对美投资频受挫 中美贸易关系趋紧

A series of scuttled deals is rankling Chinese firms trying to invest in U.S. businesses and throwing fuel on an increasingly tense trade relationship between the world's two largest economies.

一系列以失败告终的交易令试图投资美国企业的中资公司痛苦不已，并开始加剧中美这两个世界最大经济体之间日益紧张的贸易关系。

In the latest failed deal, Hawker Beechcraft Inc.'s plan to sell itself to a Chinese firm fell apart amid concerns about potential U.S. government national-security objections and difficulties separating its defense aerospace operations from other businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.

据知情人士透露，在最新一桩失败的交易中，由于担心美国政府可能以国家安全为由予以反对，以及难以将公司的防务航空航天业务与其他业务分离开来，豪客比奇(Hawker Beechcraft Inc.)将自己出售给一家中国公司的计划化为泡影。

U.S. government hurdles also stymied other recent deals, including a Chinese firm's wind-power project in Oregon and the attempted sale of battery maker A123 Systems Inc. to a Chinese auto-parts manufacturer. Officials from Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. also are fuming over a congressional report that warned U.S. businesses against working with the two companies.

美国政府设置的障碍还阻挠了最近其他一些交易，包括一家中国公司在俄勒冈州的风电项目，以及一家中国汽车零部件生产商收购电池生产商A123 Systems Inc.的计划。此外，中国电信公司华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)和中兴通讯股份有限公司(ZTE Corp.)的管理人士还对美国国会的一份报告大为不满。该报告警告美国企业不要与这两家公司合作。

The troubled deals stand apart from a trend of steadily rising Chinese investment in the U.S. But they're occurring as the two major candidates for president are competing over who would be tougher on China and China's leadership is about to change, raising the perceived significance of each failure. The debate risks exacerbating trade tensions between the two countries and creating a backlash against U.S. corporations trying to invest in China.

虽然有交易受挫，但中国对美国的投资依然稳步增加。不过，这些交易正值两位美国总统候选人争着对中国表现出更加强硬的立场，且中国领导人也即将换届，这就使每一桩交易的失败显得更加事关重大。美国总统候选人的辩论可能会令两国之间的贸易关系变得更加紧张，进而使试图投资中国的美国公司也遭遇中方的反对。

Mei Xinyu, a researcher under the Ministry of Commerce's Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the wind-farm decision undermines efforts by U.S. officials to court Chinese investors. 'I don't know what signal [President] Obama is trying to give to foreign investors around the world. Maybe it is 'come to invest in the U.S. and you will end up pant-less and penniless,' ' said Mr. Mei.

中国商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院研究员梅新育说，风电项目上的决定破坏了美国官员试图吸引中国投资者的努力。他说：我不知道美国总统奥巴马是想向全球的外国投资者传递一个什么样的信号，或许是想说“投资美国的下场就是落得个倾家荡产。

Still, the latest cases appear to be exceptions. Wanxiang Group signaled on Thursday that it planned a new offer for electric-car battery maker A123 Systems. Its original $465 million deal for 80% of the company fell apart amid congressional opposition. Few foreign-investment deals fail outright due to U.S. national-security objections raised through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a government panel that reviews sensitive acquisitions. Just 5% of the 313 CFIUS-reviewed transactions between 2010 and 2010 forced changes to the deal. U.S. officials say the process doesn't discriminate based on the country of a company trying to invest in the U.S.

尽管如此，这些最新的交易似乎只是例外。万向集团(Wanxiang Group)周四表示，该公司为电动汽车电池生产商A123 Systems准备了一份新的收购计划。由于美国国会的反对，万向集团最初斥资4.65亿美元收购A123 Systems 80%股权的交易失败。几乎没有外国投资交易纯粹因为美国海外投资委员会(Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States)以美国国家安全为由提出反对而失败。美国海外投资委员会是一个负责评估敏感收购案的政府委员会。在2010年至2010年该委员会评估的313桩交易中，只有5%的交易被迫做出调整。美国官员说，这个过程不会因计划投资美国的公司所在国而存在歧视。

'The perception in China is that the U.S. market is difficult to invest in, that CFIUS is knocking down all these deals,' said Timothy J. Keeler, a partner at Mayer Brown LLPin Washington and former U.S. trade official. Thanks to overall increased China investment in the U.S., it isn't surprising to see 'an increase in the number of deals that run into problems even though the number is relatively small,'' the lawyer added.

律师行Mayer Brown LLP驻华盛顿合伙人、前美国贸易官员基勒(Timothy J. Keeler)说，中国国内认为美国市场难以投资，他们认为美国海外投资委员会会反对所有这类交易。这位律师还说，由于中国对美国总体投资增加，所以碰到问题的交易数量也增加（尽管数目相对较小），这并不让人感到意外。

Still, Chinese companies keen to take part in U.S. sectors such as telecommunications, energy and information technology can still expect significant U.S. opposition, he suggested.

但他表示，渴望涉足美国电信、能源和信息技术等行业的中国公司可能仍会遭遇到美方的强烈反对。

The latest cases all have clear national-security issues behind them. Hawker's talks with Superior Aviation Beijing Co. ran into trouble when the two struggled to find a way to separate Hawker's defense business from its corporate jet and propeller plane businesses. At one point, Hawker suggested Superior delay taking ownership of certain assets that had ties to the defense business while they were 'cleansed,' but Superior wasn't comfortable with the proposal, the people said.

这些最新的案例背后都有明显的国家安全问题。豪客比奇和北京卓越航空工业有限公司(Superior Aviation Beijing Co.)难以想出办法将豪客比奇防务业务与公司商务机和螺旋桨飞机业务分离开来，双方的谈判随之陷入困境。知情人士说，豪客比奇曾有一度建议，在某些与防务业务有关的资产被“净化之际，卓越航空推迟获得这些资产的所有权，但卓越航空对这一提议不满意。

Superior Aviation had spent the summer trying to buy Hawker out of bankruptcy for $1.79 billion. The talks were complicated by Hawker's defense business, which sells military training and attack aircraft to U.S. and foreign governments. Ultimately, the two weren't certain a deal would get U.S. government clearance, the people familiar with the discussions said.

卓越航空在刚刚过去的这个夏天试图以17.9亿美元的价格收购豪客比奇，以避免后者破产。双方的谈判因豪客比奇的国防业务而变得复杂。豪客比奇向美国和外国政府出售军事训练和攻击机。据了解谈判的知情人士透露，最终两家公司也不确定这宗交易是否能得到美国政府的批准。

Other snags also emerged. Advisers in the U.S. had trouble negotiating with Chinese representatives unfamiliar with U.S. finance and bankruptcy law, and translating documents also made discussions more difficult, said people familiar with the matter.

另外也存在其它问题。据知情人士介绍，美方顾问在同不熟悉美国金融和破产法案的中方代表进行谈判时存在障碍，而文件翻译也令双方的谈判变得更加困难。

Hawker disclosed the failed sale talks on Thursday and said it would try to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy protection as an independent company.

豪客比奇周四披露了双方谈判破裂的消息，并称该公司将试图进行重组并作为一家独立公司脱离破产保护。

In the recent case involving an Oregon wind farm, President Obama rejected the deal under national-security grounds because the project was near restricted military airspace. Sany Group, whose affiliate Ralls Corp. pursued the wind-power project, is now suing the U.S. government.

在最近一宗涉及俄勒冈州风电场的交易中，美国总统奥巴马以可能危害国家安全为由否决了这笔交易，因为该项目位于军事禁区附近。三一集团(Sany Group)目前正在起诉美国政府，此前正是其关联企业Ralls Corp.打算收购这个风电项目。

'There is a lot of hostility and prejudice in the U.S. against Chinese investors,' said Xiang Wenbo, president of Sany.

三一重工总裁向文波说，美国对中国投资者存有很多敌意和偏见。

Administration officials insist they want foreign investment in the U.S., particularly from firms that will invest in American communities and create jobs to bolster the struggling labor market. When the Obama administration announced the wind-farm decision, it emphasized that the case 'isn't a precedent with regard to any other foreign direct investment from China or any other country.'

美国政府官员则坚持说，他们希望外国企业在美国投资，尤其是那些将在美国社区投资并创造就业机会以提振陷入困境的劳动力市场的企业。当奥巴马政府宣布其关于上述风电场项目的决定时，它强调无论是对来自中国还是其它任何一个国家的外国直接投资而言，这一决定都不构成一个可循之先例。

Chinese investment in the U.S. has been on the rise in recent years, with efforts by the U.S. state governments in particular helping break down perceptions that the U.S. is off-limits to Chinese investors. Chinese investment in the U.S. rose 18% last year to $3.8 billion, according to Commerce Department data. Rhodium Group, a New York consulting firm that closely tracks Chinese outward investment, estimates that Chinese firms could invest up to $8 billion in the U.S. this year, clearing the previous record of $5.8 billion invested in 2010, and well up from $2 billion in 2005.

近年来中国在美国的投资数量一直呈上升趋势，这其中美国各州政府努力打破“美国不欢迎中国投资者这一理念的作用尤为重要。美国商务部的数据表明，中国去年在美国的投资额增长了18%，至38亿美元。纽约一家密切追踪中国对外投资的咨询公司Rhodium Group估计，今年中资企业对美投资总额可能高达80亿美元，打破2010年创下的58亿美元的记录，远高于2005年20亿美元的水平。

Deal makers involved in potential U.S. acquisitions or investments by Chinese companies say those firms, in an effort to avoid conflicts with U.S. regulators, are going after smaller, less than $500 million investments that are more likely to fly under the radar, and aiming for joint ventures or less formal partnerships rather than all-out acquisitions. Deals involving less-sensitive business are getting done. This year's acquisition of AMC Entertainment Inc. for $2.6 billion by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Groups was the largest ever investment to date by a Chinese company in the U.S. entertainment industry.

涉足中资企业在美国发起的潜在收购交易或投资的交易撮合人说，为了避免同美国监管机构发生冲突，这些企业通常选择规模较孝不到5亿美元且容易避开监管机构关注的投资。同时相比全资收购，他们通常会选择成立合资企业或以不太正式的合伙制组建公司。那些涉及业务不太敏感的交易都获得了通过。大连万达集团股份有限公司(Dalian Wanda Groups)今年斥资26亿美元收购AMC Entertainment Inc.是迄今为止中资企业在美国娱乐业进行的最大一笔投资。

Chinese buyers also are stepping up their investments apart from the U.S., targeting Canadian and European companies. Deal makers say Chinese firms have become sophisticated in merger and acquisitions, but still can be more difficult to deal with than other Asian counterparts, in part because of the multiple levels of approvals needed.

中国买家也正在加紧扩大投资范围。除了美国，他们还盯上了加拿大和欧洲的企业。交易撮合人说，中资企业在并购业务上变得越发老练。但和亚洲其它国家的企业相比，中资企业在进行交易时碰到的困难也更多，部分原因是交易所需的层层审批。

Those procedural hurdles could thwart more Chinese companies trying to do big deals in the U.S.

这些程序上的障碍可能阻止更多中资企业在美进行大宗交易。

'More companies in China will not try to undertake investments in America' because they can't afford the long delays involved, said Matthew Slaughter, a management professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business.

达特茅斯学院塔克商学院(Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business)管理学教授斯劳特(Matthew Slaughter)说，今后越来越多的中资企业不会试图在美国进行投资，因为旷日持久的拖延令他们无法承受。

Chinese businesses used to spend several months getting the go-ahead from U.S. regulators, said Mr. Slaughter, who advises some Chinese concerns about doing business here. But now, 'it's stretching out to a calendar year. The American policy process is slow.''

斯劳特说，中资企业过去一般要花几个月的时间获得美国监管机构的审批，现在这一时间已经延长到一年，美国的政策审批过程非常缓慢。斯劳特目前给部分中资企业提供在美经商咨询服务。