上月初,當(dāng)中國(guó)在北京舉辦“一帶一路”倡議高峰論壇時(shí),它不僅利用此次峰會(huì)宣布大手筆的新融資計(jì)劃,還安撫了一些國(guó)家的擔(dān)憂(yōu),即認(rèn)為該全球貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)略將以犧牲他們?yōu)榇鷥r(jià)使中國(guó)受益。
Those misgivings have not troubled Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chief executive of DP World. He sees China’s massive reimagining of ancient Silk Road trade routes as a business opportunity that could help ameliorate the effects of slowing global economic growth. “The Chinese horizon is changing,” says Mr bin Sulayem, one of Dubai’s most senior officials.
迪拜世界港口公司(DP World)的首席執(zhí)行官蘇爾坦•艾哈邁德•本蘇拉耶姆(Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem)沒(méi)有這種擔(dān)憂(yōu)。他把中國(guó)大舉重塑古代絲綢之路貿(mào)易路線(xiàn)的舉動(dòng)視為一個(gè)商機(jī),可能有助于緩解全球經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)放緩的影響。“中國(guó)的眼界正在改變,”本蘇拉耶姆表示。他是迪拜級(jí)別最高的官員之一。
DP World has, for example, just seen off the first direct freight train from the UK to China. The train left in April on its three-week journey from DP World’s London Gateway, at the mouth of the river Thames, to Yiwu in eastern China, laden with British products ranging from whisky to pharmaceuticals.
例如,迪拜世界港口公司剛剛發(fā)出了從英國(guó)到中國(guó)的首列直達(dá)貨運(yùn)列車(chē)。今年4月,該列車(chē)從迪拜世界港口公司位于泰晤士河口的倫敦口岸(London Gateway)出發(fā),滿(mǎn)載著從威士忌酒到藥品等英國(guó)產(chǎn)品,經(jīng)過(guò)3周時(shí)間抵達(dá)中國(guó)東部城市義烏。
DP World aims to co-ordinate its global network with China’s projected $900bn investment for the One Belt, One Road project.
迪拜世界港口公司力求將其全球運(yùn)輸網(wǎng)與中國(guó)預(yù)計(jì)投入“一帶一路”項(xiàng)目的9000億美元投資實(shí)現(xiàn)接軌。
“We will work with the Chinese to prepare our ports to be ready,” Mr bin Sulayem says. “They need to build thousands of kilometres of rail network to make it work.”
“我們將與中國(guó)人合作,讓我們的港口準(zhǔn)備就緒,”本蘇拉耶姆表示,“他們需要建設(shè)數(shù)千公里的鐵路網(wǎng)才能使整個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)。”
Wage costs in China are spiralling by 20 per cent a year, says DP World, which has four joint ventures in the country. Such cost rises are pushing Beijing to locate export-oriented manufacturing in cheaper locations at home, such as Urumqi in north-west China, and further afield in Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia.
在中國(guó)擁有4家合資公司的迪拜世界港口公司表示,中國(guó)的工資成本每年上漲20%。這種成本上升致使北京方面把出口導(dǎo)向型制造業(yè)放在國(guó)內(nèi)成本較低的城市(比如位于中國(guó)西北部的烏魯木齊),甚至境外的緬甸、印尼和柬埔寨。
“These areas are mushrooming and will produce for Europe and the west,” Mr bin Sulayem says.
“這些地區(qū)像雨后春筍一般迅速發(fā)展,將為歐洲和西方生產(chǎn)商品,”本蘇拉耶姆表示。
One Belt, One Road’s maritime routes link China to Southeast Asia, India, and, via the Maldives, to Africa and on to Europe through the Red Sea.
“一帶一路”倡議的海上路線(xiàn)把中國(guó)和東南亞、印度連接在一起,并通過(guò)馬爾代夫連接到非洲,穿過(guò)紅海連接歐洲。
Land connections include the main trans-Eurasian route via Kazakhstan.
陸路連接包括通過(guò)哈薩克斯坦、橫跨整個(gè)亞歐大陸的主要路線(xiàn)。
Other rail networks link China to Iran and the Gulf, as well as to Pakistan by way of Afghanistan.
其他鐵路網(wǎng)把中國(guó)和伊朗、海灣地區(qū)、以及巴基斯坦和阿富汗連接在一起。
The rail routes are expected to compete with air cargo, with the sea routes used for lower-value bulk trade. “We are on all those routes,” Mr bin Sulayem says.
鐵路有望與航空運(yùn)輸競(jìng)爭(zhēng),而海運(yùn)路線(xiàn)用于價(jià)值較低的散貨貿(mào)易。“我們經(jīng)營(yíng)所有那些路線(xiàn),”本蘇拉耶姆表示。
DP World has about 20 terminals poised to take advantage of One Belt, One Road. These include six in South Asia and four in China, as well as others operating in Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Indonesia.
迪拜世界港口公司約有20個(gè)碼頭可以受益于“一帶一路”倡議。其中包括位于南亞的5個(gè)港口和位于中國(guó)的4個(gè)港口,還有位于泰國(guó)、越南、韓國(guó)和印尼的其他港口。
DP World’s container terminals handled 64m twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) last year, compared with capacity of 85m TEU. It hopes to expand capacity to 100m TEU by 2020, dependent on market demand.
去年,迪拜世界港口公司旗下集裝箱碼頭的吞吐量為6400萬(wàn)TEU(20英尺標(biāo)準(zhǔn)箱),而吞吐能力為8500萬(wàn)TEU。取決于市場(chǎng)需求,該公司希望到2020年把吞吐能力擴(kuò)大至1億TEU。
With plans to expand in Latin America, Russia and Africa, DP World’s focus on international markets is helping to mitigate a slowdown in its domestic activity.
與此同時(shí),迪拜世界港口公司計(jì)劃在拉美、俄羅斯和非洲擴(kuò)張業(yè)務(wù),這一著重國(guó)際市場(chǎng)的策略正在幫助緩解國(guó)內(nèi)活動(dòng)放緩的影響。
Currency fluctuations, weaker world economic growth and the fall in crude oil prices have combined to make business conditions more difficult.
匯率波動(dòng)、全球經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)疲軟、以及原油價(jià)格下滑,這些因素相互結(jié)合,導(dǎo)致商業(yè)環(huán)境更加艱難。
Volumes at its Jebel Ali deep port, the largest marine terminal in the Middle East, fell by about 5 per cent in 2016, as Gulf governments’ spending cuts bit into regional trade. DP World says it expects this year’s volumes at the port to be stable.
隨著海灣地區(qū)各國(guó)政府的支出削減打擊區(qū)域貿(mào)易,迪拜世界港口公司旗下中東最大的港口——杰貝阿里(Jebel Ali)深水港2016年的吞吐量下滑約5%。該公司表示,預(yù)計(jì)今年該港口的吞吐量將保持穩(wěn)定。
Among its overseas projects, DP World is advising on the Khorgos Eastern Gate terminal near the Chinese border with Kazakhstan, an important point on rail routes linking China to Europe. Trains have to stop there — where the former Soviet Union meets China — as the rail gauge changes.
在海外項(xiàng)目中,迪拜世界港口公司正在為哈薩克斯坦靠近中國(guó)邊境的霍爾果斯東門(mén)(Khorgos Eastern Gate)無(wú)水港提供咨詢(xún)。這里是連接中國(guó)與歐洲的鐵路上的重要節(jié)點(diǎn)。由于軌距變化,火車(chē)必須在這個(gè)前蘇聯(lián)與中國(guó)接壤的地方停下來(lái)。
In a similar way to how the Jebel Ali Free Zone trade area helped transform Dubai into an entrepot for global trade, DP World hopes that the Khorgos agreement will build a “new Dubai” at China’s border with Kazakhstan.
迪拜世界港口公司希望霍爾果斯協(xié)議將打造中哈邊境上的“新迪拜”,就像杰貝阿里自由區(qū)(Jebel Ali Free Zone)曾幫助迪拜成為全球貿(mào)易的集散地一樣。
However, some observers think DP World could suffer if certain terminals on China’s new Silk Road become too successful.
然而,一些觀(guān)察人士認(rèn)為,如果中國(guó)新絲綢之路上的某些港口太過(guò)成功,迪拜世界港口公司可能遭受損失。
“There are risks to Jebel Ali’s growth should the developments at Gwadar in Pakistan lead to that port becoming a transshipment hub,” says Simon Kitchen, head of macro strategy research at Cairo-based investment bank EFG Hermes.
“如果巴基斯坦瓜達(dá)爾港(Gwadar)的開(kāi)發(fā)項(xiàng)目使其成為轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)中心,那么杰貝阿里的增長(zhǎng)會(huì)有一些風(fēng)險(xiǎn),”總部位于開(kāi)羅的埃及投資銀行EFG Hermes宏觀(guān)策略研究主管西蒙•基欽(Simon Kitchen)表示。
Jebel Ali port and Jebel Ali Free Zone, DP World’s prime assets, have systems and infrastructure that have made them a success, says Mr Kitchen.
基欽稱(chēng),迪拜世界港口公司的主要資產(chǎn)——杰貝阿里港和杰貝阿里自由區(qū)——擁有的系統(tǒng)和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施使它們獲得了成功。
But Gwadar, being outside the Gulf, “is in a very good location, and if Pakistan can get the incentives right, it should thrive,” he adds.
但他補(bǔ)充稱(chēng),位于海灣地區(qū)之外的瓜達(dá)爾港口“地理位置非常好,如果巴基斯坦在激勵(lì)方面把握得當(dāng),該港口會(huì)興旺起來(lái)。”