密歇根新闻广播 中国试图碾压全球汽车市场

Forget the notion that the Chinese are coming to the auto¹ industry near you. They’re already here.

Geely has controlled Sweden’s Volvo for seven years now. Tencent Holdings owns a five percent stake in Elon Musk’s Tesla. Pacific Century Motors acquired Delphi’s Saginaw-based steering² division to create Nexteer Automotive Corp. And Chinese companies spent $140 billion last year on mergers³ and acquisitions, second only to the United States.

General Motors’ Cadillac division sells more luxury cars in China than it does at home. So do most of Germany’s premium⁴ brands. For the first time, Ford⁵ Motor will build an existing model, the Focus compact, in China and ship it back to American showrooms.

They’re just getting warmed up, Detroit. The Chinese hunger to become global players — and to do it much more quickly than the Japanese and South Koreans did — is driving interest in acquiring Fiat⁶ Chrysler, especially its Jeep brand.

Buying is faster than building. That can take decades, and it can prove more costly⁷ and more fraught⁸. Enter China’s powerful bureaucrats⁹. Their green bias¹⁰, their quotas¹¹ for electric powertrains — both driven by China’s atrocious air quality — and their push for Chinese investment outside the country are reshaping the global auto industry’s priorities.

Why? Because they can. China is the world’s largest market, eclipsing the United States. China’s rising middle class, its business leadership, and a central government controlled by the ruling Communist Party are reordering an industry synonymous with Detroit and Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Tokyo.

American consumers and regulators are no longer setting the automotive pace. The Chinese are. Their market demand, their tastes for foreign brands, their hunger to win global automotive credibility through acquisition are remaking the global auto business.

In some ways, they already have. The revival¹² of GM’s storied Buick, including its staying power during the automaker’s epic¹³ bankruptcy¹⁴, can be credited to Chinese consumers. They, more than anything, saved Buick from oblivion.

That’s not all. China’s largest contract manufacturer, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, assembles devices for Apple in China. Foxconn agreed to pump billions into a Wisconsin complex that would build liquid crystal displays. At its peak, it would employ as many as 10,000 people. And now it’s looking at Michigan — a prospect¹⁵ that has Governor Rick Snyder and the state’s economic development pros¹⁶ salivating.

Fair enough. Jobs are jobs, right?

But consider this: Apple CEO Tim Cook says artificial intelligence for self-driving cars is the “mother of all projects” and a top priority for Apple. Apple doesn’t sell its software to third parties. It develops its own products, markets them with Apple precision, and uses a contract manufacturer to assemble them. Someone like Foxconn, which already has been making investments in electric car companies.

Yes, the Chinese are here. And they understand that investment in American jobs right in middle America produces a political byproduct: a winning presidential coalition¹⁷. That could come in very handy should Foxconn turn from manufacturing liquid crystal displays to assembling electric cars for sale right in Detroit’s backyard.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

9 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

10 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

11 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

12 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

13 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。