【英语国际】美国政客组团来中国只为要钱？

Mid-term U.S. elections are just around the corner.

So American politicians are heading to…China.

Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured several Chinese cities, riding Shanghai's super-fast Maglev train and showing off California grapes in Hangzhou. He expressed hope that Chinese input - not least of all Chinese money - could help his cash-strapped state expand its rail network and said Silicon Valley would be a fine place to hold the 2020 World Expo (not the only place in the U.S. vying for the right it turns out). Where the 'governator' goes, so do cameras. And Schwarzenegger's mugging with trains and grapes won him widespread coverage for using originality, or at least star power, to help solve the state's economic problems.

Yet, he is just one of several U.S. politicians to stump from China in recent weeks.

Recent and upcoming delegations to China include the governors of Georgia, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii, as well as mayors from Chicago, Toledo, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Missouri's two senators, Claire McCaskill and Christopher Bond, met Shanghai's mayor this month. Cabinet members galore have visited.

Meanwhile, the permanent U.S. government presence in China is expanding quickly. In 2009, 28 U.S. states had offices in China, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which said that exceeds the number for any other country.

The political visits are invariably trade missions and with the U.S. trade deficit with China (running at $145 billion so far this year) and businesses complaining about treatment and access, there is a shadow over the Sino-U.S. relationship.

Playing the tough guy, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, joined by a delegation of 42 people, did some finger wagging on trade during his visit, according to the Associated Press: 'We're not going to be friends if one of us feels it's not fair.'

But for other local officials, another trend may matter more: Investment by China into the U.S. is booming.

According to AmCham Shanghai, foreign direct investment into the U.S. from China was $1.2 billion in 2008-triple what it was in 2002. The organization cited estimates that U.S.-bound FDI from China in 2009 would come in at somewhere between $3.9 billion and $6.4 billion, or at least triple again from the year-earlier level.

Another boost is the over 100,000 Chinese students studying in U.S. universities, like Ohio State, which runs a full-time office in Shanghai (http://president.osu.edu/fromwhereistand/06_29_2010.php).

Unlike Schwarzenegger, and perhaps reflecting First Lady Michelle Obama's 'famoso' Spanish holiday last month, the American politicians don't always seem eager to trumpet their trips, which have also included stops elsewhere in Asia.

Few of them mention the trips prominently on official websites. And the politicians' hometown media tend to focus on who is footing the travel bill.

An exception is Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, who is keeping constituents up to date with a blog. As trade is the priority, it wouldn't be a surprise if she ducked into a Starbucks - a nice boost for the Seattle coffee company, as the governor has more than 100 people in her delegation. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue certainly sipped his city's most famous drink last week when he paid a visit to the Expo pavilion run by Atlanta's Coca Cola Co. Also making the trip were mayors of the Georgia cities Savannah, Brunswick and Hinesville.

In October, according to a report in the Times Argus, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas intends during his China trip to express his support for U.S. EB-5 visas, a green-card-for-investment program.

In May, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen visited the Expo. The following month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped in, around the same time Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle hosted a Polynesian day there.

Over the weekend, Chicago's outgoing mayor Richard M. Daley was promoting the adopted home of President Barack Obama as a destination for Chinese tour groups at a Chicagoland event at the Expo. 'In these tough economic times we need to be doing everything we can to make sure our city is competitive globally and we are attracting business and tourism which will help boost our local economy,' Daley said in a press release.

The visits aren't always popular. A city councilman tried to block Des Moines Mayor Robert Sheckler from touring China in September. Politicians in Toledo complained that mayor Mike Bell surprised them with his 11-day visit to China, which was billed as a way to spur job growth and was ending Monday. Toledo, the subject of a recent Wall Street Journal story on the glass industry, has a burgeoning solar industry that already has a key link to China through the sector in Inner Mongolia, which Bell visited over the weekend.

In their footsteps, Pittsburgh's Luke Ravenstahl's week in Shanghai will include an annual meeting of foreign advisers organized by the east coast city's mayor, while San Francisco's Gavin Newsom talked up a sister city relationship during his stop.

Whether American political visits to China are accelerating is unclear.

Mayors like Michael Bloomberg of New York have visited in the past, and Schwarzenegger was a big presence for the Special Olympics in Shanghai in 2007.

The seeming rush of visits may reflect the relatively narrow six-month window for attending the Shanghai Expo, a natural venue for speeches and publicity. Already 53.5 million people have been through its gates.

As the U.S. politicians stump in China, their regional accents, and political persuasions, may differ. But the message sounds the same: Give us money.

AFP/Getty Images上周美国加州州长施瓦辛格访问了中国几个城市。

美国中期选举即将进行。

所以美国政界人士纷纷前往……中国。

上周美国加州州长施瓦辛格（Arnold Schwarzenegger）访问了中国几个城市，在上海乘坐了磁悬浮火车，并在杭州展示了加州葡萄。他表示，希望中国的投入（尤其是中国的资金）可以帮助资金困难的加州拓展铁路网，并说硅谷将是举办2020年世博会的绝佳地点（人们后来发现，美国国内不仅只是硅谷在竞争举办权）。州长所到之处，闪光灯亮成一片。施瓦辛格用火车和葡萄作道具卖力演出的一幕，使媒体对他以原创方式，或至少是明星魅力，帮助解决加州经济问题进行了广泛报导。

但他仅是近几周美国政界人士在中国演说的几人之一。

近期已经和即将到访中国的代表团包括佐治亚州、明尼苏达州、华盛顿州、佛蒙特州、田纳西州、得克萨斯州和夏威夷州的州长，以及芝加哥、托莱多、匹兹堡和旧金山的市长。密苏里州的两位参议员麦卡斯基尔（Claire McCaskill）和邦德（Christopher Bond）本月会见了上海市长。许多内阁成员已访问过中国。

与此同时，美国政府驻中国永久性办事处快速增加。根据上海美国商会（American Chamber of Commerce）数据，2009年，美国28个州在中国拥有办事处，该商会称，这超过了其他任何一个国家的数量。

这些人士的政治访问总是肩负着贸易任务，由于美国对中国的贸易逆差（今年迄今逆差为1,450亿美元）问题，和企业对所受待遇和进入中国市场发出的抱怨，目前中美关系阴云密布。

据美联社（Associated Press）报导，明尼苏达州长波伦蒂（Tim Pawlenty）参加了一个42人的代表团，他扮演了一个难缠的角色，在访华过程中就贸易问题发表了一些指责性言论，他说，如果我们中的一方感到不公平，我们就不会成为朋友。

但对其他地方官员来说，另一个趋势可能更重要：中国对美国的投资日渐增多。

根据上海美国商会数据，2008年中国对美国的外国直接投资（FDI）为12亿美元，是2002年的三倍。该商会援引估算数据称，2009年中国对美国的外国直接投资介于39亿至64亿美元之间，至少又是上年三倍。

另一个积极因素是，在美国各大学有超过10万名中国留学生，像俄亥俄州立大学（Ohio State）就在上海开设了一家专职办事处。

上述美国政界人士似乎并不总是急于宣扬他们的旅行，他们的旅行目的地还包括在亚洲其他地方。他们与施瓦辛格的作法不同，而且也可能了反映美国第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马（Michelle Obama）上月到西班牙度假是多么“引人注目”。

这些政界人士中几乎没人在官方网站上的显要位置提到这些旅行，他们家乡的媒体通常关注谁为旅行费埋单。

一个例外是华盛顿州长格雷瓜尔（Chris Gregoire），她通过博客告诉选民最新情况。由于贸易是首要问题，所以她钻进一家星巴克（Starbucks）咖啡馆这一点丝毫也不让人奇怪，这对这家西雅图咖啡公司是个良好的宣传，这位州长所在的代表团里成员超过100人。

佐治亚州长珀杜（Sonny Perdue）上周参观亚特兰大市可口可乐公司（Coca Cola Co.）的世博展馆时，他当然品尝了该市最有名的可乐饮料。同时参加了这次旅行的还有佐治亚州萨凡纳、布伦斯威克、和希内斯维尔市的市长。

根据Times Argus的报导，今年10月佛蒙特州长道格拉斯（Jim Douglas）将访问中国，届时他将表达对美国EB-5签证的支持，这是针对投资移民者发放绿卡的项目。

今年5月田纳西州长布里德森（Phil Bredesen）参观了世博会，在接下来的一个月，得克萨斯州长佩里（Rick Perry）也参观了世博会，差不多与此同时，夏威夷州长林格尔（Linda Lingle）在世博会上主持了波利尼西亚日的活动。

刚过去的周末芝加哥市即将离任的市长戴利（Richard M. Daley）在世博会大芝加哥地区（Chicagoland）活动上，向中国旅游团重点推广奥巴马总统（Barack Obama）的第二故乡。戴利在新闻稿中说，在经济困难的时期，我们要尽一切努力确保我们的城市具有全球竞争力，我们在吸引商业和旅游业，这将帮助提振我们的本地经济。

但并不是所有访问都受到人们的欢迎。一位市议员曾力图阻止衣阿华州得梅因市市长沙克勒（Robert Sheckler）的9月访华行程。托莱多市的政界人士抱怨说，市长贝尔（Mike Bell）用11天访问中国，让他们大吃了一惊，贝尔此行意在促进就业增长，访问将于周一结束。托莱多市太阳能产业发展迅速，借此在内蒙古与中国建立了重要联系，周末贝尔访问了内蒙古。

匹兹堡市市长卢克（Luke Ravenstahl）访问上海的一周行程将包括参加上海市长组织的外国顾问年会，旧金山市长纽瑟姆（Gavin Newsom）在他的上海之行中，谈到了姊妹城市的关系。

美国政界人士对中国的访问是否正在加速目前还不清楚。

纽约市长彭博（Michael Bloomberg）等市长过去曾经访问过中国，施瓦辛格曾于2007年出席过上海特奥会（Special Olympics）。

这么密集的访问可能反映了上海世博会六个月相对较短的展期，世博会是演讲和宣传的天然场所。目前已经有5,350万人参观了这次世博会。

美国政界人士纷纷踏足中国发表演说，虽然他们的地方口音和政治理念互不相同，但传达的信息听起来是一样的：我们需要钱。