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葉劉淑儀 立法會議員
美國流行一種論調:美國的經濟問題源於人民幣匯率過低。彷彿強迫人民幣加快升值,就能解決所有問題。上回提到,《時代周刊》評論員Zachary Karabell對此不予苟同,認為這種想法顛倒黑白:
It's not us; it's them and their cheap goods. It's not that American consumers have demanded cheaper stuff for decades and that companies have sated this demand by sourcing in low-cost labor markets in Japan and Taiwan in the 1970s, Mexico in the 1990s and China in the 2000s. It couldn't be that companies have gone where the growth is and invested overseas rather than at home. It couldn't be that the U.S. and European countries have become highly efficient and productive manufacturing zones that require fewer workers because of IT, robotics and just-in-time inventory systems. No, it's China and its currency that are causing the lion's share of harm.
問題不在於我方(美國),而在於他們(中國)和他們的平價貨;不是因為幾十年來美國消費者追求更便宜的貨品,而企業為滿足其需求,才到勞動成本較低的地方—1970年代的日本和台灣、1990年代的墨西哥,及2000年代的中國—進行採購;不是因為企業都到經濟增長強勁的地方發展,寧願投資海外;不是因為資訊科技、機械和及時倉儲管理系統提升了歐美製造業的效率及生產力,減少了對工人的需求。這些都不是美國經濟問題的原因,幾乎所有問題都是中國及其貨幣造成的。
中美經濟唇齒相依
上文雖沒有引號,實際上是引述美國人的錯誤想法,接著作者批評道:
This is an argument born of fear and fueled by paranoia. It obscures the degree to which the economies of China and the U.S. have become symbiotic. Those trillions in reserves that China accumulates: Where do they go? Back to the U.S. in the form of loans to the federal government. Those made-in-china goods that account for the trade deficit: Whom do they benefit? China, yes, but also American consumers and companies. Without China, American companies could not have maintained their profitability in recent years. Take two marquee names, Caterpillar and Nike. Both manufacture in China, but both also view China as a fast-growing market for their products.
這種論調源於恐懼,並在偏執情緒助長下越唱越響,令人看不清中美經濟其實唇齒相依。中國累積數以萬億計的儲備,最終往哪裡去?是以美國國債的形式回到美國。那些造成貿易虧損的「中國製造」貨品,給誰帶來好處?固然,中國有所得益,但美國消費者和企業何嘗不受惠?沒有中國,美國企業不可能在近幾年維持盈利。兩大頂尖品牌Caterpillar和Nike都在中國生產,而且視中國為發展迅速的市場。
這兩段有幾個hyphenated compound adjectives (用連字號接連多個字而組成的形容詞),包括:low-cost(低成本的),ust-in-time(及時的、不太早也不太遲的)和made-in-china(在中國製造的)。
另外,形容詞marquee(最頂尖的、最受矚目的)是外來語,源自法文。
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