2018年CRI US companies and scholars refute 'forced transfer of technology'

 

At the just concluded 2018 Yale US-China Forum¹ held in New Haven², Connecticut, cooperation between Chinese and American companies was a topic that drew heated discussions among guest speakers.

A number of US companies and scholars have refuted the US government's allegation that the Chinese government has forced American companies to transfer technologies to their Chinese counterparts, which have served as justifications³ behind the US trade restrictions⁴ against China.

CRI’s Washington correspondent Liu Kun has the story.

Steve Chapman is Group Vice⁵ President of China & Russia Operations at Cummins, one of the world's leading diesel⁶ engine manufacturers.

With his decades of experience leading the company's business in China, Cummins was able to establish several research and development centers in the country.

At this year's Yale US-China Forum, he said that technology transfer from Cummins to its Chinese partners was never forced.

It was simply a decision by the company to become more competitive locally.

"In our industry, it's part of being competitive. You know, if we want to manufacture locally and provide a competitive product to our industry, we've got to bring our technology. So we actually license⁷ it to our joint⁸ ventures with a partner and manufacture from there. So I just think to me, it's more of a competitive decision," said Chapman.

Another guest at the forum, Stephen Roach, is now a senior fellow at Yale and the former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and the firm's Chief Economist⁹. 

He said the American government is distorting the facts by initiating¹⁰ the concept of "forced transfer of technology."

"I think there's a real distortion of this idea of 'forced technology transfer' occurring within the structure of a joint venture. I was a part of a joint venture at Morgan Stanley. I wasn't forced to do it. This was a structure that we used to establish a business in China. When you build a business with a Chinese partner, of course, you are going to share the way in which you conduct your business. And if that involves some proprietary¹¹ knowledge of systems and technologies, then that's the cost that we had to incur¹² to do that business," said Roach.

While cooperation between Chinese and American companies was at the heart of the discussions at the forum, China's ambitious "Made in China 2025" industrial upgrading plan also created a lot of debate.

Announced by the Chinese government back in 2015, the plan has been fiercely attacked by the American government in its recent "Section 301 investigation¹³" report.

To a lot of the guests at the Forum, politicizing "Made in China 2025" is to misinterpret China's intentions.

For Steve Chapman, the plan in essence shows the determination of the Chinese government to catch up with the advanced economies in the manufacturing industry.

"To me, 'Made in China 2025' is really a focus on raising the level of manufacturing: a lot of the traditional enterprises, raising it to global standards. And to me, that's not bad," said Chapman.

Instead of being confrontational¹⁴ with the plan, Stephen Roach said there are probably opportunities American companies can tap into.

"China is developing a lot of technologies that are going to be important for the future development of the United States and any other countries around the world. Artificial intelligence, using autonomous¹⁵ vehicles, new materials, and certainly addressing a lot of the infrastructure¹⁶ challenges the United States needs in terms of high speed rail," said Roach.

Stephen Roach also said that the US should learn from China's push for innovation in the infrastructure sector¹⁷.

For CRI, this is Liu Kun reporting from New Haven, Connecticut.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 justifications   

正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If he a vulgar person, she does not have justifications for him. 如果他是个低级趣味的人，她早就不会理他了。
• It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. 这则取决于它们对于竞争的影响和可能存在的正当抗辩理由。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

11 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

12 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

15 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

16 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。

17 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。