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楼主
发表于 2008-8-4 05:47
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[2008,8.1. NPR] 商店主人们为中国的铺好了进入非洲之路
【原文标题】 Army Of Shopowners Paved China's Way In Africa
【中文标题】 商店主人们为中国的铺好了进入非洲之路
【登载媒体】 NPR
【来源地址】 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93143915
【译者】 中国大家庭
【声明】译文版权归AC所有，谢绝转载
【翻译方式】个人原创翻译
【原文】
Army Of Shopowners Paved China's Way In Africa
by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
The fifth of a five-part series.
August 1, 2008 · Wang Gang, a smiling, bespectacled man who goes by the name "Steel," moved to Senegal from China five years ago and set up a shop in Dakar. He sells footwear, scarves, shawls and an assortment of other low-priced "Made in China" goods.
Although his business is small, he is part of an army of Chinese shopkeepers in Africa that paved the way for big Chinese investors who have funded gigantic infrastructure projects there.
"Long, long ago, my friend came here for business and introduced me to Dakar to sell Chinese products," says Wang, who adds that his name in Chinese means steel. "I hope I can make a big market in Africa in the future, and maybe I will have good luck."
Outside in the sweltering Senegalese heat, female shoppers dressed in brightly colored boubous, the traditional voluminous West African gowns, rummage through piles of shiny trinkets and Chinese knickknacks in a market stall.
The Vanguard Of Chinese Investment
Adama Gaye, a Senegalese author and commentator, says Chinese merchants were the vanguard of Beijing's major investment in Africa. These shopkeepers, fanning out over the entire continent, were the pioneers who preceded big business from China.
"These people represent a new form of colonialism with an Asian face that is coming to Africa," says Gaye, a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University, who published the book China-Africa: The Dragon and the Ostrich in 2006.
"The influx of Chinese business people onto the streets of Dakar is quite a phenomenon," Gaye says. "One street, the Boulevard General de Gaulle — named after the French wartime leader — could be called Boulevard Mao Tse-Tung, because it is dominated by the Chinese," he says with a smile.
He says China has adopted a subtle approach to wooing Africa — unlike the continent's original colonial masters.
"When they came to Africa three centuries ago, they used the barrel of the gun," Gaye says. "They came with boats, they controlled ports and forts and physically dominated places. The Chinese did it in a soft way."
The Chinese merchants, he says, were "the advance force that has allowed opening up of new territories, including Senegal, and they were followed up later on by the big companies and then the political leaders." He adds that these ordinary people became China's eyes and ears in territories such as Senegal.
"They are very useful in the grand strategy that China is deploying across the world," Gaye says.
But cheap, mass-produced Chinese imports like those that Wang sells are flooding African markets and crippling some local industries, including textiles.
Africa cannot compete with the eye-catching Chinese fabrics and Chinese-made African prints that sell at a fraction of the price. Factories are closing down, and jobs are being lost.
But many shoppers in Senegal, like Khady Sall, point out that the Chinese stores are affordable. She fills a bag with headscarves, sandals and perfume — "imitation though," she says with a laugh, "but cheap."
With Senegal's rising cost of living, Sall says, the Chinese goods are an excellent value and suit everyone's wallet.
"Everyone can afford to buy something," Sall says. "They're quite cheap and pretty good quality."
Trade between Africa and China topped more than $55 billion in 2006 — up fivefold since 2000. That's still well below the more than $70 billion in U.S.-Africa trade.
Beijing hopes two-way trade with the continent will hit $100 billion by 2020.
Wang, the Chinese shopkeeper, wants to be part of that boom. He says he expects to spend another few years in Senegal.
"We'll see — maybe one, two, three, four, maybe more if the market is suitable for me. Maybe I can stay here for a long time," Wang says.
Dozens of Chinese-owned shops and market stalls line a wide avenue in Centenaire, an area of Dakar. Ten years ago, there was only a handful.
Wang says the glut of shops has hurt his business. "The competition is more than before — for everything," he says.
'An Unbalanced Relationship'
While the influx of Chinese capital might be attractive, Gaye warns that China knows what it wants from Africa and "has come with a strategy." Africa, he says, has not done the same homework.
"There is no strategic continental approach that African countries have adopted," Gaye says. "No think tank, no task force, no inclusion of Chinese language into universities, no coordinated approach. This should be the role of the African Union."
"Overall," Gaye says, "it's an unbalanced relationship in which China knows what it wants and has a clearly defined agenda."
"The question, indeed, is what is Africa doing in the face of these challenges?" Gaye says. "Nothing. It's as if African countries are rushing to China, bowl in hand. And China naturally is in a best position to take advantage, whereas African countries are almost powerless and just expecting China to be the new messiah."
Gaye compares the renewed global interest in Africa's raw materials and markets with suitors lining up to court the continent. China, hungry for all the natural resources it can get, is determined to win Africa's hand, he says.
"China is in a position to be in the heart of Africa," Gaye says. "And the West? They are losing out. If Africa plays its cards well, I think Africa has never been in a better position."
But Gaye says it's up to the continent to make the most of the marriage with China.
【译文】
商店主人们为中国的铺好了进入非洲之路
by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
五集系列报道之五
2008, 8.1. 王钢, 一个带眼睛, 面带微笑的人, 他名字的意思是"钢", 5 年前从中国来到塞内加尔, 在达喀尔开了一家商店. 他卖鞋, 围巾, 披肩, 和各种各样低价的"中国制造"的产品.
尽管他的生意很小, 但是他是那些为更大的中国投资者进入非洲铺设道路的中国商店老板中的一部分人. 这些中国的投资已经在这里资助巨大的基础建设项目.
"很久以前, 我的朋友就来这里做生意, 他们介绍我来达喀尔销售中国产品," 王说, 并告诉我他的名字在中国是"钢"的意思. "我希望我将来在非常可以建立打市场, 我会有好运的."
在炎热的塞内加尔, 女购物者们身穿浅色的boubous, 一种西非的传统的宽大服装, 在一个小摊位的一堆廉价的小商品和中国小饰品中寻找(她们想要的东西).
中国投资的先锋
Adama Gaye, 一个塞内加尔作者和评论员, 说中国批发商是北京在非洲的主要投资的先锋. 这些商店主散布在整个非洲大陆, 是中国的大贸易的先头部队.
"这些人代表着亚洲的面孔出现在非洲的一种新的形式的殖民主义," Gaye 说. 他是约翰霍金斯大学的访问学者, 2006年出版过一本名为<<中国-非洲: 龙和鸵鸟>>的书.
"中国商人出现在达喀尔大街商是一种现象," Gaye 说. "有条名为 Boulevard General de Gaulle 的街--是以法国战争时期的领导命名的--应该称为 Boulevard 毛泽东街, 因为这里到处都是中国人," 他笑着说.
他说中国这个在用一种微妙的方式得到非洲--而不象这个大陆以前的殖民者那样.
"他们(以前的殖民者)三个世纪前来到非洲的时候, 他们使用了枪," Gaye 说. "他们坐着船来了, 他们控制了港口, 要塞, 并且控制了地方. 中国人用软的方式做这些."
他说:"中国商人是打开包括塞内加尔在内的新的领地的先头部队, 然后是大的公司, 然后是政治领导人. " 他还说这些普通人称为中国在类似于塞内加尔这样的新领地的耳目.
"他们是中国在世界范围内部署的很有用的战略," Gaye 说.
但是象王先生卖的那种便宜, 大量制造的中国进口产品遍布非洲市场, 冲击了很多当地的企业, 包括纺织业.
非洲不能在吸引人的中国纺织品和中国制造的非洲印刷品上于中国人竞争, 他们只卖相当我们的产品部分价格. 很多工厂关闭了, 工作机会也丢失了.
但是很多塞内加尔的消费者, 例如 Khady Sall, 说中国商店的东西价格合理. 她装了满满一包头巾, 凉鞋和香水--"尽管是仿制品", 她笑着说, "但是便宜."
Sall 说, 随着塞内加尔人的消费水平提高, 中国产品有很好的价格, 是个每个人的钱包.
Sall 说:"每个人都可以买些东西, 这的东西物美价廉."
非洲和中国的贸易额在 2006 年达到 550 亿美元--是 2000 年的 5 倍. 但还远远低于美国-非常的 700 亿美元的贸易额.
中国希望到 2020 年与非洲的双边贸易可以达到 1000 亿美元.
王, 中国的商店老板, 希望称为这样繁荣贸易的一份子. 他说他希望在塞内加尔多呆几年.
"我们要看情况--可能一两年, 或者三年, 四年. 如果这里的市场适合我, 可能更久. 也许我可以在这里长期呆下午." 王说.
在达喀尔的一个称为 Centenaire 的区的一条街上, 有数十家中国人的商店或者市场摊位. 10 年前, 这里只有几个.
王说商店太多了, 对他的生意不好,"现在的竞争比以前更厉害了, 任何东西都竞争," 他说.
'不平衡的关系'
中国人的投资也许很吸引人, Gaye 提醒说中国知道他们需要从非洲得到什么, 并且"有策略地来了." 他说非洲没有做好足够的功课.
"没有一个非洲国家都能接受的策略," Gaye 说. "没有智囊团, 没有责任, 没有把中文纳入大学教育, 没有相应的方法. 这些都应该是非盟应该做的."
Gaye 说, "总的来说, 这是不平衡的关系. 中国知道他们需要什么, 而且有清楚的日程表."
"问题是非洲在面对这些挑战时在做什么?" Gaye 说. "什么都没有做. 就好像非洲国家都拿这碗跑到中国去了. 中国自然地处在最好的位置, 获得好处, 而非洲国家机会毫无能力, 只是期待中国成为新的救世主."
Gaye 比较了那些对非洲原材料和市场动心的全球利益集团. 中国, 渴望得到所有自然资源, 而且他能得到, 肯定能赢取非洲.
"中国在非洲的中心位置" Gaye 说. "西方国家? 他们已经失败了. 如果非洲能做好的话, 我想非洲从来在比现在更好的位置了."
但是 Gaye 说能和中国保持多好的关系有非洲说了算. |
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发表于 2008-8-4 07:33
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