在全球經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷時(shí)期，有一個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)正在迅速擴(kuò)張：這就是中國(guó)的國(guó)有能源公司。在最近幾個(gè)月里，這些公司在俄羅斯、巴西和伊拉克等地進(jìn)行了多項(xiàng)價(jià)值數(shù)十億美元的大型石油交易。其中教訓(xùn)，值得華盛頓那些認(rèn)為保護(hù)主義無(wú)須付出代價(jià)的決策者深思。
In the midst of the global economic downturn, there's one industry that's expanding rapidly: China's state-owned energy companies. Over the past few months, these companies have launched major multibillion-dollar oil deals from Russia to Brazil to Iraq. There's a good lesson here for policy makers in Washington who think protectionism is costless.

中國(guó)一直急于獲得長(zhǎng)期可靠的石油供應(yīng)。中國(guó)是僅次于美國(guó)的全球第二大石油消費(fèi)國(guó)和進(jìn)口國(guó)。但中國(guó)的人均石油消費(fèi)量只是美國(guó)的十三分之一，換言之，還有很大的增長(zhǎng)空間。作為世界上最大的石油消費(fèi)國(guó)，中國(guó)和美國(guó)都會(huì)從清潔能源和可再生能源、清潔煤炭和能效方面的合作受益頗多。
China is eager to secure a reliable and long-term supply of oil. The country is the second-largest oil consumer and importer in the world, next only to the United States. But China's per capita oil consumption is only one-thirteenth of the U.S. -- in other words, there's a lot of room to grow. As the world's largest oil consumers, China and America have much to gain from cooperation in new and renewable energy, clean coal and energy efficiency.

鑒于油價(jià)從去年7月以來(lái)已經(jīng)下跌了每桶100多美元，這種觀點(diǎn)就更有道理了。兩個(gè)國(guó)家的能源領(lǐng)域都面臨收入下降和上游勘探開(kāi)發(fā)成本上升的困境。存在的危險(xiǎn)是，能源投資將會(huì)減少，而當(dāng)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)最終走出目前的經(jīng)濟(jì)和金融危機(jī)時(shí)，對(duì)石油的需求可能遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)供應(yīng)，從而導(dǎo)致油價(jià)飆升。中國(guó)和美國(guó)因此可能會(huì)因要以高得多的價(jià)格進(jìn)口石油而受到打擊。
This is especially true today, given the oil price has dropped by more than $100 a barrel since last July. Both countries' energy sectors face declining revenues and the high costs of upstream exploration and production. The danger is that energy investments will dwindle, and when the global economy eventually climbs out of the current economic and financial crisis, demand for oil may far exceed supply, resulting in huge price hikes. China and America could thus potentially be hit with much higher costs for imported oil.

讓人們看到希望的是，迄今為止中國(guó)增加了在全球各地的上游石油勘探開(kāi)發(fā)的投資，這可能會(huì)在今后幾年里填補(bǔ)這個(gè)巨大的真空。只要中國(guó)向公開(kāi)市場(chǎng)出售從中生產(chǎn)的大部分石油，而不是裝船運(yùn)回國(guó)內(nèi)，這樣的投資就應(yīng)該因其長(zhǎng)期積極的穩(wěn)定作用而受到歡迎和鼓勵(lì)。
The hope is that China's increased investments in upstream oil exploration and development in different parts of the world to date -- and over the coming few years -- may make up for this significant vacuum. So long as China sells a significant amount of oil thus produced to the open market, rather than locking it up for shipment back to China, such investment should be welcomed and encouraged for its positive stabilizing effect over the long run.

美國(guó)政府有必要?dú)g迎這些投資流入。自美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)2005年否決了中海油對(duì)加州聯(lián)合石油公司(Unocal)的競(jìng)購(gòu)以來(lái)，就基本沒(méi)有中國(guó)能源公司進(jìn)入美國(guó)市場(chǎng)了。在某種程度上由于這一原因，中國(guó)的能源公司此后就在世界其它地區(qū)更加迅速地?cái)U(kuò)張。在提出收購(gòu)加州聯(lián)合石油公司前，中海油在非洲基本沒(méi)有任何投資。但在美國(guó)筑起了保護(hù)主義的壁壘后，中海油開(kāi)始大規(guī)模地進(jìn)入非洲。

Washington needs to embrace these investment flows. Since Congress opposed Cnooc's bid for Unocal in 2005, few, if any, Chinese energy companies have ventured into the U.S. market. Partly as a result, Chinese energy companies have since been expanding more rapidly in other parts of the world. Prior to the proposed Cnooc-Unocal deal, Cnooc hardly had any investments in Africa. Once America erected protectionist walls, Cnooc began its grand engagement with Africa.

最終成功收購(gòu)了加州聯(lián)合石油公司的雪佛龍(Chevron)并未能實(shí)現(xiàn)中海油可能達(dá)到的目標(biāo)。雪佛龍仍只是坐擁從加州聯(lián)合石油公司那里獲得的大量天然氣儲(chǔ)備（大多位于東南亞），而且在今后數(shù)年里可能仍會(huì)把它們作為閑置資產(chǎn)，或是向中國(guó)求助，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)仍是出售此類產(chǎn)品的最合理最自然而然的市場(chǎng)。從中得到的痛苦教訓(xùn)就是，盡管石油的替代性強(qiáng)，但天然氣賣家需要將目標(biāo)對(duì)準(zhǔn)有意愿、有準(zhǔn)備也能夠向客戶付款的客戶，同時(shí)也要能在今后幾十年里帶來(lái)穩(wěn)定的，可預(yù)測(cè)的收入。
Chevron, which ultimately won the bid for Unocal, hasn't been able to match what Cnooc would have achieved. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company is still sitting on large natural gas reserves inherited from Unocal, mostly in Southeast Asia, and may either have to treat them as idle assets for years to come, or have to knock on Chinese doors anyway, since the Chinese market remains the most logical and natural market in which to sell such a product. The bitter lesson here is that while oil is fungible, natural gas sellers need to aim at markets that have willing, ready and paying customers -- and offer the prospect of stable, predictable revenues for decades to come.

中美兩國(guó)應(yīng)該具有走出加州聯(lián)合石油公司交易失敗和上周中國(guó)拒絕可口可樂(lè)以24億美元收購(gòu)匯源果汁陰影的勇氣和遠(yuǎn)見(jiàn)。奧巴馬政府已經(jīng)為兩國(guó)關(guān)系注入了新鮮空氣，能源合作無(wú)疑應(yīng)是重新引起重視的一個(gè)領(lǐng)域。中國(guó)作為一個(gè)堅(jiān)定、可靠和負(fù)責(zé)任的利益相關(guān)者發(fā)展與美國(guó)的關(guān)系。合作，而不是對(duì)抗會(huì)讓我們雙方受益。
China and the U.S. should have the courage and vision to go beyond the failed Unocal deal and China's rejection last week of the proposed $2.4 billion Coca-Cola-Huiyuan merger. The Obama administration has introduced fresh air into the two countries' bilateral relations, and energy cooperation should certainly be an area of renewed focus. China conducts its relations with the U.S. as a steadfast, reliable and responsible stakeholder. We can both benefit from cooperation, not confrontation.

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