中國投資可能轉變美國選民情緒

Michigan voters this week cast their lot with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders, registering the angst America’s blue-collar workers feel over globalisation, trade and China.

密歇根選民最近把自己的命運與共和黨總統競選人領跑者唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)和民主黨總統競選人角逐者伯尼•桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)綁在了一起，這表明了美國藍領工人對全球化、貿易和中國的焦慮。

But not all of them, perhaps. From his perch in America’s rust belt, Randy Adams, a 55-year-old veteran of a US motor parts industry that has endured years of struggle, rejected both of the rising populists. He is instead a newly-minted fan of China.

但是，或許並非所有人都是這樣。生活在美國“工業鏽帶”的蘭迪•亞當斯(Randy Adams)現年55歲，是經歷了多年掙扎的美國汽車零件製造業的一名老將，他拒絕把選票投給上述兩位人氣不斷上升的民粹主義者。相反，他成爲了中國的新粉絲。

It is a political stance born of a recent change in his personal circumstances. Since late last year Mr Adams has been working as a supervisor for Fuyao Glass, a rapidly expanding Chinese company, inside what by the end of the year is predicted to be the world’s largest motor glass factory by production volume.

這種政治立場是因最近他個人境遇的的變化而起。自從去年末以來，亞當斯在福耀玻璃(Fuyao Glass)擔任監工。該公司是一家迅速擴張的中國企業，到今年底有望成爲全球產量最大的汽車玻璃製造廠。

Fuyao plans to spend $450m refurbishing the former General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, into a factory that will employ up to 2,000 workers by the end of the year. The investment is part of a nascent trend that is reshaping the economic relationship between China and the US — and may one day alter longstanding electoral habits in places such as Michigan.

福耀計劃斥資4.5億美元，對通用汽車(General Motors)之前在俄亥俄州莫雷納(Moraine)的這家工廠進行改造，到今年底該廠將僱用至多2000名工人。這筆投資代表了一種正在重塑中美經濟關係的新趨勢——或許有一天也會改變密歇根等地長久以來的選舉習慣。

Chinese foreign direct investment into the US reached a record $15.7bn in 2015 and this year is already on pace to top that, according to the Rhodium Group, a research company.

據研究諮詢公司榮鼎諮詢(Rhodium Group)表示，2015年中國對美國的外商直接投資(FDI)創下157億美元的紀錄，而今年迄今的數字已經有望超越去年。

Moreover, a growing share of China’s investment in the US is in the form of greenfield investments by companies such as Fuyao Glass.

此外，越來越多的中國在美投資是像福耀玻璃等企業進行的綠地投資。

“It’s a game-changer in US-China economic relations,” says Thilo Hanemann, an analyst with the Rhodium Group. “You are actually seeing Chinese companies investing here and putting American workers on their payroll.”

“這將是美中經濟關係中一件改變遊戲規則的事情，”榮鼎諮詢的分析師韓其洛(Thilo Hanemann)稱，“你實實在在地看見中國企業在這裏投資，僱用美國工人。”

The numbers remain relatively small compared with other longstanding Asian investors in the US. According to Rhodium, 80,000 US workers were employed by Chinese companies at the end of 2014 versus almost 900,000 for Japanese companies. Honda, for example, is the largest employer in Ohio’s motor sector, with more than 14,000 employees, or seven times the number Fuyao will employ by the end of year.

相比那些在美國投資已久的其他亞洲投資者，中資企業的用工人數仍然相對較少。根據榮鼎諮詢的數據，截至2014年底，中國企業僱用了8萬名美國工人，而日本企業僱傭的美國工人達到將近90萬。比如，本田(Honda)是俄亥俄州汽車產業最大的僱主，擁有超過1.4萬名員工，相當於福耀到今年底計劃僱用的員工數量的7倍。

But as they continue to deal with the enduring industrial scars of the 2008 financial crisis the trend is something local politicians across industrial America have noted — and even begun dare using in political campaigns.

但是，在美國工業腹地的地方政界人士繼續應對2008年金融危機留下的遲遲難以癒合的工業傷痕之際，這種趨勢成了他們注意到——甚至開始敢於在政治活動中使用——的情況。

Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich worked with local officials to woo Fuyao to Moraine, a scrappy industrial suburb south of Dayton. Tomorrow, the Chinese-owned factory will provide the backdrop for one of his final rallies ahead of the state’s crucial March 15 primary contest which the Ohio governor needs to win.

俄亥俄州州長、共和黨總統候選人角逐者約翰•卡西奇(John Kasich)曾與當地官員一起吸引福耀落戶代頓市(Dayton)以南粗曠的工業化郊區莫雷納。這家中資工廠成了卡西奇初選競選集會宣傳的功績。3月15日，俄亥俄州將迎來至關重要的初選，身爲該州州長的卡西奇勢在必得。

The move is meant to highlight his record on job creation, but it also serves as a political poke in the eye for Mr Trump, who has vowed to wage what would amount to a trade war on China to bring jobs back to the US.

此舉旨在凸顯他在創造就業方面的政績，但也是對特朗普發起的一記政治“點穴”，因爲特朗普誓言要對中國採取可能演化爲貿易戰的行動，目的是讓就業崗位回到美國。

“With Fuyao John Kasich has proof that he has brought jobs from China to Ohio and that he has brought many other jobs to Ohio. He knows how to compete and he knows how to win,” says Mike Turner, a Republican congressman whose district includes Moraine.

“有了福耀的例子，約翰•卡西奇就可以證明他把就業從中國帶到俄亥俄、並給俄亥俄帶來了很多其他崗位。他知道如何競爭、如何贏，”共和黨議員邁克•特納(Mike Turner)稱。特納的選區包括莫雷納。

But bringing China into the campaign and boldly proclaiming the benefits of trade has risks for Mr Kasich, who is locked in a tight race with Mr Trump.

但是，在競選中引入中國話題、並且大膽宣稱貿易的好處，會給卡西奇帶來風險。目前他與特朗普難分上下。

His attempt to beat Mr Trump in Ohio is part of a bigger effort by the Republican mainstream to try to block the property tycoon’s push to win the party’s nomination for November’s general election.

他希望在俄亥俄州打敗特朗普，這是共和黨主流努力的一部分，目的是阻止這位房地產大亨贏得代表該黨參加11月大選的資格。

While Mr Kasich touts his record of job creation in Ohio the reality is that there are 400,000 fewer Ohioans working in manufacturing than in 1990 and 80,000 less than before the financial crisis of 2008.

儘管卡西奇鼓吹自己給俄亥俄帶來就業崗位的記錄，但是現實情況是，如今在製造業工作的俄亥俄人較1990年減少了40萬，較2008年金融危機發生前減少了8萬。

But as the Fuyao investment illustrates, there is also a manufacturing recovery under way.

不過，正如福耀的投資所表明的那樣，製造業正在復甦。

By the end of this year, says John Gauthier, president of Fuyao’s US subsidiary, the Moraine facility will have the capacity to produce a quarter of all the motor glass used in North America and fill a huge gap in capacity that had previously been filled by glass produced in China.

福耀美國公司總裁約翰•高蒂爾(John Gauthier)稱，到今年底，莫雷納工廠將具備供應北美市場四分之一汽車玻璃的產能，填補之前由中國製造的汽車玻璃填補的巨大空白。

Higher labour costs in the US than in China mean the plant is heavily automated. But what is making the investment possible is also the much lower energy costs, with electricity costing half the amount it does in China.

美國的勞動力成本高於中國，這意味着該工廠將高度自動化。但是，促成該投資的因素還包括比中國低得多的能源成本。美國的電力成本是中國的一半。

“That is a huge competitive advantage,” Mr Gauthier says.

“這是一個巨大的競爭優勢，”高蒂爾稱。

For Mr Adams, that means a new job and a new focus on efficiency. At its current pace the new assembly line he oversees can turn out more than 1,000 windscreens a day, although that is just the beginning, according to Mr Adams.

對於監工亞當斯來說，這意味着一份新工作，更注重效率。亞當斯稱，按照目前的速度，他負責的新生產線每天可以生產1000塊以上的擋風玻璃，儘管這還僅僅是開始。

“It can run a little faster,” he says. “We just haven’t pushed it yet.”

“速度還能更快點，”他稱，“我們只是還沒開足馬力。”