Should the U.S. block investment by Chinese companies in America until China opens its market wider to U.S. business?
中国进一步向美国企业放开市场之前，美国是不是应该封杀中国企业在美国的投资？
That idea, which is popping up in some trade circles, derives from the well-known principle of reciprocity -- in this case, doing unto others as they do unto you. It generally guides trade pacts, including those governing the U.S. and China, in the form of rules intended to produce mutual benefit.
这是贸易圈一些人的想法。它源自著名的互惠原则，放到这里就是以其人之道还治其人之身。这个原则总体上对各种贸易协定（包括中美之间的协定）起到了指导作用，具体体现于一些旨在增进双方利益的规则。
But the U.S. has few tools, and no bilateral treaty, to help companies get past China's restrictions on investment -- buying or building operations in China. Why not use access to America's market as leverage? Or so goes the argument.
但美国没有多少工具、没有双边条约来帮助企业突破中国的投资限制，在中国收购或建设运营机构。那么为什么不把美国市场的准入作为一个手段来用呢？大概就是这样一个推理。
The subject even came up when Vice President Joe Biden was getting briefed for his last trip to China, according to one attendee. Mr. Biden's office declined to comment.
据一位随从说，副总统拜登(Joe Biden)在为他上次访华听取情况通报时，这个话题就被提了出来。拜登办公室拒绝置评。
Forcing reciprocity on another country is controversial for a number of reasons. But it's getting some attention because Chinese direct investment in the U.S. is rising. This year, it's expected to hit roughly $8 billion -- an annual record and up from $11 million in 2000, says Rhodium Group, which tracks investment.
出于多种原因，向他国强加互惠原则是有争议的。但由于中国赴美直接投资日益增加，这个原则引起了一定的关注。跟踪投资情况的Rhodium Group说，预计今年中国对美直接投资将达到80亿美元左右，创下年度纪录，远高于2000年的1,100万美元。
China has invested a total of about $23 billion in energy, entertainment and other sectors in the U.S. By comparison, U.S. companies have more than three times that invested in China, according to Rhodium. But American companies have long argued that, in a fair world, their stake would be much bigger.
据Rhodium数据，中国在美国能源、娱乐等行业总共投资了230亿美元左右。相比之下，美国企业在中国的投资是这个数字的三倍多。但美国商界很久以来就说，如果投资环境公平，他们的投资数额本会大大高于实际水平。
In a study out this month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce describes a labyrinthine approval process for investment in China that favors domestic companies and inhibits foreign access. The report recommends that China adopt the 'principle of reciprocity' by, in part, eliminating investment reviews that the U.S. doesn't have.
美国商会(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)在本月公布的一份研究报告中说，中国的投资审批流程偏袒国内企业、阻碍外资进入，复杂得跟迷宫一样。报告建议中国采用“互惠原则”，一部分具体做法就是取消美国所没有的投资审查。
Tougher notions of reciprocity, though, have proponents on the left and the right, at home and abroad. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, wants a more severe approach and has asked the administration to actually block the acquisition of Canada's Nexen Inc, which has assets in the U.S., by China's oil giant Cnooc. Mr. Schumer says he first wants 'reciprocal treatment' for U.S. companies doing business in China.
但更强硬的互惠主义主张在左派、右派、国内、国外都有反对者。纽约州民主党参议员舒默(Charles Schumer)希望采用一种更严厉的方针，并曾要求政府封杀石油巨头中国海洋石油(Cnooc)对加拿大尼克森公司(Nexen Inc)的收购。尼克森在美国拥有资产。舒默说，他希望在华经营的美国企业先得到“互惠待遇”。
'When people say we don't have any leverage over China, well, yes we do, ' adds Derek Scissors, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation who previously counseled companies on doing business in China. 'You might want to remind them that access to our market just may not be approved.'
保守组织传统基金会(Heritage Foundation)经济学家史剑道(Derek Scissors)曾为在华经营的美国企业提供咨询。他说，人们说我们对中国没有任何手段可用，其实我们是有的；可以提醒他们：要进入我们的市场，可能根本就得不到批准。
Canada has delayed approving Cnooc's purchase of Nexen until it gets additional information. The country's prime minister, meanwhile, has stated that China has 'virtually unrestricted' access to Canada while Canadian investment is often blocked in China. He has also publicly mused about the virtues of reciprocity.
加拿大已推迟中海油收购尼克森的审批，以了解进一步情况。与此同时，加拿大总理曾称中国在该国享有“几乎不受限制”的准入，而加拿大在中国的投资却常被阻拦。他还在公开场合斟酌过互惠原则的好处。
The European Commission, meanwhile, has proposed requiring that government procurement rules be reciprocal. It has China chiefly in mind. European Union member nations would have to approve the proposal, and some are notably opposed.
与此同时，欧盟委员会(European Commission)已经拟要求政府采购规定具有互惠性。它这一做法的主要着眼点是中国。欧盟委员会的这一提议必须获得欧盟各成员国的批准才能生效，而一些成员国明确反对该提议。
In the U.S., potential national-security and other concerns recently scuttled both Sany Group's desire to buy a wind farm near restricted military airspace in Oregon and Superior Aviation Beijing Co.'s proposal to buy Hawker Beechcraft, which has some defense business. A congressional report also warned that China's Huawei and ZTE telecom companies pose security risks.
在美国，出于政府对国家安全的担心以及其他方面的一些担忧，中国三一集团(Sany Group)收购俄勒冈州一处风电场的交易以及北京卓越航空(Superior Aviation Beijing Co.)拟收购豪客比奇公司(Hawker Beechcraft Inc.)的交易最近双双告吹。该风电场附近的空域受军事管制，而豪客比奇公司有一些国防业务。美国国会的一份报告还警告说，中国的电信设备生产企业华为(Huawei)和中兴(ZTE)有可能使美国的国家安全面临风险。
These problem transactions represent a small portion of China's total deals in the U.S. and weren't evidently made in the form of hidden reciprocity. But it didn't appear that way to some abroad. 'There is a lot of hostility and prejudice in the U.S. against Chinese investors, ' said Xiang Wenbo, Sany's president.
这些发生问题的交易只占中国在美并购交易的一小部分，并且无法明显看出这些交易的成功会为美国在中国的类似交易打开方便之门。但一些海外人士却并不这么认为。三一重工的总裁向文波说，美国有许多针对中国投资者的敌意和歧视。
Of course, one man's reciprocity is another's protectionism. This is a slippery slope.
当然，在一方看来是以牙还牙的事情，在另一方看来就是保护主义。双方的冤冤相报一旦开始将很难收场。
For that reason, U.S. multinationals shy away from the idea. They're worried that China will retaliate against their existing business and erect additional hurdles to investment. Current U.S. law essentially limits government oversight of foreign investment to projects affecting national security, and companies want to keep it that way.
正因为如此，美国的跨国公司都不赞成给中国赴美投资设置障碍。这些公司担心，中国会对它们的现有在华业务进行报复并为它们在华投资设置新的障碍。事实上，美国目前的法律规定限制了政府对外国在美投资可影响国家安全的项目所进行的监督。美国企业想继续保持这种局面。
'We let Chinese investment into the U.S. because it's good for us, ' says Rhodium's Dan Rosen, who worked in the White House on China's accession to the World Trade Organization. 'The benefits are job creation and the tax base. Reciprocity isn't something we should do. Why abandon our principles of economic liberalism and play their game?'
Rhodium Group的罗森(Dan Rosen)说，我们让中国投资进入美国，因为这对美国有利。罗森当年在白宫任职时曾从事过中国加入世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization)的相关工作。他说，中国对美国投资能给美国创造就业，增加税收；以牙还牙不是我们应该做的事，我们为什么要抛弃自己的经济自由主义原则而按中国的游戏规则行事呢？
'It would be cutting off your nose to spite your face, ' concludes Tim Keeler, a former chief of staff to the U.S. trade representative in the George W. Bush administration.
基勒(Tim Keeler)曾在小布什(George W. Bush)当政时期担任美国贸易代表的幕僚长，他总结说，这样做将是因一时不冷静而干出损害自己的事情。
Besides, not every U.S. company is complaining. In a survey of American companies in China by the US-China Business Council, 90% of respondents said they are optimistic or somewhat optimistic about business prospects in China over the next five years.
此外，也并非所有的美国公司都在抱怨中国的投资环境。美国中国商会(US-China Business Council)针对在华经营的美国公司进行的一项调查显示，90%的受访企业称他们对未来五年的在华商业前景持“乐观”或“较为乐观”的态度。
Hoyt Harper, head of global brand management for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, says his chain has 54 properties in China and 50 more slated to open in the next few years. 'It just continues to grow.'
喜来登度假酒店(Sheraton Hotels &Resorts)的全球品牌管理负责人哈珀(Hoyt Harper)说，这家连锁酒店在中国有54座酒店及度假村，未来几年还计划再开50座。他说，公司的在华业务在继续增长。
Still, a lot of companies, such as big U.S. manufacturers and financial-services companies that compete directly with China's state-owned enterprises, aren't so lucky. They could use some help.
不过，许多美国公司的运气就没有这么好了，比如那些直接与中国国有企业竞争的大型制造企业和金融服务企业。它们可能需要得到一些帮助。
China's companies are just beginning their search for growth abroad.
中国企业刚刚开始向海外市场寻求增长。
What's clear is that U.S. leverage is certain to grow.
显而易见的一点是，美国手里对付中国的筹码在增多。
What isn't clear is how, or whether, the U.S. will use it.
而不清楚的一点是，美国是否以及会怎样使用这些筹码。
John Bussey
John Bussey
(John Bussey writes The Business, a weekly column on trends and forces shaping business around the world.)
（编者按：本文作者John Bussey是《华尔街日报》The Business栏目的专栏作家，该栏目主要关注塑造全球商业的趋势和力量。
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