纽约时报 贸易僵局引中国对美投资锐减(2)

A confluence¹ of forces appear to be at play.

这背后似有多种因素共同发挥作用。

A slowing economy and stricter capital controls in China have made it more difficult for Chinese investors² to buy American,

中国经济增速放缓，资本管制越来越严都加大了中国投资者购买美国产品的难度，

according to trade and mergers³ and acquisitions advisers⁴.

据多位贸易和并购顾问透露。

Mr. Trump⁵’s penchant⁶ for imposing⁷ punishing tariffs⁸ on Chinese goods

此外，特朗普对向中国商品征收惩罚性关税有着强烈偏好，

and an increasingly powerful regulatory group that is heavily scrutinizing⁹ foreign investment, particularly involving Chinese investors,

加上对外国投资，尤其是涉及中国投资者的外国投资严加审查的某监管机构权力越来越大，

have also scared businesses in both countries.

两国企业纷纷被吓倒。

China, which has retaliated¹⁰ against American goods with its own tariffs,

面对这一形势，中国也以牙还牙，开始对美国商品加征关税，

may also be turning off the investment spigot as punishment for Mr. Trump’s economic crackdown.

不仅如此，中方可能还会拧上投资的水龙头，作为特朗普对中国实施经济打击的惩罚。

Concerns about America’s receptiveness to Chinese investment have been aggravated¹¹

在外国投资委员会的严格审查下，一系列交易都已宣告失败，

by a flurry of transactions that collapsed¹² under heavy scrutiny¹³ from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

进一步加深了人们对美国是否还乐于接受中国投资的担忧。

The group, which is headed by the Treasury¹⁴ Department, gained expanded powers in 2018

2018年，在财政部领导下，该委员会权力进一步膨胀，

that allow it to block a broader array of transactions,

能够封锁的交易范围进一步扩大，

including minority stakes and investments in sensitive technologies like telecommunications and computing¹⁵.

少数股权及电信和计算等敏感领域的技术投资都落入了封锁范围。

Shortly after the New Year, China’s HNA Group took a $41 million loss on a glass and aluminum¹⁶ Manhattan high rise

新年伊始，中国海航集团位于曼哈顿的一栋玻璃-铝结构高层项目就亏损了4100万美元，

after American regulators forced it to sell the property because of security concerns about its proximity¹⁷ to Trump Tower, only a few blocks away.

因为该建筑与特朗普大厦仅几条街区之隔，出于安全考虑，有关监管部门强制该集团出售这一地产。

In March, the Chinese owners of a gay dating app known as Grindr were told by regulators to find a buyer for the company.

到了3月，监管机构又要求同性恋交友约会软件Grindr的中国投资方为该公司寻找新的买家。

The Trump administration feared Beijing could use personal information as leverage¹⁸ over American officials.

因为特朗普政府担心北京方面以该网站的个人信息为把柄左右美国官员。

Those interventions¹⁹ followed prominent cases earlier in Mr. Trump’s term,

在特朗普任期的早些时候，这些干预措施还未出台时就已出现过重大干预案例，

such as Broadcom’s quashed bid for Qualcomm and the sale of MoneyGram to a unit of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba last year.

例如，去年，博通不仅撤回了收购高通的提议，还取消了将速汇金出售给中国电商巨头阿里巴巴某子公司的交易。

An agreement involving Lattice Semiconductor²⁰ and an investment firm with reported ties to the Chinese government was also rejected.

不仅如此，莱迪思半导体公司和据称与中国政府有往来的某投资公司达成的协议也被否决。

In some cases, the chill has benefited American companies.

不过，也有一些美国企业成了此次降温的赢家。

In June, UnitedHealth bought PatientsLikeMe, a health care technology start-up,

今年6月，联合健康收购医疗科技初创企业PatientsLikeMe，

after the committee said it was a security risk to allow the company’s Chinese owner to have access to health data.

事发前，外国投资委员会曾表示，允许该企业的中国股东访问其健康数据的做法会带来安全隐患。

The purchase amount was not disclosed.

目前，收购金额暂未披露。

1 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 penchant   

n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向

参考例句：

• She has a penchant for Indian food.她爱吃印度食物。
• He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.他喜欢拿人开玩笑。

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

8 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。

9 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

10 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

11 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

14 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

15 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

16 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

17 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

18 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

19 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

20 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。