Chinese direct investment offshore is at the beginning of an exponential take-off, according to a report, with the country’s businesses poised to accumulate between $1,000bn and $2,000bn in assets around the world by 2020.

　　一份报告称，中国的海外直接投资正处在一轮指数级飙升的起点，到2020年，中国企业将在世界各地积累1万亿至2万亿美元资产。

　　However, the report, published by the Asia Society, which focuses on Chinese investment into the US, says that political antagonism, especially from Congress, could have a "chilling effect" on flows into America.

　　不过，由美国亚洲协会(Asia Society)发表的这份主要关注中国对美投资的报告表示，政治对抗心态、尤其是美国国会的对抗心态，可能对流向美国的投资产生一种“寒蝉效应”。

　　Chinese investment into the US is already doubling every year and the failure of the US to capitalise on a wave of future flows will damage its economy and jobs market, the report says.

　　报告称，中国对美投资已经在呈现每年翻倍的增长，若美国不能利用未来将迎来的大量中国投资，将不利于美国经济和就业市场。

　　By the end of 2009, the total stock of Chinese investment offshore stood at about $230bn, on a par with Denmark and slightly higher than Taiwan.

　　截至2009年底，中国大陆海外直接投资的存量总计约2300亿美元，与丹麦相当，略高于台湾。

　　Although exact figures are hard to come by, Chinese purchases of short-term US financial assets, mainly Treasury bonds and other securities, tower over direct investment and already exceed $1,000bn.

　　虽然难以获得准确数据，但中国方面购买的美国短期金融资产（主要是国债和其它证券）已超过1万亿美元，远远多于直接投资。

　　Chinese investment offshore began to take-off in the last decade, spurred primarily by the drive to secure resources and a need to deploy productively the huge cash reserves accumulated through exports and profits at home.

　　中国的海外直接投资是在过去10年里开始起飞的，其动机主要是获取资源、以及有必要以高成效的方式利用巨大的现金储备，这些储备是通过出口和本土市场的利润积累起来的。

　　The Chinese already have a business presence in 35 out of the 50 states in the US, with the largest concentration of investments in Texas, New York and Virginia. The largest category by value is industrial machinery.

　　中国已经在美国50个州中的35个州拥有业务地盘，其中投资最集中的是得克萨斯州、纽约州和弗吉尼亚州。按价值计算，最大的投资类别是工业机械。

　　But China remains a relatively small player overall as an investor into the US, with the world’s second largest economy still on a par with New Zealand and Austria.

　　但整体而言，中国仍是相对较小的对美投资者。在这方面，全球第二大经济体只与新西兰和奥地利相当。

　　The report says that many Americans wrongly believe that the heavy state role in the Chinese economy means that investment is driven largely by political subterfuge rather than the profit motive.

　　报告称，许多美国人错误地相信，政府在中国经济中扮演的重量级角色意味着，中国对美投资的主要驱动因素是政治花招，而非盈利动机。

　　But the authors, Daniel Rosen and Thilo Hanemann, say the Chinese also need to be reminded that the country’s own opaque political system is a barrier to building trust in the US.

　　但报告作者荣大聂(Daniel Rosen)和赫恩曼(Thilo Hanemann)指出，同样需要提醒中国方面的是，中国自身不透明的政治体制，对于在美国构建信任是一个障碍。

　　“Americans can hardly be blamed for wondering what the bottom line is if the top executives of China's state-owned companies are appointed by and beholden to the Communist party, business decisions are routinely subjected to political considerations and firms are larded with loans regardless of their business prospects,” the report says. “

　　如果中国国有企业的高层主管由共产党任命、需报共产党之恩，如果商业决定经常受到政治考虑的左右，如果企业无论商业前景如何都能得到大量贷款，那就很难责怪美国方面揣测一切究竟是怎么回事，”报告表示。

　　"While this opacity may be about shrouding the profit streams of privileged individuals more than anything else, American screeners [of investment proposals] cannot discreetly avert their gaze and Chinese regulators and bureaucrats do.”

　　“尽管这种不透明也许主要是为了掩盖特权人士的利润流，而不是出于其它目的，但美国方面负责审查（投资提议）的人不可能像中国监管者和官僚那样，识相地把目光转向别处。”

　　The US and China have long discussed the outlines of a bilateral investment treaty, but it is not expected to be high on the agenda of next week's top-level dialogue between the two countries in Washington.

　　美国和中国讨论一项双边投资条约的框架已有多年，但在下周两国于华盛顿举行高层对话期间，这个问题预计不会在议程上被列为主要事项。

　　While the Chinese have complained about investment barriers, Beijing recognises raising such complaints would draw a strong push back about what the US regards as multiple obstacles to foreign companies doing business in China.

　　尽管中国曾对美国的投资壁垒提出抱怨，但北京方面意识到，在会上提出这样的抱怨，将引发美方的强烈反弹：在美国看来，外国企业在华开展业务面临多重障碍。

　　The report says most of the growth of Chinese investment into the US since 2008 has been in manufacturing. Real estate purchases have also been growing, but they are under reported.

　　报告指出，自2008年以来，中国对美投资的增长主要是在制造业。房地产投资也在增长，但投资额低于外界的报道。