2010年8月25日

南非部长:中国能多做些什么吗? South Africa to China: let’s make it about more than minerals

 

以握手结束:南非总统雅各布•祖马(Jacob Zuma)周二在北京会见了中国国家主席胡锦涛,双方宣布了一系列商业合作项目,将会加深两国间关系。

按照这类场合的惯例,双方频频使用了“战略合作伙伴”以及“增进相互了解”这类温馨词汇。不过,南非表示,希望中国能多做些什么,而非仅仅从南非进口原材料。这显示出来自南非的一丝沮丧。

南非贸易部长罗布•戴维斯(Rob Davies)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时,驳斥了一些人对中国的南非政策的批评。他表示,北京方面并没有在推行新殖民主义政策,非洲将从中国对非洲日益增长的兴趣中获益。

然而,戴维斯也暗示,他希望中国能够帮助南非开展技术含量更高(也更盈利)的矿产加工和生产。他说:“我们正在努力鼓励(南非企业)与中国进行更多高附加值的贸易,吸引更多投资,但在目前,(两国经贸关系)主要是南非向中国出口原材料,从中国进口增值产品。”

中国是南非最大的贸易伙伴,但是贸易并不平衡:通常都是由南非出口矿产,买进中国生产的产品。去年,南非与这个亚洲强国的贸易逆差达到27亿美元。

祖马本人在一个中国-南非商业论坛上表示:“我们可以展望未来在基础设施、采矿、工程、能源、信息、通讯技术以及电子产品方面,(两国能开展)有意义的合作。在制造业方面也有可以挖掘的机会。”

南非是非洲大陆最发达和发展方向最明确的经济体。如果南非也需要苦苦争取来自中国的制造业投资,可以想见其它邻国为了争取到一些中国投资必须付出的努力。

据道琼斯通讯社(Dow Jones)的报道,周二宣布的商业交易中,包括中冶集团(China Metallurgical Group)在南非建设一个铁钛矿的计划。中国核工业集团公司(China National Nuclear Corporation)也表示,正在就在南非建设一座核电站进行谈判。

另外,据路透社(Reuters)报道,南非标准银行(Standard Bank)与中铁集团(China Railway Group)签署了一项谅解备忘录,将合作为非洲的铁路和基础设施项目进行筹款。

2007年中国工商银行(ICBC)斥资56亿美元买下标准银行20%的股份,成为当年中国对非洲的最大单笔投资。

译者/麦可林

 

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001034292

 

 

Sealed with a handshake: Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing on Tuesday as the two sides announced a raft of commercial deals that will strengthen ties between the countries.

As is usual on these occasions, there were plenty of warm words about a “strategic partnership” and enhancing “mutual understanding”. But South Africa also revealed some frustration by saying it wanted China to do more than just import its raw materials.

In an interview with the FT, Rob Davies, South Africa’s trade minister, rejected criticism of China’s Africa policy, saying Beijing was not pursuing a neo-colonial policy and that Africa would benefit from its growing interest in the continent.

But Mr Davies also suggested that he wants China to help South Africa to do some more sophisticated (and profitable) minerals processing and manufacturing itself. He said:

“We’re trying to encourage much more value-added trade and investment with China but right now there is a preponderance of raw materials exports to China and a preponderance of value-added goods coming from China to South Africa.

China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, but the trade is not balanced: South Africa mostly ships out minerals and ships in Chinese manufactured goods. Last year South Africa had a $2.7bn trade deficit with the Asian powerhouse.

Zuma himself told a forum of business executives from China and South Africa:

“We envisage meaningful future cooperation in infrastructure, the benefaction of minerals, engineering, energy, information and communications technology and electronics. There are also opportunities to be explored in manufacturing.

If South Africa, the continent’s most advanced and easy-to-navigate economy, is struggling to secure Chinese manufacturing investment, it tells you how far its neighbours must be from getting any.

The commercial deals announced on Tuesday included a plan by China Metallurgical Group to build an iron-titanium mine in South Africa, Dow Jones reported. China National Nuclear Corporation also said it was in talks to build a nuclear power plant in the African country.

Meanwhile South Africa’s Standard Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Group to cooperate on funding for rail and infrastructure projects in Africa, according to Reuters.

Standard Bank was the target of China’s biggest single African investment in 2007 when Industrial and Commercial Bank of China bought a 20 per cent stake in it for $5.6bn.

 

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001034292/en

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