欧洲正在推动对外国投资进行更严格的审查，剑指北京。澳大利亚一直在阻止中国买家收购其战略资产。在加拿大，中国对一家主要承包商的收购面临国家安全考验。
随着中国希望扩散其财富和影响力，美国并不是唯一一个假借国家安全保护本国行业的国家。世界各地的政府，特别是欧洲各国政府，越来越倾向于用此类担忧作为中国投资的试金石，来保护自己的竞争优势。
这是政治姿态、民族自豪感和纯粹的偏执共同作用的结果。但中国带来了一个棘手的政策难题。各国必须在保护本国战略行业、防止敏感技术流失，与向中国投资者示好、改善与北京的贸易关系之间保持平衡。
“普遍的印象是，中国在各个领域都在崛起，问题是如何应对这个局面，”哈佛大学肯尼迪学院(Harvard Kennedy School)的中国问题专家、高级研究员陆克(Philippe Le Corre)说。“大多数国家都不知道该如何应对。”
美国对中国采取的立场似乎是最强硬的。特朗普总统本周决定叫停总部设在新加坡的博通(Broadcom)对竞争对手、美国芯片公司高通(Qualcomm)发起的恶意收购，担心收购可能会对中国竞争对手有利。而审查高通这笔交易的委员会，即美国外国投资委员会（Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States，简称Cfius），可能会对中国变得更加强硬。
这个委员会可以国家安全为由，阻止外国公司收购美国企业。它已经否决了与中国有关的买家的大批交易。立法者现在呼吁扩大该委员会可以审查的交易类型。
欧洲起步晚一些。去年，当德国、法国和意大利呼吁在欧洲范围内建立对外国收购加大审查力度的机制时，一场有关保护主义的讨论逐渐升温。这一举动的出现，适逢对该地区在科技领域失去优势，以及所谓的军民两用技术向中国转移的担忧与日俱增。
2016年，一家中国公司收购德国最大、最先进的机器人制造商库卡(Kuka)后，担忧加剧。随着中国在南欧和中欧各地投资铁路、港口和其他战略基础设施，担忧更是进一步加深。
其中一些反应，表明了国内的政治担忧。比如，法国财政部长布鲁诺·勒梅尔(Bruno Le Maire)在1月访问北京时表示，巴黎欢迎中国投资，但先要对交易进行审查，以确保法国资产不会遭到“掠夺”。
尽管如此，随着中国大力推动在经济上变身为一个前沿超级大国，很多国家的政府都加紧了对外国投资的审查。中国这项雄心勃勃的政策叫《中国制造2025》。
欧盟委员会(European Commission)主席让-克洛德·容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)去年9月提议，在欧洲范围内建立一个审查外国公司投资交易的框架。去年，德国议会通过一项法律，投资者持股达到25%时，需要对交易进行国家安全审查。
但推动对北京采取收紧政策的政治行动，面临着相当大的阻碍。
首先，激怒中国的风险是真实存在的。尽管民众感到担忧，但欧洲企业仍然渴望得到中国的投资。欧洲各国政府也唯恐在迫切需要更多赢得中国消费者之际得罪北京。
即使在德国国内，政界领导人之间也没有达成一致。最近刚刚宣誓就职，开始第四个总理任期的安格拉·默克尔(Angela Merkel)已经培养起与北京的关系，中国已成为德国巨头、欧洲最大车企大众(Volkswagen)等企业的重要市场。
欧洲在如何应对中国的崛起上也存在分歧。在金融危机期间受益于中国慷慨解囊的希腊、匈牙利和另一些较贫穷的南欧和中欧国家，普遍反对加强审查，担心阻碍中国的进一步投资。
因此，容克在其审查投资交易的提议中力图谨慎行事，它被视为朝着在欧洲范围内建立一个类似于Cfius的机制迈出的第一步。
这也是批评人士说该计划缺乏真正力度的一个原因。它主要是要求欧盟成员国把外国投资交易，尤其是那些可能影响另一个国家安全的交易告知布鲁塞尔。目前，28个欧盟成员国中仅有12个拥有到位的审查机制。
“欧盟将很难在短时间内建立起一个处理外国直接投资的强有力的制度化机制，”位于伦敦的研究机构皇家国际问题研究所(Chatham House)的亚太项目副研究员王爵（Jue Wang，音）说。“欧洲的公司仍然想欢迎中国的钱。”
该提案的力度似乎也不及其他主要经济强国目前已经有的做法。日本最近加强了对与安全有关的外国投资的限制。考虑到中国，英国本周加强了政府从国家安全的角度，审查外国在特定经济领域投资的权力。
欧盟的计划也不一定追得上中国投资者为持有战略资产的股份而采取的创新战略。
上个月，中国最富有的男性之一收购了德国汽车工业皇冠上的明珠戴姆勒(Daimler)价值90亿美元（约合572亿人民币）的股份，令德国猝不及防。中国汽车巨头吉利的董事长李书福在其他人意识到发生了什么事情之前，就通过一项财务策略进行了收购。去年，这家德国企业曾经否决了这位中国商人收购该公司股份的提议。
这项耗时数月时间完成的秘密收购，使李书福成为了戴姆勒最大的股东。德国当局正在调查该交易是否符合德国的投资法。但戴姆勒或德国政府都似乎无法改变这项收购。
其他国家的经验也表明了情况的复杂性。
在澳大利亚，来自中国的投资仅在2014年就超过了300亿美元（约合1900亿人民币），该国政府已努力加大了审查力度。
随着中国投资者大举收购澳大利亚的经济，以及对中国商人向澳大利亚政客捐赠数百万美金一事的担忧，对北京不断增长的经济影响力的警惕也相应提高了。中国对澳大利亚企业的收购快速增长，对其农业用地的收购也在加速。
2015年，该国政府加强了外国并购的规定，如果外国购买者的农田投资组合价值达1500万美元（约合9500万人民币）或更多，就需要得到国家监督委员会的批准。澳大利亚还阻止了一家中国公司对澳大利亚电力公司的投标，理由是这项交易违背了国家利益。
更多的改变可能正在计划中。澳大利亚政府最近表示将考虑更新其外国投资指导方针，以便澳大利亚人可以确信，拟议的投资“对国家有利”。
在其他国家，虽然加拿大总理贾斯汀·杜鲁多(Justin Trudeau)的政府一直在努力吸引中国投资者，但民众的情绪并不总是与这种努力相一致。出于对国家安全和中国商业惯例的担忧，一些中国投资者收购加拿大公司的竞标遭到了否决。在渥太华表示一项交易可能会危及国家安全之后，中国电脑制造商联想放弃了收购黑莓(BlackBerry)的企图，该公司生产的智能手机在政府机构被广泛使用。
这些担忧促使加拿大前任保守党政府试图加强外国投资法律力度，要求非加拿大实体持有的股份必须通过国家安全测试。
该政府正在审查由中国政府支持的中交国际控股公司对加拿大主要承包商爱康(Aecon)的收购竞标。官员们正在评估该收购交易是否会削弱国家安全，爱康承接了许多重大基础设施建设，并一直在承担加拿大的军事和核工业项目。
“我们欢迎对加拿大经济有利的国际投资，但不能以国家安全为代价。”负责审查投资的经济发展部部长纳夫迪普·贝恩斯(Navdeep Bains)的发言人卡尔·W·萨瑟维尔(Karl W. Sasseville)说。
Wary of China, Europe and Others Push Back on Foreign Takeovers
PARIS — Europe is pushing for more stringent vetting of foreign investments, with an eye on Beijing. Australia has been blocking bids by Chinese buyers for strategic assets. And in Canada, a Chinese takeover of a major contractor faces a national security test.
As China looks to spread its wealth and influence, the United States is not the only country seeking to shield its industries under the guise of national security. Governments around the world, and especially in Europe, are increasingly inclined to use such concerns as a litmus test for Chinese investments to protect their competitive edge.
It’s a mixture of political posturing, national pride and outright paranoia. But China presents a difficult policy puzzle. Countries must balance safeguarding their strategic industries and preventing the loss of sensitive technologies, while still courting Chinese investors and improving trade with Beijing.
“There’s a general impression that China is rising on all fronts, and the question is how to deal with that,” said Philippe Le Corre, a China specialist and senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. “Most countries don’t know how to react.”
The United States appears to be taking the hardest line toward China. President Trump’s decision this week to block a hostile bid by Singapore-based Broadcom for the rival American chip company Qualcomm fell apart over concerns that a takeover could hand Chinese rivals an advantage. And the panel that reviewed the Qualcomm deal, known as Cfius, is likely to get tougher still on China.ontinue reading the main story
The committee, which can essentially block foreign acquisitions of American firms on national security grounds, has already quashed a number of deals by Chinese-linked buyers. Lawmakers are now calling to broaden the types of transactions the panel can vet.
Europe got off to a later start.
A protectionist debate ramped up last year when Germany, France and Italy called for a Europe-wide mechanism for more rigorous vetting of foreign takeovers. The move came amid rising worries about the loss of the region’s edge in technology, and the transfer of so-called dual-use technologies to China.
Robotic arms made by Kuka welding together parts of a Volkswagen Passat in Emden, Germany, last week. Kuka, Germany’s biggest and most advanced maker of robotics, was purchased by a Chinese company in 2016.CreditKrisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Concerns mounted after the
2016 purchase of Kuka, Germany’s biggest and most advanced maker of robotics, by a Chinese company. And they have intensified as China has invested in railways, ports and other strategic infrastructure across southern and Central Europe.
Some of the reaction reflects domestic political concerns. Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, said on a visit to Beijing in January, for example, that Paris would welcome investment from China, but only after screening deals to ensure French assets were not “looted.”
Still, numerous governments are pressing to harden reviews of foreign investment as China embarks on a major push to transform its economy to a cutting-edge superpower,
an ambitious policy known as Made in China 2025.
The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, proposed in September creating a Europe-wide framework to screen investment deals by foreign companies. And last year, the German Parliament passed a law allowing deals to be scrutinized on national security grounds if an investor’s stake reaches 25 percent.
But the political push to tighten up on Beijing faces considerable hurdles.
For one thing, the risks of angering China are real. Despite the optics, European companies remain eager for Chinese investments. And European governments are also wary of offending Beijing at a time when they are pressing to get better access to Chinese customers.
Even within Germany there is no unity among political leaders. Angela Merkel,
recently sworn in for a fourth termas chancellor, has cultivated ties with Beijing, and China has become a crucial market for companies like Volkswagen, a German behemoth and Europe’s biggest automaker.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, meets with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang late last year. While Mr. Trudeau has courted Chinese investors, public sentiment in Canada has not always aligned with that effort.
CreditSean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press
Europe is also divided over how to cope with China’s rise. Greece, Hungary and other poorer southern and Central European countries that benefited from China’s largess during the financial crisis have generally opposed tightening scrutiny
for fear of discouraging further Chinese investment.
As a result, Mr. Juncker has sought to walk a fine line in his proposal to screen investment deals, which is seen as the first step toward an E.U.-wide mechanism similar to Cfius.
It’s a reason critics say the plan lacks real teeth. It would mainly require European Union member states to inform Brussels of foreign investment deals, especially ones that might affect the security of another country. Currently, only 12 of the European Union’s 28 member states have any screening mechanism in place.
“It will be difficult for the E.U. to have a strong institutionalized mechanism for foreign direct investment any time soon,” said Jue Wang, an associate fellow in the Asia Pacific Program at Chatham House, a research organization in London. “European companies will still want to welcome Chinese money.”
The proposal also appears to be weaker than what other major economic powers have in place. Japan recently strengthened restrictions on foreign investments related to security. And Britain this week
strengthened government powers to scrutinize foreign investment in specific areas of the economy through the lens of national security, with China in mind.
Nor would the European Union’s plan necessarily catch innovative new strategies by Chinese investors to take stakes in strategic assets.
Germany was caught off guard after one of China’s wealthiest men last month
amassed a $9 billion stake in Daimler, a crown jewel of Germany’s auto industry. Li Shufu, the chairman of the Chinese car giant Geely, made the grab through a financial maneuver before anyone even realized what was happening. Last year, the German company rejected a proposal by the Chinese businessman to take stakes in the company.
Li Shufu, left, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and one of China’s wealthiest men, caused alarm after he quietly amassed a $9 billion stake in Daimler, a crown jewel of the German auto industry. CreditQilai Shen/Bloomberg
The stealth purchase over months made Mr. Li the largest shareholder in Daimler. The German authorities are examining whether the purchase adhered to German investment laws. But it is unlikely that either Daimler or the German government can do anything about the acquisition.
The experience of other countries shows the complexity of the situation.
In Australia, where Chinese foreign investment reached more than $30 billion in 2014 alone, the government has sought to toughen screening.
Wariness of Beijing’s growing economic influence has increased as Chinese investors buy up vast swaths of the Australian economy and over concerns about Chinese businessmen
giving millions of dollars to Australian politicians. Chinese takeovers of Australian businesses have jumped in recent years, along with an acceleration in purchases of agricultural land.
In 2015, the government strengthened foreign acquisitions and takeover rules to require the approval of a national oversight board if, for instance, a foreign purchaser’s portfolio of farmland was worth $15 million or more. It has also
blocked bids by a Chinese firms for Australian electricity companies, citing such deals as contrary to the national interest.
More changes could be afoot. The government recently said it would consider updating its foreign investment guidelines so Australians could be sure that proposed investments were “good for the country.”
Elsewhere, while the government of Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has been courting Chinese investors, public sentiment in Canada has not always aligned with that effort. Some attempted takeovers of Canadian companies by Chinese investors were abandoned because of concerns over national security and Chinese business practices. Lenovo, the Chinese computer maker, dropped ambitions to acquire BlackBerry, a smartphone used widely in government agencies, after Ottawa signaled a deal could compromise national security.
Those concerns prompted Canada’s previous Conservative government to strengthen foreign investment laws to require stakes taken by non-Canadian entities to pass a national security test.
The government is now reviewing a proposed takeover of Aecon, a major Canadian contractor, by Chinese state-backed CCCC International Holding. Officials are assessing whether national security would be undermined by the takeover of Aecon, which handles major infrastructure projects and has done work for Canada’s military and nuclear industry.
“We welcome international investments that will benefit the Canadian economy,” said Karl W. Sasseville, a spokesman for Navdeep Bains, the minister for economic development, whose department handles investment reviews, “but not at the expense of national security.”
Follow Liz Alderman on Twitter: @LizAldermanNYT.
Jack Ewing contributed reporting from Frankfurt, Jacqueline Williams from Sydney and Ian Austen from Ottawa.
