China must create its own global brands

2011年06月15日 06:27 AM
中國必須有自己的“豐田”
To reach its full potential, China must create its own global brands
諾丁漢大學當代中國學學院院長姚樹潔為英國《金融時報》撰稿


China's “go global” strategy is picking up pace. According to the Asia Society, the educational organisation, Chinese overseas direct investment could hit $2,000bn by 2020.


中國正加快實施“走出去”的戰略。美國教育機構亞洲協會(Asia Society)估計，到2020年，中國在海外的直接投資可能達到2萬億美元。

Yet for the country's aspiring multinationals, pouring money overseas is no guarantee of international success. China surpassed Japan to become the world's second-largest economy last year, but its inability to emulate its Asian competitors in producing world-famous brands such as Toyota and Samsung reflects fundamental weaknesses in its domestic business model.


然而，對於抱負遠大的中國跨國企業而言，在海外大把砸錢並不意味著一定能在國際上成功。去年，中國超越日本成為全球第二大經濟體，但是，中國無力效仿亞洲競爭對手，打造出類似於豐田(Toyota)和三星(Samsung)這樣的全球知名品牌，這反映出中國的商業模式存在根本性缺陷。

Future economic growth in the country is tied to the fate of its big businesses. If these companies fail to have an impact in ultra-competitive western markets, then it is highly unlikely China will be able to sustain another 20 or 30 years of rapid growth .


中國日後的經濟增長與國內大型企業的命運息息相關。倘若這些企業不能在競爭極其激烈的西方市場產生影響，那麼，中國再維持二、三十年快速增長的可能性將微乎其微。

Economic malaise poses the greatest threat to the ruling Communist party, and China's leaders have long been mindful of the need for commercial success abroad. Having officially implemented a “go-out policy” in 1999 to encourage domestic companies to invest overseas, their global strategy is clear: let state-owned enterprises (SOEs) enjoy monopolies at home, allowing them to accrue abnormal profits, and subsidise them with generous bank credits so they can flex superior monetary muscle in front of foreign counterparts.


經濟不振是中共政府心頭最大的隱患，中國領導人也早已認識到在海外取得商業成功的必要性。 1999年，中國政府正式實施了“走出去”政策，鼓勵國內企業到海外投資。中國的國際化戰略十分清楚：讓國有企業在國內享受壟斷地位，允許他們獲取暴利，以慷慨的銀行信貸補貼他們，以使他們能夠在外國同行面前展現優越的財力。

But cash reserves alone are insufficient for Chinese companies to secure long-term, profitable footholds in developed overseas markets.


然而，中國企業要想在海外發達市場長久立足並實現盈利，僅靠現金儲備是不夠的。

One great weakness of China's SOEs i​​s their dearth of experience of genuine competition. A monopolistic environment at home has made profits too easy to come by – last year the combined profit of the two most profitable SOEs was equivalent to that of the largest 500 private firms .


中國國企的一大弱點是缺乏應對“真正的競爭”經驗。在國內的壟斷環境下，實現盈利易如反掌——去年，兩家盈利能力最強的國企的利潤之和，相當於全國500家最大民營企業的利潤總和。

These enterprises lack incentives to innovate and develop technological expertise capable of rivalling that of western business giants. Unlike South Korea and Japan, China has a seemingly limitless domestic market and companies can record impressive growth without crossing borders.


這些企業缺乏創新動力，不會積極發展堪與西方商業巨擘匹敵的專業技術。與韓國和日本不同，中國擁有一個看起來無限廣闊的國內市場，企業無需跨出國門，就可實現不凡的增長。

I have met the chairmen of two of China's largest private companies, both extremely wealthy men, and neither has ever had any plans to enter developed markets overseas, citing high risks, poor technology and products that often fail to meet minimum quality standards required by the west.


我見過中國兩家大型民營企業的董事長。他們都極其富有，也都從來沒有過進軍海外發達市場的打算，理由是風險太大、技術拿不出手以及產品往往達不到西方要求的質量門檻。

Private companies not only lack state support, but also business scale and access to bank credit. Two-thirds of all bank loans are channelled to SOEs.


民營企業不僅缺乏政府扶持，也不具備商業規模，且很難獲得銀行信貸。中國三分之二的銀行信貸被投向了國企。

They also struggle with human capital. Graduates are lured by the prestige and higher pay that working for government organisations and SOEs bring, and employment in the private sector is seen as a last resort. Salaries in the state sector are 1.8 times higher than in the private sector and a government job offers attractive pension schemes and far greater job security.


同時，民企也難以招攬人才。在政府機關和國企工作的名聲和高薪吸引著大學畢業生。進入私企被認為是最後的出路。國企的工資比私企高1.8倍，事業單位則有誘人的退休金，而且穩定性要強得多。

China's march across the globe has instead centred on energy deals and mergers and acquisitions. It has enjoyed success in locking in a stable supply of natural resources, securing loans-for-oil deals, particularly in South America and Africa, and purchasing stakes in western mining companies. And while these M&A deals serve to accelerate its push into western markets, there are reservations over such a strategy. Acquisitions carry high price tags and China is not yet adept at managing the purchased assets.


中國走向全球的行動集中在能源交易和併購領域。中國成功地鎖定了穩定的自然資源供給，在南美和非洲等地達成了一系列石油換貸款協議，並收購了一些西方礦業公司的股權。雖然併購交易有利於加快其挺進西方市場的腳步，但人們對於這樣的戰略是否可取，仍持保留意見。收購往往價格不菲，而且中國並不擅長管理收購的資產。

The takeover of Volvo by Geely, the Chinese carmaker, is a case in point: it has given China little access to technology, as the best engineers are still non-Chinese. Aggressive manoeuvres can also attract political opposition, as Chinalco, the state- owned aluminium producer, found in its failed bid for Rio Tinto, the UK-listed mining company.


中國汽車製造商吉利(Geely)收購沃爾沃(Volvo)的例子就是一個明證：中方從中獲得不了多少技術，因為頂尖工程師仍然是外國人。激進策略也會招致政治上的反對。中國國有鋁業公司中鋁(Chinalco)收購在英國上市的礦業企業力拓(Rio Tinto)以失敗告終，就證明了這一點。

Another problem with acquisitions is that they deflect attention from the need to develop strong indigenous brands recognised by western consumers, and to restore credibility to a “made-in-China” label repeatedly knocked by safety scandals.


收購的另一個問題是會分散注意力，導致企業不能專心發展受到西方消費者認可的強大本土品牌，並重塑屢遭安全醜聞打擊的“中國製造”的信譽。

China's rapid economic expansion has been largely built on export processing and low-level manufacturing of consumer goods, capitalising on cheap labour and relying on technologies imitated or imported from the developed world.


中國經濟迅速擴張基本上有賴於以下幾個方面：消費品的出口加工和低水平製造、利用廉價勞動力，以及從發達國家借鑒或引進技術。

To change this, the country is investing heavily in science, technological innovation and education. Project 985, a commitment to university research funding, is one such initiative, with the government increasing research investment by 20 per cent every year for the past decade. But since universities are treated like government organisations, the efficiency of this investment has been called into question.


為了改變這種局面，中國目前正在科學、技術革新和教育等領域投入重金。承諾為高校的研究課題提供資助的985項目就是此類舉措之一，在過去10年，政府在研發上的投資每年增長20%。然而，由於大學被當作政府機構一樣看待，此類投資的效率受到了懷疑。

One solution to China's dilemma would be for the government to establish an incentive mechanism to encourage greater domestic competition, allowing private enterprises to compete fairly with SOEs. Bank credit needs to be loosened for private companies and a tough regulatory regime should be designed to guard against a state monopoly.


要擺脫窘境，一個辦法是由政府建立促進國內競爭的激勵機制，讓私企與國企公平競爭。銀行信貸必須對私企放開，同時建設嚴格的監管機制，以防範政府壟斷。

Will China succeed in hauling itself up the technological ladder? It will certainly be a long, painful process. The country still has a large reservoir of cheap labour, meaning the pressure for innovation and technology upgrading has not yet reached the critical point.


中國能否成功攀登技術的階梯？這必然是一個長久而痛苦的過程。中國仍擁有大量的廉價勞動力，這意味著進行創新和技術升級的壓力尚未達到臨界狀態。

To meet its ambitions and become a rich and powerful nation will require multinationals to flourish overseas. But without its own respected brands, its Toyotas and Samsungs, China will always languish at the lower end of the value chain. Its future will ultimately depend on its ability to create, not to replicate.


為了實現雄心和國家富強，中國的跨國公司必須在海外獲得興旺發展。沒有國際公認的品牌，沒有自己的豐田和三星，中國永遠只能在價值鏈低端煎熬。歸根結底，中國的未來係於其創造力，而非模仿的才能。

The writer is professor ​​of economics and head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham.


本文作者是諾丁漢大學當代中國學學院院長、經濟學教授姚樹潔



譯者/何黎