中国最大银行向阿里巴巴宣战

As Alibaba prepares for a listing in the U.S. that could raise as much as $15 billion, it's also in a full-blown, potentially dangerous conflict with some of China's most powerful government-backed companies.

就在阿里巴巴(Alibaba)准备赴美上市、融资至多150亿美元的时候，该公司也与中国最强大的有政府支持的几家公司爆发了激烈、甚至可能危险的冲突。

In recent years, Internet firms such as Alibaba and Tencent have begun to muscle in on territory traditionally occupied by state banks--both through offering mobile payment services as well as online investment products featuring returns superior to those offered by state banks. State banks, meanwhile, are striking back.

最近几年，阿里巴巴、腾讯(Tencent)等网络公司开始侵占传统上由国有银行占领的地盘。两公司实现这一目的的途径是提供移动支付服务，以及提供回报水平高于国有银行存款利率的网络投资产品。而国有银行也展开了反击。

The latest salvo in the standoff came this week after users of Alibaba's online investment fund -- Yu'E Bao, or 'leftover treasure' -- reported they were having trouble transferring money into the fund from accounts held with the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China's largest bank by assets. Following these reports, ICBC informed customers that it was cutting back resources needed to process such transfers.

双方最新一次交锋是在本周，之前阿里巴巴网上投资基金余额宝(Yu'E Bao)用户报告，他们把钱从中国工商银行(Industrial & Commercial Bank, 简称：工商银行)账号转到余额宝上时出现困难。中国工商银行是中国资产规模最大的银行。出现这种情况之后，工商银行告知客户，该行调低了这类转账操作的限额。

In the same statement, the bank appeared to fault Alibaba, saying that it had already had prolonged communications with Alipay, the company's online payment unit.

该行在同一则公告中似乎把责任推给了阿里巴巴，称该行已经与阿里巴巴旗下的网络支付部门支付宝(Alipay)进行了长时间的沟通。

'If Alipay coordinates properly, there will be no impact on customers,' the bank said.

该行称，如果支付宝予以适当配合，就不会对客户产生影响。

For its part, Alipay said the restrictions were imposed by ICBC and referred customers to the bank's service hotline. It also suggested customers try using a different bank account for Alipay.

支付宝方面则称，这些限制措施都是工商银行强加的，让客户去找工商银行的服务热线。另外，支付宝还建议客户尝试用另外的银行账户向支付宝转账。

The move follows on the heels of similar moves in recent months, with all four state-run banks imposing new monthly limits on the amount of money customers can transfer to mobile payment products like Alipay.

最近几个月来各银行相继出台了类似措施，所有四大国有银行都设置了客户向支付宝等移动支付产品转账的新的月度限额。

In response to such moves, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has come out swinging. 'What determines success in the market shouldn't be the monopolies and those with power, but the consumers,' he said Sunday.

面对银行的这种行动，阿里巴巴的创始人马云(Jack Ma)进行了声讨。他在周日说，决定市场胜负的不应该是垄断和权力，而是用户。

Such comments might seem like throwing stones at a wasp's nest. But Mr. Ma himself is a ferocious competitor: Alibaba is one of the few Chinese Internet companies that have managed to fight off a Western competitor--eBay--entirely on its own.

这样的言论可能看起来像是朝马蜂窝扔石头。但马云本人是个强悍的竞争者：阿里巴巴击退了eBay，是完全凭借自身力量击退西方竞争者的少数中国互联网公司之一。

Meanwhile, the company is continuing to up the ante. On Wednesday, Alibaba introduced an unusual new fund allowing Internet users to invest directly in a product that will help finance four different film projects. Though the company says it can't guarantee returns, investors should expect a 7% return from the year-long investment--and the ability to help cast the movies, it says.

与此同时，阿里巴巴继续增加自己的筹码。该公司周三宣布推出一只不同寻常的新基金，允许互联网用户直接投资一款为四部不同电影提供融资的产品。阿里巴巴称，该产品的预期年化收益率为7%，但不能担保投资者获得回报。

Li Yanli, an investor in Beijing, said she liked the fund because it was a 'cool' idea, but would be cautious. 'Since the new product won't guarantee either principal or return, I am not very sure how risky it could be,' said Ms. Li, adding that she planned to invest just a few hundred yuan 'for fun.'

北京的投资者李艳丽（音）表示，她喜欢这只基金，因为这是个“很酷”的想法，但她会很谨慎。她说：这款新产品不能保本保息，我不十分确定该产品可能有多大风险。她还说，自己打算只投资人民币几百元，只是为了好玩。

While high-profile battles such as this week's aren't unusual for China's Internet companies--public feuds between Internet executives and noisy accusations of copyright theft are common--for the most part in the past, regulators have been content to let China's Internet giants slug it out among themselves.

对中国互联网公司来说，像本周发生的这种备受瞩目的交锋并不少见，互联网公司高管之间的公开争执以及对盗版的高声指控已屡见不鲜。但在过去的大部分时间，监管部门一直愿意让中国的互联网巨头在彼此之间一决胜负。

That soon could change, though, as the feisty spirit and belligerence of the country's Internet industry runs up against a Chinese banking industry known mostly for its entrenched state-backed monopolies. After all, while Alibaba's Mr. Ma has friends in high places, the heads of China's largest banks are equally powerful.

然而，随着勇于竞争的中国互联网产业遭遇了由国有企业牢牢占据垄断地位的银行业，这种局面可能很快发生变化。虽然马云不乏政府高层的朋友，但中国最大银行的头头们同样拥有巨大权力。