然而,尽管有那么多关于美国和中国可能“脱钩”的不祥新闻,你可能会惊讶于两国之间的金融联系仍然如此强大和紧密。
许多美国大公司的很大一部分收入依赖中国,产品也依赖中国的供应商和工厂。两国经济紧密相连,作为一个中国通,我认为这是一件好事。这意味着,即使两国关系进一步恶化,两国还是有避开严重冲突的意愿。
想想看,虽然标准普尔500指数中的美国上市公司近60%的收入来自国内,但它们最大的海外销售来源是中国。这是根据金融数据公司FactSet的估计得出的,该公司表示,在截至去年12月的12个月里,来自中国的销售额占标准普尔500指数上市公司收入的7.1%。第二大外国来源国是日本,占2.6%;其次是德国和英国,各占2.2%;再次是台湾,占1.8%。
弗吉尼亚大学的政治学家戴尔·科普兰在接受采访时说,这样的数据对于评估美中关系至关重要。“在国际关系中,对未来利润的预期是一个关键因素,但往往被忽视,”他说。科普兰著有《一个对商业安全的世界——从革命到中国崛起的美国外交政策》(A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy From the Revolution to the Rise of China)一书。
“历史表明,当一个主要大国突然切断商业和资源——令未来的商业前景看起来很暗淡——爆发战争的可能性就会大大增加,”他还说。“幸运的是,到目前为止,美国和中国还没有发生这种情况。更大的冲突甚至战争并非不可避免。未来仍然有很多商业机会,我认为,这是、也应该是美国当前政策中值得深思熟虑的一部分。”
反对中国的理由
企业盈利只能为这个复杂问题提供一种视角。但它们却能打开人们的视野,因为它们似乎与中美之间冲突和限制的鼓噪背道而驰。
从关税到技术禁令,再到对TikTok的担忧,拜登政府一直在打击中国,称其滥用长期商业关系,直接或间接补贴本土产业,非法获取美国知识产权,并从根本上威胁美国的国家安全。美国情报机构估计,中国有“直接与美国及其盟友竞争的能力”,如果无人反对,中国可以“改变以规则为基础的全球秩序”,使秩序对自己有利。
今年是美国的选举年,美国新的对华政策是以特朗普政府期间开始的转变为基础的。如今,特朗普的顾问们表示,如果再次当选,他将致力于与中国完全“脱钩”,尽管他的表态前后并不一致:他近期曾质疑,是否有必要要求TikTok的中国所有者出售该应用,或者在美国关闭该应用,但在担任总统期间,他试图强迫出售该应用。
中国对美国最近的措施反应平淡。但是,如果美国继续推动联合商业战线,旨在阻止中国工厂出口大量可能会在许多国家损害当地工业、造成国内混乱的电动汽车、太阳能电池板和钢铁等低成本产品,那么更有可能出现进一步的反应。
千疮百孔的壁垒
最具针对性的关税——比如对中国电动汽车征收100%的新关税——针对的是那些没有大量进口到美国的商品。独立研究公司牛津经济研究院的一项分析显示,这意味着拜登总统的新关税不会对整体形势造成太大改变。
该公司首席美国经济学家瑞安·斯威特在电子邮件中写道,美国对来自所有国家的商品的贸易加权平均关税“在特朗普发动贸易战之前仅为1.6%,而现在上升到了3.1%”。他说,在拜登最新的关税之前,美国的平均关税为2.7%,新关税将“永久性地使有效关税税率增加0.14%”。
但他预计,随着企业找到避免“特朗普/拜登关税上涨”的方法,有效关税将在未来10年降至2.3%以下。前提是关税战不会恶化。
为了更好地理解这一点,可以参看世界银行计算的数据:在中美冲突开始之前的2017年,全球平均关税为2.6%。因此,尽管美国不再减少贸易壁垒、降低消费者成本,但它并不是全球的异类。目前,正如美国公司收益报告所显示的那样,两国之间仍有大量有利可图的商业机会。
芯片之战
令我吃惊的是,即使是设计、制造和创造先进硅芯片工具的公司,也继续从中国获得可观的收入。
回想一下,在2022年,美国开始对使用美国技术的国家的此类公司实施出口管制,限制它们向中国的销售。与此同时,通过《芯片法案》,美国开始补贴国内半导体代工厂的建设,这实际上是复制了中国此前开始的类似努力。
我采访了塔夫茨大学弗莱彻学院的历史学家克里斯·米勒,他著有《芯片战争——世界最关键技术的争夺战》(Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology)一书。
他说,美国的限制是经过校准的,因此甚至一些先进的芯片也被运往中国。“美国真正针对的是对人工智能至关重要的芯片。其他芯片可以通行。”
英伟达是使人工智能成为可能的芯片的主要设计者,但它被禁止将其最先进的产品运往中国。这削弱了它在中国的业务。英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋在上周的财报电话会议上表示,“由于我们的技术受到限制”,英伟达在中国的业务出现了下滑。FactSet估计,在2023年,中国是英伟达的第三大市场,占其总销售额的16.6%,次于美国的44.3%和台湾的22%。
事实上,我研究的所有半导体公司——英伟达、博通、AMD、英特尔、台积电、三星、Lam Research、KLA和东京电子——在2023年都从中国获得了可观的收入。中国是这些公司的前三大市场之一,而且在大多数情况下排名第一。例如,英特尔26.8%的收入来自中国。
荷兰阿斯麦公司的案例很说明问题。该公司生产的光刻机用于蚀刻最小和最先进的芯片电路。该公司首席财务官罗杰·达森在4月份的财报电话会议上表示,美国的禁令可能会使该公司在中国的销售额减少10%至15%。
尽管如此,他说,“我们仍然认为今年在中国的销售水平会很强劲。”FactSet估计,2023年,阿斯麦25.8%的营收来自中国。来自美国的收入仅占11.4%。
再看看苹果。这不仅仅是因为中国在2023年占该公司收入的17.8%,仅次于美国。更重要的是,苹果经常将大量微小的、先进的、最先进的半导体在中国运进运出。“这是在监管规则允许范围内的,制定政策的时候就考虑了,”米勒说。
我口袋里的iPhone 15包含一个四纳米芯片,由苹果公司在加州设计,在台湾制造,运到中国组装,然后再运回给像我这样的纽约消费者。IPhone 15 Pro已经使用了三纳米芯片,苹果正准备采用台积电更先进的两纳米芯片。所有这些技术都超出了中国的商业能力。苹果没有回应置评请求。
上周,中国在台湾附近海域进行了军事演习,并对台湾的独立举动发出了“严重警告”。中国还在表明,它可以切断获得先进硅芯片的渠道,而这种芯片已成为全球股市的动力燃料。
全球化的高峰可能已经过去,但这本来就是有起有落的。重要的是长期趋势。
美国和中国和平共处符合所有人的利益。在追求利润的过程中,世界各地的企业仍在寻找实现这一目标的方法。
当人人都在讨论“脱钩”,中美经济仍然紧密相连
The Business Ties That Bind the U.S. and China Are Strong but Fraying
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/business/united-states-china-chips-profits.html
JEFF SOMMER 2024年5月27日
If you follow the news, you know that
tensions between the United States and China are
high and that the commercial relationship between the two biggest trading nations on the planet has been
fraying.
如果关注新闻,你就会知道,美国和中国之间的关系非常
紧张,世界上最大的两个贸易体之间的商业关系一直在
恶化。
Yet, amid the ominous headlines about a possible “decoupling” of the United States and China, you may be surprised by how strong and binding their financial ties remain.
然而,尽管有那么多关于美国和中国可能“脱钩”的不祥新闻,你可能会惊讶于两国之间的金融联系仍然如此强大和紧密。
Many big U.S. companies depend on China for a substantial part of their income and rely on Chinese suppliers and factories for their products. The two economies are closely linked, and, as an old China hand, I think that’s a good thing. It implies that even if relations deteriorate further, the countries have many incentives for pulling back from the brink of serious conflict.
许多美国大公司的很大一部分收入依赖中国,产品也依赖中国的供应商和工厂。两国经济紧密相连,作为一个中国通,我认为这是一件好事。这意味着,即使两国关系进一步恶化,两国还是有避开严重冲突的意愿。
Consider that while the publicly traded U.S. companies in the S&P 500 obtain almost 60 percent of their revenue domestically, the biggest source of their foreign sales is China. That’s according to estimates from the financial data company FactSet, which said sales from China amounted to 7.1 percent of S&P 500 revenues for the 12 months through December. The second-largest foreign source was Japan, with 2.6 percent; followed by Germany and Britain, with 2.2 percent each; and then Taiwan, with 1.8 percent.
想想看,虽然标准普尔500指数中的美国上市公司近60%的收入来自国内,但它们最大的海外销售来源是中国。这是根据金融数据公司FactSet的估计得出的,该公司表示,在截至去年12月的12个月里,来自中国的销售额占标准普尔500指数上市公司收入的7.1%。第二大外国来源国是日本,占2.6%;其次是德国和英国,各占2.2%;再次是台湾,占1.8%。
Numbers like these are critical in assessing U.S.-China relations, Dale Copeland, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said in an interview. “Expectations of future profits are a key and often neglected factor in international relations,” he said. Mr. Copeland is the
author of “A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy From the Revolution to the Rise of China.”
弗吉尼亚大学的政治学家戴尔·科普兰在接受采访时说,这样的数据对于评估美中关系至关重要。“在国际关系中,对未来利润的预期是一个关键因素,但往往被忽视,”他说。科普兰
著有《一个对商业安全的世界——从革命到中国崛起的美国外交政策》(A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy From the Revolution to the Rise of China)一书。
“History shows that when a major power cuts off business and resources abruptly — so that prospects for future commerce look dim — the possibility of war becomes much greater,” he added. “Fortunately, that hasn’t happened so far with the United States and China. Greater conflict, even war — aren’t inevitable. There are still plenty of opportunities for future business and, I think, that is, and should be, a deliberate part of current U.S. policy.”
“历史表明,当一个主要大国突然切断商业和资源——令未来的商业前景看起来很暗淡——爆发战争的可能性就会大大增加,”他还说。“幸运的是,到目前为止,美国和中国还没有发生这种情况。更大的冲突甚至战争并非不可避免。未来仍然有很多商业机会,我认为,这是、也应该是美国当前政策中值得深思熟虑的一部分。”
Corporate earnings provide only one perspective on a complex issue. But they are eye-opening because they seem to fly in the face of the drumroll of conflicts and restrictions between the United States and China.
企业盈利只能为这个复杂问题提供一种视角。但它们却能打开人们的视野,因为它们似乎与中美之间冲突和限制的鼓噪背道而驰。
From tariffs to technology bans to concerns about
TikTok, the Biden administration has been cracking down on China, which, it says, is abusing longstanding commercial relationships, subsidizing local industries directly and indirectly, obtaining U.S. intellectual property illicitly and fundamentally threatening U.S. national security. U.S. intelligence
estimated that China had “the capability to directly compete with the United States and U.S. allies” and, if unopposed, could “alter the rules-based global order” in its favor.
从关税到技术禁令,再到对
TikTok的担忧,拜登政府一直在打击中国,称其滥用长期商业关系,直接或间接补贴本土产业,非法获取美国知识产权,并从根本上威胁美国的国家安全。美国情报机构
估计,中国有“直接与美国及其盟友竞争的能力”,如果无人反对,中国可以“改变以规则为基础的全球秩序”,使秩序对自己有利。
It’s an election year in the United States and the country’s new China policies build on a shift that began during the Trump administration. Donald J. Trump’s advisers now say that if he is re-elected, he will aim for a full “decoupling” from China, though he has been inconsistent: He recently questioned the need to require the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the app or shut it down in the United States, but as president, he
tried to force a sale.
今年是美国的选举年,美国新的对华政策是以特朗普政府期间开始的转变为基础的。如今,特朗普的顾问们表示,如果再次当选,他将致力于与中国完全“脱钩”,尽管他的表态前后并不一致:他近期曾质疑,是否有必要要求TikTok的中国所有者出售该应用,或者在美国关闭该应用,但在担任总统期间,他
试图强迫出售该应用。
China’s reaction to recent U.S. measures has been muted. But some further response is more likely if the United States keeps pushing for an allied commercial front that aims to prevent Chinese factories from exporting torrents of low-cost goods like electric vehicles, solar panels and steel that could hurt local industries and cause domestic dislocations in many countries.
中国对美国最近的措施反应平淡。但是,如果美国继续推动联合商业战线,旨在阻止中国工厂出口大量可能会在许多国家损害当地工业、造成国内混乱的电动汽车、太阳能电池板和钢铁等低成本产品,那么更有可能出现进一步的反应。
The steepest targeted tariffs — like
the new 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles — are on goods that aren’t being imported in large volumes into the United States. That means that President Biden’s new tariffs wouldn’t change the overall picture much, an analysis by Oxford Economics, an independent research firm, suggested.
最具针对性的关税——比如对中国电动汽车
征收100%的新关税——针对的是那些没有大量进口到美国的商品。独立研究公司牛津经济研究院的一项分析显示,这意味着拜登总统的新关税不会对整体形势造成太大改变。
The trade-weighted average U.S. tariff on goods from all nations was just “1.6 percent before the Trump trade wars and it rose to as much as 3.1 percent,” Ryan Sweet, the chief U.S. economist at the firm, said in an email. Before Mr. Biden’s latest tariffs, the average U.S. tariff was 2.7 percent, he said, and the new tariffs would “permanently add 0.14 percent to the effective tariff rate.”
该公司首席美国经济学家瑞安·斯威特在电子邮件中写道,美国对来自所有国家的商品的贸易加权平均关税“在特朗普发动贸易战之前仅为1.6%,而现在上升到了3.1%”。他说,在拜登最新的关税之前,美国的平均关税为2.7%,新关税将“永久性地使有效关税税率增加0.14%”。
But the effective tariff will drop below 2.3 percent over the next decade, he projected, as businesses figure out ways of avoiding “the Trump/Biden tariff hikes.” That assumes the tariff wars don’t worsen.
但他预计,随着企业找到避免“特朗普/拜登关税上涨”的方法,有效关税将在未来10年降至2.3%以下。前提是关税战不会恶化。
To put that into perspective, the World Bank calculated that the worldwide average tariff was 2.6 percent in 2017, before the U.S.-China conflict began. So the United States is still not a global outlier, even if it is no longer reducing trade barriers and lowering costs for consumers. At this point, as U.S. corporate earnings reports show, there are still vast opportunities for profitable commerce between the two countries.
为了更好地理解这一点,可以参看世界银行计算的数据:在中美冲突开始之前的2017年,全球平均关税为2.6%。因此,尽管美国不再减少贸易壁垒、降低消费者成本,但它并不是全球的异类。目前,正如美国公司收益报告所显示的那样,两国之间仍有大量有利可图的商业机会。
What I find striking is that even companies that design, manufacture and create tools for advanced
silicon chips continue to receive substantial revenues from China.
令我吃惊的是,即使是设计、制造和创造先进
硅芯片工具的公司,也继续从中国获得可观的收入。
Recall that in 2022, the United States
began to impose export controls on such companies from countries that used U.S. technology, restricting their sales to China. At the same time, with the
Chips Act, the United States began subsidizing construction of domestic semiconductor foundries, effectively replicating parallel efforts that China had begun earlier.
回想一下,在2022年,美国
开始对使用美国技术的国家的此类公司实施出口管制,限制它们向中国的销售。与此同时,通过《
芯片法案》,美国开始补贴国内半导体代工厂的建设,这实际上是复制了中国此前开始的类似努力。
I spoke with
Chris Miller, a historian at the Fletcher School at Tufts University who wrote “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology.”
我采访了塔夫茨大学弗莱彻学院的历史学家
克里斯·米勒,他著有《芯片战争——世界最关键技术的争夺战》(Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology)一书。
U.S. restrictions are calibrated so that even some advanced chips are being shipped to China, he said. “It’s the chips that are critical for A.I. that the U.S. is really targeting. Others are getting through.”
他说,美国的限制是经过校准的,因此甚至一些先进的芯片也被运往中国。“美国真正针对的是对人工智能至关重要的芯片。其他芯片可以通行。”
Nvidia, the foremost designer of the chips that make artificial intelligence possible, is prohibited from shipping its most advanced products to China. That has dented its business there. Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, said in an earnings call this past week that Nvidia’s business in China had declined “because of the limitations on our technology.” For 2023, FactSet estimated that China was Nvidia’s third-biggest market, with 16.6 percent of its total sales, behind only the United States, with 44.3 percent, and Taiwan, with 22 percent.
英伟达是使人工智能成为可能的芯片的主要设计者,但它被禁止将其最先进的产品运往中国。这削弱了它在中国的业务。英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋在上周的财报电话会议上表示,“由于我们的技术受到限制”,英伟达在中国的业务出现了下滑。FactSet估计,在2023年,中国是英伟达的第三大市场,占其总销售额的16.6%,次于美国的44.3%和台湾的22%。
In fact, all of the semiconductor companies I looked at — Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung, Lam Research, KLA and Tokyo Electronics — received substantial revenue from China in 2023. China was among the companies’ top three markets, and, in most cases, ranked No. 1. Intel, for example, received 26.8 percent of its revenue from China.
事实上,我研究的所有半导体公司——英伟达、博通、AMD、英特尔、台积电、三星、Lam Research、KLA和东京电子——在2023年都从中国获得了可观的收入。中国是这些公司的前三大市场之一,而且在大多数情况下排名第一。例如,英特尔26.8%的收入来自中国。
The case of
ASML, a Dutch company, is instructive. The company makes lithography machines that are needed to etch circuits for the smallest and most cutting-edge chips.
Roger Dassen, the company’s chief financial officer, said in an earnings call in April that the U.S. ban could eliminate 10 to 15 percent of its China sales.
荷兰
阿斯麦公司的案例很说明问题。该公司生产的光刻机用于蚀刻最小和最先进的芯片电路。该公司首席财务官
罗杰·达森在4月份的财报电话会议上表示,美国的禁令可能会使该公司在中国的销售额减少10%至15%。
Nonetheless, he said, “We’re still looking at a strong sales level for China for this year.” FactSet estimated that ASML received 25.8 percent of its revenues from China in 2023. Revenue from the United States was only 11.4 percent.
尽管如此,他说,“我们仍然认为今年在中国的销售水平会很强劲。”FactSet估计,2023年,阿斯麦25.8%的营收来自中国。来自美国的收入仅占11.4%。
Consider Apple. It’s not just that China accounted for 17.8 percent of the company’s revenue in 2023, second only to the United States. It’s that Apple routinely ships large quantities of tiny, advanced, state-of-the-art semiconductors in and out of China. “The regulations were written to allow this to happen,” Mr. Miller said.
再看看苹果。这不仅仅是因为中国在2023年占该公司收入的17.8%,仅次于美国。更重要的是,苹果经常将大量微小的、先进的、最先进的半导体在中国运进运出。“这是在监管规则允许范围内的,制定政策的时候就考虑了,”米勒说。
The iPhone 15 in my pocket contains a four-nanometer chip designed by Apple in California, made in Taiwan, shipped to China for assembly and then shipped back to consumers like me in New York. The iPhone 15 Pro already uses three-nanometer chips, and Apple is preparing to incorporate even more advanced two-nanometer chips from Taiwan Semiconductor. All this technology is beyond China’s commercial capability. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
我口袋里的iPhone 15包含一个四纳米芯片,由苹果公司在加州设计,在台湾制造,运到中国组装,然后再运回给像我这样的纽约消费者。IPhone 15 Pro已经使用了三纳米芯片,苹果正准备采用台积电更先进的两纳米芯片。所有这些技术都超出了中国的商业能力。苹果没有回应置评请求。
This past week, China conducted military exercises in the waters around Taiwan, issuing a “
stern warning” against moves toward the island’s independence. China was also demonstrating that it could cut off access to the advanced silicon chips that have become the jet fuel for the world’s stock markets.
上周,中国在台湾附近海域进行了军事演习,并对台湾的独立举动发出了“
严重警告”。中国还在表明,它可以切断获得先进硅芯片的渠道,而这种芯片已成为全球股市的动力燃料。
The peak of globalization may have passed, but peaks come and go. Long-term trends are what matter.
全球化的高峰可能已经过去,但这本来就是有起有落的。重要的是长期趋势。
It’s in everyone’s interest that the United States and China coexist peacefully. In their search for profit, the world’s businesses are still finding ways to make that happen.
美国和中国和平共处符合所有人的利益。在追求利润的过程中,世界各地的企业仍在寻找实现这一目标的方法。