伊顿公司CEO“力挺”中国 Eaton chief hits out at Beijing’s critics

Criticism of China for its role in favouring local industry at the expense of US companies has gone too far and could lead to a dangerous bout of trade protectionism, according to Sandy Cutler, chief executive of Eaton , the US industrial conglomerate,

美国工业集团伊顿公司(Eaton)首席执行官柯仁杰(Sandy Cutler)表示，对中国以损害美国公司的利益为代价、偏袒本土产业的批评之辞，有些过头，可能引发一波危险的贸易保护主义浪潮。

Mr Cutler, CEO at the group for the past 10 years, said that some of the criticism of China by US industrialists and politicians over actions such as currency manipulation was the result of “national jealousy” in the US about China’s relatively buoyant economy.

过去十年一直担任伊顿CEO的柯仁杰表示，美国产业界和政界人士对中国操纵汇率等做法的一些批评，是源于美国国内对于中国经济相对强劲的“嫉妒心理”。

“There is a strand of political thought in the US that is against the idea of free trade, with China bearing the brunt of a lot of negative comments,” said Mr Cutler in an interview with the Financial Times in London.

柯仁杰在伦敦接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示：“美国有一股违背自由贸易理念的政治思潮，而中国承受了许多负面评论。”

“But I hope the US will resist the populist idea that the best way to ignite [national] growth is to construct walls around local economies through protectionist measures, the aims of which are to restrict trade.”

“有人认为，通过保护主义措施给本国经济筑起围墙是刺激（国内）经济增长的一种方式，而我希望美国能够抵制这种民粹主义思想。这些保护主义做法的目的是限制贸易。”

Mr Cutler said such moves – which could include the imposition of high tariffs and other import barriers to restrict sales in the US of goods made in China and other countries – were part of “discredited” policies that would only damage growth in the long run.

柯仁杰表示，此类举动可能包括加征较高关税和施行其他进口壁垒，以限制中国和其他国家生产的商品在美国的销售，它们都是“不足取的”政策，长远来看只会破坏经济增长。

Some politicians and industrialists in the US have called for tariff barriers as a way to stimulate the US economy, which is still struggling to move into a higher phase of growth after the recession.

美国一些政界和产业界人士呼吁将关税壁垒作为刺激美国经济的一种手段。目前，美国经济仍处在衰退之后艰难迈向更高增长水平的阶段。

In 2011, according to projections from IHS Global Insight, an economics consultancy, the US is likely to lose its position as the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output, with China taking over as the number one in this field, ending more than 100 years in which the US has been the leader.

经济咨询公司环球通视(IHS Global Insight)预计，2011年美国可能失去全球最大制造国（以产出衡量）的地位，中国将拔得头筹，终结美国100多年来在这方面的领袖地位。

Asked about negative comments about China earlier in the year by Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric , Mr Cutler said he did not share the view that the mood in China was turning against foreign businesses.

在被问及对今年早些时候通用电气(GE)首席执行官杰夫•伊梅尔特(Jeff Immelt)有关中国的负面评论时，柯仁杰表示，自己并不认同中国对外国企业的态度正在恶化的说法。

“There are some political pressures inside China to favour local companies when awarding [government] contracts but this is not the same as saying that the climate is acting to discourage companies based outside China,” Mr Cutler said.

柯仁杰表示：“在给（政府）项目时，中国国内存在某些向本土企业倾斜的政治压力，但这并不是说，大气候正变得排斥外国企业。”

He also side-stepped the question of whether China had indulged in “currency manipulation” by giving its exporters an artificial boost through keeping the renminbi low. The topic is another controversial issue in the US, with a number of commentators pressing for the US government to step up action to force a revaluation. “I don’t have the [economic] competence to give a view as to whether the renminbi is fairly valued.”

对于中国是否沉迷于“操纵汇率”，通过压低人民币汇率人为地增强本国出口企业竞争力的问题，柯仁杰没有正面回答。这在美国是另一个争议话题，许多评论人士向美国政府施压，要求加大力度、迫使人民币升值。“我的（经济学）水平，尚不足以对人民币汇率是否合理发表意见。”

But he added that swings in currencies were a problem for most international manufacturers, and that they had to cope as best they could. One way to do this, he said, was to open up local centres of production so that demand for goods in specific countries could be matched as much as possible by products made in the same location, as a result reducing currency risks.

但他补充称，汇率波动是多数跨国制造企业所面临的问题，必须尽力应对。他表示，方法之一是建立本地生产中心，从而使特定国家的产品需求，能尽可能地由当地生产的产品来满足，以此降低汇率风险。

Mr Cutler – whose company is likely this year to have sales in China of about $1bn, making the country one of its largest markets – said China’s political rulers deserved praise for “the fine job” they had made of “fine-tuning” the economy by pushing up growth without sparking inflation.

伊顿在华销售额今年可能达到10亿美元，中国将成为该公司最大的市场之一。柯仁杰表示，中国领导人通过对经济进行“微调”，在没有引发过高通胀的情况下推动了增长，他们“做得不错”，应该受到称赞。