美国国家公共电台 NPR--What would it take for India to become the factory of the world?

What would it take for India to become the factory of the world?

Transcript¹

In the world of global manufacturing, China is the undisputed champion. But on its doorstep lies a huge country vying² to become the world's next high-tech³ factory for the world: India.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

China has dominated global manufacturing for more than a decade. However, a challenger could be emerging. Adrian Ma and Darian Woods from our daily economics podcast, The Indicator⁴, lay out a case for India becoming the next high-tech factory for the world.

DARIAN WOODS, BYLINE⁵: There are several reasons why India might or might not become the next big global manufacturing hub. Steven Tseng is a senior analyst⁶ at Bloomberg Intelligence, focusing on tech hardware.

STEVEN TSENG: In the near future, it is going to be difficult. But in the longer term, it's definitely possible.

WOODS: Steven lists a bunch of pros⁷ and cons⁸ for India. So first, the positives - and we start with the fact that India is not China. Leaders of a Western company looking for a manufacturing base might look at the trade war between the U.S. and China. And they might remember China's heavy-handed lockdowns, and they might worry about how geopolitical tension with the U.S. might play out.

ADRIAN MA, BYLINE: Second, India has its population. The U.N. estimates India will officially be the most populous⁹ country in the world this year, and its demographics skew much younger. China's median age is 38, while India's is only 28, and that means more people to potentially work in factories.

WOODS: Third, India's government is subsidizing large companies to move their manufacturing to India. Those are the positives.

MA: Now for, well, the negatives. First, education. Now, India does boast some of the best engineering education in the world at its top end. But the adult literacy rate in India is about 74% versus¹⁰ about 97% in China.

WOODS: Tariffs¹¹ are the second headwind facing India if it's to really compete with China in high-tech manufacturing. You have so many imported components¹² for things like smartphones. So when you're making them, any frictions¹³ and added expenses in importing parts makes the country less attractive.

MA: The third negative for India is its infrastructure¹⁴. Only 5% of the roads are highways, while 40% of roads are dirt roads. And Steven says India's decentralized political system makes building new transport connections more difficult.

TSENG: If you're building some sort of railroad or highway from province A to province B, if province B has some issue with that, it can take years to sort out the differences.

WOODS: And ensuring movement is critical not just for getting components and products shipped, but for factory inspections¹⁵.

MA: Now, there is a fourth obstacle, which is language. India is a vast and diverse country where people speak tons of different languages, which brings us to our final obstacle - discrimination.

WOODS: Discrimination might be in the form of religious animosity, or it might be in other forms. India has a class system of castes. That can mean that people in lower castes are passed over for jobs that they're qualified¹⁶ for. Or if they're, for instance, given a supervisory role, they might not be listened to.

MA: But with all that said, multinational¹⁷ companies are setting up shop in India. Samsung has been rapidly increasing its factories there. And Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a recent earnings¹⁸ call that he is, quote, "very bullish on India."

WOODS: India can take on more manufacturing now, but everyone we spoke¹⁹ to said it will take a lot of work and a 10- or 20-year period to get close to where China is today. Darian Woods.

MA: Adrian Ma, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

4 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

10 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。

11 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

12 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

13 frictions   

n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和

参考例句：

• Family frictions can interfere with a child's schoolwork. 家庭中的争吵会影响孩子的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As far as we are concerned, these frictions are not of our own making [have been imposed on us]. 就我们来说，这种摩擦是被动式的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

17 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

18 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

19 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。