【英语国际】卡梅伦率英国史上最大商业团来华掘金

Prime Minister David Cameron will lead the U.K.'s largest-ever business delegation to China Monday, hoping to cash in on what has become a steady relationship between the two countries in recent years.

Cameron, who has made stronger commercial ties with China one of his government's priorities, is hoping the trip will result in a string of business deals that will help U.K. firms drive an export-led economic recovery.

Yet the U.K.'s calm relationship with China could bear a cost, dissuading London from publicly airing concerns about the Asian country's economic policies and human-rights record. And trade ties are likely to remain limited as long as China continues to look to its export sector to propel growth, rather than boosting domestic demand.

Speaking ahead of the trip, which will see Cameron meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao before heading onto the Group of 20 summit in Seoul, the prime minister said the visit was a 'vitally important trade mission.'

'Our message is simple: Britain is now open for business, has a very business-friendly government, and wants to have a much, much stronger relationship with China,' he said.

Cameron will be accompanied by ministers including Treasury Chief George Osborne, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, and 43 delegates from across British business sectors, the arts and academia.

The delegates include: Kevin Smith, the chief executive officer at engineering firm GKN (GKN.LN); David Nish, CEO of Standard Life (SL.LN); George Weston, CEO of Associated British Foods (ABF.LN); and Julie Southern, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic Airways, tipped as future CEO of the airline.

This week's visit has already borne some fruit. On Monday, Cable will sign an agreement that will see Chinese authorities register Scotch Whisky as whisky produced only in Scotland--a trademark recognition that industry officials say could double Whisky sales in coming years. Cable is also due to pen a deal allowing the export of British breeding pigs to China.

The government hopes ministerial talks will lead to accords on energy, education and other commercial issues and that the two sides can begin to expand their dialogue on security issues. Cameron is expected to discuss priorities for the G-20 with the Chinese leadership, including his hopes for advancing global trade talks.

The China trade mission follows a similar visit to India in July, as Cameron sought to flesh out his vow to put commercial ties at the heart of British foreign policy.

Cameron's coalition government took office in May promising to lock in the economic recovery and rebalance growth toward the export sector and cutting-edge manufacturers.

U.K.-China bilateral trade totaled $51.8 billion last year, but Chinese exports to the U.K. were three times the size of U.K. exports to China. The U.K. is the second-largest recipient of Chinese investment, but that investment still totaled just $44 million in 2009.

The China trip comes after a long period of steady relations between London and Beijing. The bilateral ties have avoided the years of tensions between the U.S. and China over trade and currency issues and occasional flare-ups between France and China over Tibet and human-rights issues.

The push for deeper ties represents continuity from the previous Labour government. Labour's Liam Byrne, former U.K. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said Cameron's government had continued a relationship that is 'steady, strategic and crucially committed to no surprises.'

Yet the trip will also present diplomatic tests for Cameron.

And while the U.K. government privately encourages China to heed calls from Washington to allow its currency to appreciate and take more steps to boost domestic demand, Cameron and Osborne have avoided publicly criticizing Chinese policy.

That could cause disappointment in Washington, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has called on U.S. partners to engage with China on the issue.

'It is not good for the world for the burden of solving this broader problem...to rest on the shoulders of the United States,' he said in a speech last month.

Meanwhile, before leaving for China, Cameron will turn to domestic matters Monday morning, setting out four-year government business plans for how the government will meet key policy objectives. In an event alongside Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Cameron will say the plans will allow the public to hold government to account.

'With this you'll be able to see month by month the progress being made--not what we're promising will happen, but what we're actually doing to make sure it does happen,' Cameron is due to say.

Laurence Norman

英国首相卡梅伦(David Cameron)周一将率领英国历史上规模最大的商业代表团来到中国，希望从近年来稳定的中英关系中攫取商机。

卡梅伦将增进与中国的商贸关系作为其政府的一项首要工作，他希望此次访华将促成一系列商业协议，帮助英国企业引领经济在出口的拉动下实现复苏。

然而英国平静的对华关系将产生一种成本，伦敦将不会对这个亚洲国家的经济政策和人权纪录表达公开的担忧。而只要中国继续依靠出口行业而不是提振内需来刺激增长，中英间的贸易联系可能仍将受限。

卡梅伦在出访中国之前曾说，此次访问是一项极其重要的贸易使命。届时他将在于首尔举行的二十国集团峰会前会见中国国家主席胡锦涛和总理温家宝。

Getty Images英国首相卡梅伦他说，我们要传达的讯息很简单：英国现在对企业是开放的，英国有一个十分有利于企业开展业务的政府，它希望大大增进与中国的关系。

卡梅伦的随行人员包括财政大臣奥斯本(George Osborne)、商务大臣凯博(Vince Cable)、能源大臣休恩(Chris Huhne)等内阁部长，以及英国企业界、艺术界和学术界的43名代表。

这些代表包括：工程企业吉凯恩集团(GKN)首席执行长史密斯(Kevin Smith)、标准人寿(Standard Life) CEO尼什(David Nish)、英联食品(Associated British Foods) CEO韦斯顿(George Weston)和维珍大西洋航空公司(Virgin Atlantic Airways)首席商务长萨顿(Julie Southern)，她可能是该航空公司未来的CEO人选。

本周的访问已经取得了一些成果。凯博周一将签署一份协议，根据此协议中国有关部门将认定苏格兰威士忌(Scotch Whisky)为唯一在苏格兰酿造的威士忌，行业人士说这一商标认定将使威士忌销量在今后几年内增加一倍。凯博还将签署一项协议，允许英国对华出口在本国饲养的猪。

英国政府希望部长级会谈将在能源、教育和其他商业问题上达成协议，并且希望双方能开始扩大在安全事务上的对话。预计卡梅伦将与中国领导人讨论二十国集团会议期间的重要事宜，包括他对于推动全球贸易谈判的希望。

在此次访华的贸易使命之前，卡梅伦7月份也抱着类似想法对印度进行了访问，他想通过实际行动来兑现其将商贸关系置于英国外交政策中心的承诺。

卡梅伦五月份新组建的联合政府承诺将经济复苏和再平衡增长的重点锁定在出口领域和前沿制造产业。

去年，中英两国双边贸易总额为518亿美元，但中国对英国的出口额是英国对华出口额的三倍。英国是中国投资第二大接收国，但2009年这一投资总额仅4400万美元。

此次英国代表团访华之前，中英两国长期以来一直保持着稳定的关系。两国的关系没有中美之间多年来贸易和汇率问题造成的紧张气氛，也不像中法之间因西藏和人权问题经常出现摩擦。

此次推动两国关系深化的努力延续了上届工党政府的政策。英国工党议员、前英国财政部首席秘书伯恩（Liam Byrne）说，卡梅伦政府延续了与中国一贯稳定的、战略性的、坚定不移的关系。

然而，此次访华也将为卡梅伦带来外交上的考验。

英国政府私下鼓励中国响应美国提出的允许人民币升值并采取更多措施扩大内需的号召，但卡梅伦和奥斯本并未公开批评中国的政策。

这可能会使美国失望，美国财政部长盖特纳（Timothy Geithner）已经呼吁美国的合作伙伴就该问题与中国接触。

他在上个月发表讲话时说，这本应是世界各国共同解决的广泛性问题，把责任都推在美国身上是不合适的。

与此同时，在访华之前，卡梅伦将会在周一上午处理国内事务，制定政府事务四年计划，旨在明确政府将如何达到关键政策目标。卡梅伦与副首相克莱格（Nick Clegg）将一起出席一个活动，届时他将宣布这些计划会允许公众对政府进行问责。

卡梅伦将会宣布，通过这个计划，你们将能够看到每个月的进展，这些进展不是我们承诺将会发生的，而是我们确实会这样做。

Laurence Norman

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