“新丝绸之路”

The New Silk Road connecting modern Asian and Middle Eastern trade and investment flows has been well trodden for years now.

“新丝绸之路近年来热闹非凡，这是现代连接亚洲和中东贸易投资往来的通道。

The symbiotic relationship between the oil-producers of the Gulf and the fast-growing economies of Asia, led by China, is starting to turn over the western-dominated business landscape of the Middle East.

海湾地区的产油国和以中国为首、快速增长的亚洲经济体之间的这种共生关系，正开始颠覆中东地区由西方主导的商业格局。

As trade volumes rise and Asian corporations increasingly move to the Middle East, banks are following.

随着贸易量上升以及亚洲企业越来越多地进入中东，银行也不甘落后。

If talks to sign a Gulf-China free-trade pact are successful, the pace could pick up even more next year.

如果海湾地区与中国的自由贸易协定谈判成功，那么明年贸易往来将进一步增加。

But Asian banks are playing catch up as most US and European institutions have been established in the Gulf for years, if not decades.

但亚洲的银行还在追赶——大多数美国和欧洲银行在海湾地区已经立足数年、乃至数十年之久。

In the Dubai International Financial Centre, only 11 per cent of the financial hub’s tenants are Asian.

在迪拜国际金融中心(DIFC)，只有11%的租户来自亚洲。

“Asia is very high on our priority list of growth countries, says Jeff Singer, chief executive of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority.

“亚洲国家是我们非常注重的增长型国家，迪拜国际金融中心管理局首席执行官杰夫·辛格(Jeff Singer)表示。

“We are seeing heightened interest in trade between China and Africa – and Dubai is the natural location for many of these organisations to establish their regional hubs, including logistics, trade as well as finance sectors.

“我们注意到，中国与非洲之间的贸易正在引起更多兴趣，而迪拜的地理位置得天独厚，是物流、贸易和金融等行业机构设立地区中心的理想之地。

China’s largest bank by assets, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, opened at the DIFC in 2008.

按资产额计为中国第一大银行的中国工商银行(ICBC)于2008年在DIFC开设分行。

The country’s second largest bank, Agricultural Bank of China, incorporated with the DIFC last month.

中国第二大银行中国农业银行(ABC)已于上月入驻DIFC。

The slow start is partly because the DIFC’s regulator signed data sharing pacts with European and US counterparts before it signed similar agreements with Chinese and Singaporean regulators in 2008.

亚洲银行较晚进入中东的部分原因是，DIFC的监管机构先与欧洲和美国的监管当局签署了数据共享协议，但直到2008年才与中国和新加坡的监管机构签署类似协议。

Chinese banks are testing the water in these new markets.

中资银行正在试水这些新市常

“Chinese banks are adopting a softly, softly approach. These are Herculean sized banks in China and they don’t go overseas with a cavalier approach, says Tim Evans, Dubai-based head of Global Trade Receivables Finance for HSBC in the Middle East and north Africa (Mena).

“中资银行十分谨慎。它们在中国都是巨型银行，但在国外没有采取冒进的策略。汇丰银行(HSBC)全球贸易与应收账款融资部常驻迪拜的中东与北非区负责人蒂姆·埃文斯(Tim Evans)表示。

“They are deliberate and methodical, coming here to learn, like the companies before them – they start small, find their key counterparties, and gradually build up from there, he says.

“它们小心翼翼、有条不紊，抱着学习的态度，就像在它们之前的那些公司一样——它们从小做起，找到重要的对手方，渐渐地做大做强，他说。

Contractors have been the highest profile representatives of corporate China, with trade and logistics companies also making headway.

在这里，中国企业中最为人所知的就是承包商，而贸易和物流公司也在取得发展。

“Large Chinese customers operating overseas, for now, are still developing their knowledge of this environment and they need a bank to help them navigate the region, says Mr Evans of HSBC, which hires Mandarin speakers to set up China desks in its Dubai offices to help meet these client needs.

“目前，在海外经营的中国大客户仍然在努力深化对当地环境的了解，因此需要银行来帮助它们探索这一地区，埃文斯说。汇丰雇佣了会说汉语普通话的员工，在迪拜办事处成立中国柜台，以满足这些客户的需要。

Dealing with legal and regulatory issues in a new jurisdiction remains a big headache for these new investors. Almost two-thirds express concern about such problems, according to a survey of Chinese investors published by law firm Latham and Watkins.

在新国家应对法律和监管问题仍然是这些新投资者要面对的一大难题。瑞生(Latham and Watkins)律师事务所针对中国投资者的一项调查显示，近三分之二的受访者对此类问题表示担忧。

Over the next two years, 80 per cent of surveyed investors see trade growth and 65 per cent expect significant investment growth in Chinese activity into the Middle East and north Africa.

在被问及今后两年的前景时，受访者中有80%认为双边贸易将取得增长，有65%预计中国在中东和北非的投资将大幅增长。

The survey revealed that 85 per cent believe that mergers and acquisitions will be the main form of Chinese investment. A similar percentage believed that Dubai would emerge as the hub for these flows.

调查显示，85%的受访者认为并购将是中国投资的主要形式。比例相当的受访者认为迪拜将成为这些投资交易的中心。

Trade between the United Arab Emirates and China flourishes, with some of the more optimistic forecasts suggesting it could more than treble to reach about $100bn by 2015.

阿联酋与中国之间的双边贸易一派繁荣，有较为乐观的预测认为，阿中贸易额到2015年将增加两倍以上，达1000亿美元左右。

While European banks and tourists have withdrawn from the region amid debt woes at home, Asian companies and visitors are on the up.

在欧洲银行和游客因本国债务问题而纷纷远离中东之际，进入中东地区的亚洲企业和游客却呈上升趋势。

Jebel Ali Free Zone, the large logistics park on the outskirts of Dubai and that contributes about a fifth of the emirate’s economic output, has seen the number of Chinese companies double to 130 over the past five years.

杰贝阿里自由区(Jebel Ali Free Zone)是位于迪拜市郊的大型物流园区，贡献了阿联酋经济产出的五分之一。该园区的中国公司数量在过去五年内翻了一番，达到130家。

The logistics zone next to the Dubai’s main port will this year channel a third of the UAE’s bilateral trade with China.

今年，阿联酋与中国双边贸易额的三分之一将经由这个毗陵迪拜主要港口的物流园区处理。

Dubai may be approaching a renewed building boom but, since the real estate crash of 2008, the few building sites in operation have often been handled by Chinese contractors.

迪拜或许将迎来新一轮建筑热潮，但自2008年经历房地产崩盘之后，目前为数不多的建筑工地往往都被中国承包商包揽。

The top energy projects remain the domain of western contractors, while mid-level developments such as airports are becoming the domain of Turkish interests.

顶级能源项目仍然是西方承包商的天下，而机场等中等水平的项目开发领域正在成为土耳其公司的地盘。

Civil works across the region, however, are increasingly carried out by Chinese contractors.

不过，中东地区的市政工程却越来越多地由中国承包商承建。

The UAE’s decision in 2009 to award the $20bn contract to build nuclear power plants to South Korea has proved a decisive factor in fostering relations with Seoul and, thereby, another strong Asian economy. South Korean industrial conglomerate Doosan Heavy has said that half its power unit’s revenues are generated by projects in the Middle East.

阿联酋2009年决定将价值200亿美元的核电站建设合同授予韩国方面，最终成为促进该国与韩国政府关系——以及与亚洲另一大经济体关系——的决定性因素。韩国工业集团斗山重工(Doosan Heavy)表示，其电力部门的营收有一半来自中东的项目。

“We are aggressively promoting and supporting the Asian-Mena trade corridor – you just have to look at the growth in south-south trade, says Mr Evans. “It’s China into India, India into the Middle East and onwards to Africa and Latin America, he adds. “The UAE and Dubai are very well placed to capture those flows.

“我们在积极推动和支持亚洲-中东北非贸易走廊——看看南南贸易的增长就明白了，埃文斯说，“贸易从中国流向印度，从印度流向中东，再流向非洲和拉丁美洲，他补充道，“阿联酋和迪拜在获取这些贸易流动方面具有得天独厚的优势。