grown from less than $10bn in 2000 to more than $200bn last year, overtaking the US and the former colonial European powers. Cheap credit lines have continued to flow, and Beijing has also maintained its policy of political non-interference.

中国在非洲的影响力仍胜过其他国家，或许并不出人意料。中非贸易额已从2000年的不到100亿美元增加至去年的逾2000亿美元，超过美国和当年在非洲有殖民地的欧洲大国。北京方面向非洲提供的低息信贷源源不断，同时也保持了不干涉政治事务的政策。

But what is perplexing is that others have not been able to at least close the gap, especially after Beijing came under criticism inside and outside Africa this year for its “cheque book” policy – the practice of lending money to African countries to largely benefit its own construction groups.

但令人困惑的是，其他国家甚至无法缩小与中国之间的差距，尤其是在今年非洲内外的批评令北京方面受到压力之后。这些批评的矛头指向中国的“支票薄”政策——向非洲国家提供贷款，而贷款资金在很大程度上造福于中国的建设集团。

China, however, appears to have outsmarted its rivals in recent months by taking steps – some symbolic and some real – to placate its African critics.

然而，中国似乎巧妙地胜过了对手们，在近几个月里采取一些措施——有些是象征性的，也有些是实质性的——以安抚非洲的批评人士。

Chinese officials have, for example, acknowledged some mistakes. In one of the most candid mea culpas, Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China’s central bank, admitted during a meeting of African finance ministers and central bank governors that some Sino-African deals had been “not so good, not so satisfactory”.

例如，中国官员承认犯了一些错误。中国央行行长周小川在一次非洲财长与央行行长会议上承认，有些中非交易“不太好，不太令人满意”，这是中方最坦诚的认错之一。

And Li Keqiang, China’s premier, acknowledged during his first trip to the continent this year that the relationship between Beijing and Africa had suffered “growing pains”. Such comments were music to the ears of disenchanted African officials.

中国总理李克强在今年首次出访非洲时承认，中非关系存在“成长的烦恼”。此类言论在那些幻想破灭的官员听来，就像音乐一样动听。

China has begun to address the larger criticism: that it is only interested in Africa’s commodities and only lends money to projects that benefit its own companies.

中国已开始应对更重大的批评：即中国只对非洲的大宗商品感兴趣，只向那些能让本国公司受益的项目提供贷款。

As the criticism mounted – and the demand for commodities cooled – Beijing promised to encourage investments in other African sectors, particularly manufacturing and banking. Said and done: First Automotive Works, one of China’s largest car parts companies, opened a plant this year in South Africa; shoe producers have set up shop in Ethiopia; and Kenyan banks are building relationships with China’s state-owned financial institutions.

随着批评的声音越来越多，而对大宗商品的需求降低，北京方面承诺鼓励对非洲其他领域进行投资，尤其是制造业和银行业。说到做到：中国大型汽车公司之一一汽(FAW)今年在南非设立了一家工厂；制鞋企业已在埃塞俄比亚设立工厂；肯尼亚的银行开始与中国国有金融机构建立关系。

In May, China created a $2bn fund in partnership with the African Development Bank and announced that it would open the resulting contracts to the most suitable bidder – not just Chinese companies.

今年5月，中国与非洲开发银行(African Development Bank)合作建立了一个20亿美元的基金，并宣布将把合同授予最合适的竞标方——而不仅仅是中资企业。

Even if some of these measures are largely symbolic, they appear to have succeeded at quieting the critics. Little wonder, then, that Africa Inc is still in love with China – despite the overtures from Mr Obama and others.

尽管上述措施中有些主要是象征性的，但它们似乎成功地安抚了批评者。难怪，尽管面对奥巴马等西方领导人释放的善意，“非洲公司”(Africa Inc)仍倾慕中国。