CCTV9英语新闻：行动议程：中国制造商收缩

China insists slower growth is part of the plan to bring years of explosive expansion under control. But this may make it hard for the economy to make a soft landing. And what is being called China’s ‘new normal', could mean wages going unpaid¹ and businesses shutting down.
 
Han Bin² visits one manufacturing company in East China's Zhejiang Province, to see the tough times of transition.
 
The big question for Chinese manufacturers: How long can they run? For many, it is not a matter transforming under the new normal, but surviving under new difficulties.
 
Chen Guirong's company, Rongye Furniture, provides a telling example. The slowdown has broken its production chain — one built on low labor³ costs and scale production. Sales have fallen by two-thirds.
 
"The new normal has had a significant impact on our manufacturing companies. Our original goal was scale production. But the shrinking market has made that goal unrealistic,” Chen said.
 
“We must face the challenges with an open mind. The market still exists, and good products will always find their places. But we can no longer produce products on a massive scale. We have to keep our strength, which is production and key products, focus on different kinds, high quality and innovative⁴ products to meet customer demand.”
 
Hard times have forced the company to go lean and mean. That means cutting costs and finding new sources of revenue.
 
Chen says half of the staff has been cut, along with the divisions for procurement⁵, brand promotion⁶ and new product design. His dream to make Rongye Furniture a global giant is on indefinite hold.
 
China’s furniture industry grew drastically in the past 30 years, making the country the world’s top exporter. But the sluggish⁷ global economy, plus China ’s structural⁸ reform under the new normal, this industry is taking a pounding. Cutting costs is the only way to survive.
 
For workers, the new normal is lower wages. Kuang Xiantao and her husband Cao Xiaode came to Rongye three years ago, when the company expanded. Now their pay has been reduced by nearly half. But they feel lucky they were not let go.
 
"I do feel a bit worried about losing my job. But I also believe such a big company can sustain the current difficulty, and guarantee workers' livings. As long as we worker harder and ensure product quality, when the company’s fortunes revive, our wages could be raised again," Kuang said.
 
Kuang Xiantao now has a second job. And she is hopeful things will turn around.
 
Despite the changes and losses, Chen Guirong tries to be optimistic.
 
The new normal has pushed his company to give up the traditional pattern of growth, and forced him to take costs more seriously.
 
Gone are the decades of explosive expansion. But for millions of workers, like Kuang Xiaotang, the slow down could be an uneasy calm before a personal storm.
 
"With the crisis coming, our top priority is how to keep the company’s core competitive strength. If something is not a core part, we have to cut it without hesitation⁹. All this is aimed to keep the best, and wait for spring to come," Chen said.
 

1 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

6 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

7 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。