2021年经济学人 中国经济--南北差距

China's economy

中国经济

Southern tiger

南方虎势汹汹

As northern China struggles, the south surges ahead

在中国北方挣扎之际，南方却奋起直追

"Don't invest beyond Shanhaiguan" is a popular quip in China, referring to a pass in the Great Wall that leads to the north-eastern rust¹ belt. Online pundits² have updated the maxim³ to "don't invest outside the Southern Song", a dynasty that fell almost 750 years ago whose territory was roughly the same as China's southern half today. The joke has a nub of truth: China's southern provinces are outperforming the north in nearly every economic dimension.

“不要投资山海关以外的地方”在中国是一个很流行的讽刺语，说的是通往东北铁锈地带的长城关隘。网络权威人士将这则格言更新为“不要投资南宋以外的地方”，南宋是一个朝代，在大约750年前就灭亡了，其领土大致相当于今天中国的南半部。这个笑话有一点道理：中国南方省份在几乎所有经济领域的表现都优于北方省份。

Figures released on January 18th showed that China's GDP grew by 2.3% in 2020. The recovery was unbalanced, with factories at full throttle⁴ but consumption subdued⁵. That should improve after the pandemic ends. The north-south imbalance, though, is likely to outlast⁶ it.

1月18日公布的数据显示，2020年中国GDP增长了2.3%。经济的复苏是不平衡的，工厂马力全开，但消费受到抑制。新冠疫情结束后情况可能会有所改善，但是，南北方之间发展的不平衡可能会持续更久。

The south's share of GDP has risen to a peak of 65%, from 59% in 2015. Some of that is down to luck. The north, home to China's largest coal mines and oil reserves, was caught out by falls in commodity prices after 2013. It also boasts big industrial firms; China's shift from construction-fuelled growth towards consumption and services has hurt.

南方占GDP的比重从2015年的59%上升到65%的峰值，这在一定程度上要归功于运气。2013年之后，拥有中国最大煤矿和石油储量的北方受到了大宗商品价格下跌的影响。北方还拥有大型工业企业，中国经济增长从建筑驱动型向消费和服务驱动型的转变已对其造成损害。

Northern officials have tried harder to goose up growth, to the region's detriment⁷. In 2013, the peak of China's building frenzy⁸, investment in assets such as roads and factories reached an eyewatering 66% of GDP in the north versus⁹ 51% in the south. Southern officials have been more hands-off. China's two most dynamic regions are in the south, anchored by Shanghai and Shenzhen. The south also makes the smartphones and sofas lapped up globally. Its foreign-trade surplus last year was about 7% of GDP. The north ran a 2% deficit¹⁰.

北方官员一直在努力刺激经济增长，但这对该地区不利。2013年，中国的建筑热潮达到顶峰，在公路和工厂等资产上的投资达到了令人瞠目的GDP的66%，而在南方则是51%。南方官员则更加不干涉。中国最具活力的两个地区位于南部，以上海和深圳为中心。南方还生产风靡全球的智能手机和沙发。中国去年的对外贸易顺差约为GDP的7%，北方有2%的赤字。

To add insult to injury, the north has also been disrupted more by sporadic¹¹ covid-19 outbreaks. Geography is part of the problem: a harsher winter makes the virus more transmissible. The north is stuck out in the cold.

雪上加霜的是，北方也更多地受到了零星爆发的新冠疫情的影响。地理位置也是问题的一部分：严冬令病毒更具传染性，而北方寒冷刺骨。

1 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

2 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

3 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

4 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

5 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

6 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。

7 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

8 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

9 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。