【英语中国】底特律困境在中国引共鸣

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appears unfazed about having to make a tough sell-convincing Chinese that investing in cash-strapped Detroit is a good idea. The high-profile bankruptcy filing by the Motor City, the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy case ever, makes this a little counter-intuitive.

But the plight of the nation's 18 largest city has touched a chord in China, where there are nagging concerns over excessive spending by local governments. And the message is at least getting a hearing.

'Detroit is already coming back,' said the upbeat governor, a businessman-turned-politician. 'We have great value opportunities for investment.'

The governor, heading a delegation on a swing through Asia, has other objectives, such as attracting investment throughout the state and promoting exports and tourism. But it is Detroit -- and its plans to restructure under a Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing -- that is getting a lot of the attention.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that there will be no Detroit-style failure of a local government. They don't like to name names and shame the ones that may be getting closer to the danger zone. And the general lack of transparency makes it tough to dig through the layers of paper that hide the problems.

Officials insist the problems are manageable, and there is an implicit assumption that if push comes to shove, the central government would step in and pick up the tab.

But clearly Chinese officials are worried. The last report by the National Audit Office showed 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.75 trillion ) in direct and guaranteed debt of local governments as of the end of 2010. That was equal to about 27% of gross domestic product at that time.

Moody's has estimated that figure had risen 13% since 2010 to 12.1 trillion yuan by the end of 2012.

Asked about the real total, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told reporters in July the tally was probably higher than 10.7 trillion yuan, but he acknowledged the government didn't know how much higher.

Still, Detroit's problems are in a different league. To start with -- it has about 100,000 creditors and is saddled with $18 billion in long-term liabilities. This is not all of its own making -- the cratering of the once-proud U.S. auto industry and the loss of so many manufacturing jobs have contributed to a shrinking of the city's population to about 700,000 from 2 million in 1950.

Crime is one hurdle to attracting investors. Last year, Detroit had the highest violent crime rate for any U.S. city of more than 200,000 people, according to the FBI. At a news briefing in Beijing, asked how the city could assure the safety of Chinese investors, Gov. Snyder said it is adding resources to the police and the justice system.

'We are honestly addressing 60 years of problems and we are going to solve those problems,' he said, adding that services are part of the recovery plan. 'We are going to improve these services -- the people living there deserve those services.'

In a matter-of-fact delivery style, Mr. Snyder made his case for the progress the city has made so far -- even before the bankruptcy filing -- which its backers portray as a bitter but necessary pill.

The state has changed its tax laws to attract business and has been adding manufacturing jobs in recent years. Michigan is still the hub of a powerful -- if somewhat downsized -- automotive business. The state boasts 375 research and development centers for the automotive industry and has high concentrations of mechanics and engineers as well as leading universities.

Already about 100 Chinese companies have invested in the state -- many of them in the auto-parts sector --including some big names: SAIC, a General Motors partner, as well as AVIC's Nexteer, Wanxiang and Fuyao Auto Glass, according to state officials.

The legal wrangling over the bankruptcy filing is just beginning, with the fate of the city's pension funds at the forefront. The possible sale of city assets -- like the zoo or the collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts -- has generated heated debate, with opponents noting such sales could make the city less attractive to potential new residents. The treatment of bondholders is another bone of contention--and one that may have some lessons for China as it tries to give local governments more room to issue debt.

'Other cities might find it of interest to see how we handle this in Detroit...as we emerge from restructuring,' Gov. Snyder said.

No doubt that in China, a lot of people will be watching.

面对一项艰巨的推销任务──让中国人相信投资资金紧张的底特律是个好主意，美国密歇根州州长斯奈德(Rick Snyder)似乎并无惧色。这座汽车城申请破产一事备受瞩目，是美国历史上规模最大的城市破产案。这个时候劝说人们投资底特律显得有点违反常理。

但这个美国第18大城市的困境让中国人心生共鸣。在中国，人们对地方政府开支过度心存忧虑。所以他们至少是关注这个消息的。

Reuters 底特律市区这位弃商从政的乐观州长说，底特律已经开始卷土重来了，我们提供超值的投资机会。

率领一个代表团出访亚洲的斯奈德还有其它目的，如吸引外商到密歇根州进行投资，推动该州出口和旅游等。但受到大量关注的却是底特律，以及该市根据美国《破产法》第九章有关申请破产的规定进行重组的计划。

中国官员一再表示，中国地方政府不会出现底特律式破产。他们不愿指名道姓，让那些可能接近危险区的地方政府脸上无光。另外，中国政府普遍缺乏透明度也让外界很难戳破掩盖问题的千层纸。

中国官员坚持认为，这些问题处于可控范围内。另外，在中国还有一种隐式假设，即如果到了紧要关头，中央政府会出手买单。

但中国官员显然十分担心。中国审计署上一份报告显示，截至2010年底，地方政府直接借入和负有担保责任的债务总计人民币10.7万亿元（合1.75万亿美元），相当于那时中国国内生产总值的27%左右。

据穆迪(Moody's)估计，到2012年底，中国地方政府的债务已达12.1万亿元，较2010年增加13%。

今年7月被问到中国地方政府实际负债总额时，中国财政部副部长朱光耀对记者说，很可能要比10.7万亿元多。但他承认，中央政府不知道多出多少。

尽管如此，底特律的问题与中国地方政府的债务问题仍不是一回事。首先，底特律有大约10万个债权人，负担着180亿美元的长期债务。所有这一切并不完全是底特律自己造成的。美国曾引以为豪的汽车业遭受重创，制造业岗位大量流失，这些都在一定程度上造成底特律人口萎缩。1950年，该市有200万人口，如今只有约70万。

犯罪是吸引投资者前往底特律的一个障碍。美国联邦调查局(FBI)数据显示，去年底特律是美国人口超过20万的城市中暴力犯罪率最高的。在北京的新闻发布会上被问到底特律如何能保障中国投资者的人身安全时，斯奈德说，该市将为警察和司法系统增加资源配置。

斯奈德说，我们确实在着手解决困扰了底特律60年的问题，我们会解决好这些问题。他还说，服务是复苏计划的一部分。他说，我们会改善这些服务，生活在底特律的人们理应享有那些服务。

斯奈德以实事求是的态度阐述了底特律迄今（甚至是在申请破产之前就已）取得的进展。支持底特律的人把申请破产描述为苦口良药。

密歇根州已为招商引资修改了税法，近年来一直在增加制造业岗位。该州目前仍是强大的汽车业中心（虽然规模有所减小）。密歇根州有375个汽车研发中心，这里聚集了相当多的机械师和工程师以及一流大学。

据密歇根州官员透露，中国已有大约100家公司在密西根州投资，很多是汽车零备件公司，其中不乏一些业界巨头，如通用汽车(General Motors)的合作伙伴上汽集团(SAIC)、中国航空工业集团(AVIC)旗下的耐世特(Nexteer)、万向(Wanxiang)和福耀玻璃(Fuyao Auto Glass)等。

有关底特律破产申请的法律纠纷才刚刚浮出水面，该市养老金的命运处在风口浪尖。底特律资产（如动物园或底特律艺术学会(Detroit Institute of Arts)的藏品等）可能被出售一事引发激烈争论。反对者指出，这类资产出售可能会减少底特律对潜在新居民的吸引力。如何对待债券持有人是另一争议焦点。由于中国目前正努力给地方政府更多发债空间，中国或许可以从底特律身上吸取一些经验教训。

斯奈德说，随着我们完成重组，其它城市也许会有兴趣了解我们如何在底特律应对这个问题。

毫无疑问，中国有很多人将拭目以待。