英財相是加入亞投行決定的主要推手

George Osborne overrode strong objections from the Foreign Office when he made the controversial decision to join China’s Asian Infrastructure bank, the Financial Times has learnt.

英國《金融時報》瞭解到，英國財政大臣喬治•奧斯本(George Osborne)在做出加入中國的亞洲基礎設施投資銀行(AIIB)這一爭議性決定時，克服了外交部(Foreign Office)的強烈反對。

Officials in China and the UK have told the FT the chancellor rejected the concerns of British diplomats, who warned that the decision would alienate allies in Japan and the US. Mr Osborne only secured support for his stance by raising the issue at a meeting of the National Security Council, at which the prime minister gave his assent.

中英兩國官員告訴英國《金融時報》，這位財政大臣拒絕接受英國外交官們擔心的問題，後者警告稱，該決定將疏遠英國與盟友日本以及美國之間的關係。奧斯本在英國國家安全委員會(National Security Council)的會議上提出該問題才獲得了支持，英國首相在會上對他的立場予以了肯定。

The announcement that Britain would join the bank, which some people n the US see as a rival to the Washington-based World Bank, was quickly criticised by the Obama administration. But the government in London felt vindicated by the later decision of six other European countries to follow suit.

英國將加入亞投行的決定很快招來了奧巴馬(Obama)政府的批評。美國有些人把亞投行視爲設在華盛頓的世界銀行(World Bank)的對手。但後來又有6個其他歐洲國家做出同樣決定，令英國政府感覺自己的做法是正確的。

The FT has learnt that the decision was taken only days before the announcement, at a meeting of the NSC, the most senior foreign policy body in the coalition government. Officials in Beijing and London believed until the last minute that opposition from the Foreign Office would prove insurmountable.

英國《金融時報》瞭解到，該決定是在消息公佈幾天之前、在國家安全委員會的一次會議上做出的。國家安全委員會是聯合政府中權力最大的外交政策機構。中英兩國官員直到最後一刻都認爲，來自英國外交部的反對會是不可克服的。

One person with knowledge of the meeting said Mr Osborne had persuaded ministers and defence chiefs that the commercial benefits of such a deal outweighed possible ructions.

一位瞭解該次會議的人士表示，奧斯本使衆位大臣和防務高官相信，這一協議的商業利益大過可能帶來的吵嚷。

The row is the latest sign of Mr Osborne’s activism in foreign policy, which has exacerbated old tensions between the Treasury and the Foreign Office. The chancellor has taken a prominent role in NSC discussions, frequently pushing for a mercantilist foreign policy that puts trade at the centre of decision making. He has been backed in this by David Cameron, the prime minister, who last year led the UK’s largest ever trade delegation to China.

這次爭論是奧斯本積極介入外交政策領域的最新跡象之一。這已加劇了財政部與外交部之間的舊有緊張關係。這位財政大臣在國家安全委員會的討論中發揮了主導作用，不斷地推行將貿易置於決策核心地位的重商主義外交政策。在這一方面，他得到了英國首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)的支持。去年，卡梅倫率領英國史上規模最大的貿易代表團訪問了中國。

But this shift away from traditional diplomacy to commercial activism has irritated old hands in the Foreign Office, who say valuable political intelligence is being missed. Some diplomats say this policy change is to blame for the government’s failure to spot trends such as the rise of Islamist extremists in the Middle East, or Russian aggression in Ukraine — Number 10 says that few other western powers spotted these. China is yet to decide where to locate a European office of the AIIB, with London, Frankfurt and Luxembourg vying for the honour.

但是，從傳統外交轉向商業激進主義，惹惱了外交部的老手們。他們表示，珍貴的政治智慧不見了。有些外交官表示，這一政策轉變應歸咎於英國政府未能發現伊斯蘭極端分子在中東崛起、或者俄羅斯侵入烏克蘭等趨勢。唐寧街10號表示，其他西方強國也沒有幾個發現這些趨勢。中國尚未決定將亞投行的歐洲辦事處設在哪裏，倫敦、法蘭克福和盧森堡都在爲此展開爭奪。

The Treasury said: “The decision to become a prospective founding member of the AIIB was a collective government decision, agreed across all the relevant departments.” Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, had been persuaded by the safeguards offered by China over governance and political interference, an FO official said.

英國財政部表示：“成爲亞投行意向創始成員國的決定，是英國政府的集體決定，得到了所有相關部門的認同。”一位外交部官員表示，外交大臣菲利普•哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)已被中國提出的治理和政治干預方面的防護措施所勸服。

Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of HSBC, endorsed the UK stance yesterday saying: “The best way to improve an institution is to participate.”

匯豐(HSBC)行政總裁歐智華(Stuart Gulliver)昨日對英國立場予以了支持。他表示：“完善一個機構的最佳方式就是參與進去。”