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上海自由貿易区 外資呼び込みモデルになるか

The Yomiuri Shimbun October 8, 2013
Will China's new free-trade zone encourage foreign investment?
上海自由貿易区 外資呼び込みモデルになるか(10月7日付・読売社説)

The Chinese economy, driven by reckless government-led investments, is now facing a brick wall. In this context, the newly opened pilot free trade zone, aimed at encouraging foreign investment, will be a testing ground for economic reforms.
 官主導の放漫な投資で牽引(けんいん)してきた中国経済が壁に直面している。
 外資呼び込みを狙った自由貿易試験区が立て直しの試金石になろう。

In the free trade zone, which opened in Shanghai recently, various restrictions on foreign businesses have been eased on an experimental basis.
 上海で、外資企業などに対する規制を実験的に緩和する自由貿易試験区が発足した。

Thirty-six Chinese and foreign companies, mainly in such sectors as finance and foreign trade, including U.S. giants Citibank, N.A. and Microsoft Corp., and Porsche A.G. of Germany, have been granted licenses to operate in the zone.
米シティバンク、米マイクロソフト、独ポルシェなど金融や貿易を中心に内外企業36社が進出した。

Specific deregulatory measures include one allowing market forces rather than regulators to set interest rates and another that makes it easier for foreign-capital financial institutions to establish offices there.
 具体的な緩和措置には、金利の自由化や外資系金融機関の設立要件緩和が挙げられる。

As foreign capital investment in China has been sluggish recently, due chiefly to soaring payrolls, the Chinese government plans to use the new free trade zone to attract more investment from abroad.
労働者賃金の高騰などで、海外企業の対中投資が最近伸び悩んでおり、中国政府は、試験区をテコに、国外からの投資を再加速させる方針だ。

If the experimental free trade zone proves effective in reinvigorating the economy, the government said it would introduce such zones elsewhere. It appears Beijing considers the new zone as an important model project to help achieve economic reform.
 経済活性化につながれば、試験区の全国展開もあり得るという。改革を先導する重要なモデルプロジェクトと見ているようだ。

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 official in the government, came up with the idea of setting up the free trade zone, leading to his economic policy being called “Likonomics.”
 この構想を主導したのは、李克強首相だ。「リコノミクス」と呼ばれる経済政策を陣頭指揮する政権ナンバー2である。

Last month, Li said the government would uniformly promote stable economic growth, structural adjustment and reform, indicating he believes the Chinese economy is in a dire situation.
 李首相は9月、「安定成長、構造調整、改革促進を統一的に進める」と述べた。中国経済の現状は危ういと考えたのだろう。

After the Lehman shock in 2008, China propped up the economy through sizable stimulus measures totaling 4 trillion yuan (about ¥60 trillion). The country temporarily recovered to achieve double-digit growth.
 2008年のリーマン・ショック後、中国は4兆元(約60兆円)の巨額の景気対策で経済成長をテコ入れし、その後、2けた台の高成長を一時回復した。

Income gap widening

Recently, however, the country’s economic growth dropped to the 7 percent range, while the widening income gap among Chinese has become a social issue. Endless corruption among senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party is further widening economic disparities.
 しかし、最近は成長率が7%台に減速し、所得格差の拡大も社会問題化している。共産党幹部らのとどまるところを知らない腐敗が格差拡大に拍車をかけている。

Even more worrisome is the so-called shadow banking. Many local governments and business enterprises that rushed to make real estate and capital investments with loans extended by nonbank financial institutions have been overwhelmed by massive debts.
 さらに懸念されるのが、シャドーバンキング(影の銀行)問題だ。ノンバンクなどから融資を受けて不動産投資や設備投資に走った地方政府や企業などが、巨額の債務を抱えている。

As debts owed by local governments reportedly total 20 trillion yuan, management of the post-bubble economy is a serious challenge.
 地方政府の債務は総額20兆元にも達するとの情報もあり、バブル処理は重い課題と言える。

The new free trade zone is also intended to expose local governments and domestic companies to competition from foreign firms by lowering investment barriers and promoting foreign capital investment.
 試験区には、規制緩和で投資障壁を低くし、海外からの投資を呼び込むことによって、地方政府や国内企業を外資企業との競争にさらす意図もあるのだろう。

It is believed that if many foreign companies operate in the free trade zone, the interest structure monopolized by domestic entities will collapse and hopefully hold down excessive investment—the chief culprit of the economic bubble. However, if competition is not carried out on the basis of certain rules and in a fair manner, the effect will be minimal.
 多くの外資が進出すれば、これまでの利権独占構造が崩れ、バブルの元凶となってきた過剰投資も抑制されるという筋書きだ。だが、競争がルールに基づき公正に行われなければ効果は上がるまい。

How can the Chinese maintain stable growth and employment, while avoiding overheating the economy?
 景気過熱を避けながら、安定成長と雇用をどう維持するか。

The Chinese government under President Xi Jinping is expected to spell out a basic policy of economic structural reform—deemed essential for stable growth—at the general assembly of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee in November. Some difficult maneuvering lies ahead for the Chinese government.
 習近平政権は11月の共産党中央委員会総会で、安定成長に欠かせない経済構造改革の基本方針を打ち出す見通しだ。中国政府は難しい舵(かじ)取りを迫られる。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 7, 2013)
(2013年10月7日01時34分 読売新聞)
by kiyoshimat | 2013-10-09 06:22 | 英字新聞

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