中國在非影響力很難超越

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•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)今年主持召開了首屆美非峯會。隨着歐非峯會的舉行、以及日本首相在近10年內第一次出訪撒哈拉以南非洲地區，種種跡象表明：發達經濟體正在再度大力強化對非關係。

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.

他們這麼做的潛臺詞是，美國、歐盟和日本都想抗衡中國在非洲日益擴大的商業影響力。如今，非洲經濟增速居於全球第二位。美國總統和他的西方同僚們成功了嗎？簡言之，沒有。

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.

在本週召開的首屆英國《金融時報》非洲峯會上，6家在非洲業務量很大的公司——所在行業從銀行到電信，從大宗商品到消費品——的首席執行官被問及，哪個外來大國在非洲打出最漂亮的牌？他們的回答是一致的：中國仍佔上風，而且優勢十分明顯。

“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.

“中國做得非常棒，因爲他們帶來了耐心資本，具有長遠眼光，”總部位於內羅畢的消費者集團Bidco的首席執行官馬爾•沙阿(Vimal Shah)說。“他們不發號施令，告訴你該如何治理自己的國家，”他補充道。

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)的南非籍首席執行官伊凡•格拉森伯格(Ivan Glasenberg)說：“中國正對非洲大舉投資……他們在基礎設施方面投入很大。”

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.”

尼日利亞Access Bank掌舵人赫伯特•維格維(Herbert Wigwe)呼應了共識觀點。他說：“我差不多去過非洲所有國家——至少50個。中國在非洲的影響力與日俱增，他們找對了門路。”

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.

中國在非洲的影響力仍勝過其他國家，或許並不出人意料。中非貿易額已從2000年的不到100億美元增加至去年的逾2000億美元，超過美國和當年在非洲有殖民地的歐洲大國。北京方面向非洲提供的低息信貸源源不斷，同時也保持了不干涉政治事務的政策。

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，其他國家甚至無法縮小與中國之間的差距，尤其是在今年非洲內外的批評令北京方面受到壓力之後。這些批評的矛頭指向中國的“支票薄”政策——向非洲國家提供貸款，而貸款資金在很大程度上造福於中國的建設集團。

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，中國似乎巧妙地勝過了對手們，在近幾個月裏採取一些措施——有些是象徵性的，也有些是實質性的——以安撫非洲的批評人士。

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，中國官員承認犯了一些錯誤。中國央行行長周小川在一次非洲財長與央行行長會議上承認，有些中非交易“不太好，不太令人滿意”，這是中方最坦誠的認錯之一。

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.

中國總理李克強在今年首次出訪非洲時承認，中非關係存在“成長的煩惱”。此類言論在那些幻想破滅的官員聽來，就像音樂一樣動聽。

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.

中國已開始應對更重大的批評：即中國只對非洲的大宗商品感興趣，只向那些能讓本國公司受益的項目提供貸款。

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.

隨着批評的聲音越來越多，而對大宗商品的需求降低，北京方面承諾鼓勵對非洲其他領域進行投資，尤其是製造業和銀行業。說到做到：中國大型汽車公司之一一汽(FAW)今年在南非設立了一家工廠；製鞋企業已在埃塞俄比亞設立工廠；肯尼亞的銀行開始與中國國有金融機構建立關係。

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，中國與非洲開發銀行(African Development Bank)合作建立了一個20億美元的基金，並宣佈將把合同授予最合適的競標方——而不僅僅是中資企業。

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.

儘管上述措施中有些主要是象徵性的，但它們似乎成功地安撫了批評者。難怪，儘管面對奧巴馬等西方領導人釋放的善意，“非洲公司”(Africa Inc)仍傾慕中國。