特斯拉的“小目标”,在中国年产50万辆电动车(2)

特斯拉表示，它在上海的计划将包括一个研发中心和一个销售企业。当地政府表示，这将是上海历史上最大的外商投资制造项目。
A Tesla spokesman said the plant would not affect the company’s American operations and was not a response to the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China. But a Tesla factory in China is most likely not something the Trump administration wants to see.
特斯拉发言人表示，中国的工厂不会影响公司在美国的业务，特斯拉也不会回应美中之间不断升级的贸易争端。但它在中国的工厂很可能不是特朗普政府希望看到的。
The White House began a trade fight with China partly to discourage American companies from shifting operations there. The administration has argued that China often uses unfair methods to either encourage companies to move there or force them to give up or share technology with Chinese companies in order to access its market.
白宫与中国展开贸易战，部分原因是为了阻止美国公司将业务转移到中国。美国政府称，中国经常采用不公平的方法，鼓励企业迁往中国，或迫使它们放弃或者与中国企业分享技术，以进入中国市场。
Even before the recent escalation in trade tensions, China’s tariffs were an issue for Tesla. “The current rules make things very difficult,” Mr. Musk lamented on Twitter in March about the 25 percent tariff on cars imported from the United States. “It’s like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes.”
甚至在最近贸易紧张局势升级之前，中国的关税对特斯拉来说就是一个问题。“目前的规则让事情变得非常困难，”马斯克3月在Twitter上感叹道，指的是中国对进口美国汽车征收25%的关税的决定。“这就像在奥运会上穿着铅做的鞋子赛跑。”
China later agreed to scale the tariffs back to 15 percent, but in the most recent tit-for-tat, they were raised to 40 percent. The price of a new Model S in China has risen by about one-fifth, to nearly $130,000.
中国后来同意将关税降低到15%，但在最近一次的报复行动中，关税被提高到了40%。特斯拉新款Model S的价格上涨了约五分之一，达到近十三万美元。
Chinese leaders, worried about skies choked with pollution and the country’s growing dependence on foreign oil, have championed electric cars as a possible solution. A Tesla manufacturing plant in China could aid Beijing’s effort to take a strong global position in producing electric cars and other technologies of the future, a vision outlined in the Made in China 2025 plan.
中国领导人对空气污染和国家越来越依赖外国石油的情况感到担忧，支持电动车作为可能的解决方案。特斯拉在中国的一家制造厂可能有助于北京在未来的电动车和其他技术生产中占据全球优势的努力，这是《中国制造2025》计划中提出的愿景。
特斯拉的“小目标”：在中国年产50万辆电动车.jpg

For Tesla, building cars in China would inoculate it against the effects of a trade fight and put the company close to China’s huge automotive supply chain. Even more important, it would provide a firmer foothold in a potentially vast market. China is the company’s second-largest market after the United States; its revenue there doubled to $2 billion last year.

对于特斯拉来说，在中国制造电动车将使它免受贸易战的影响，并使公司接近中国庞大的汽车供应链。更重要的是，这会在一个潜在的广阔市场上为该公司提供更坚实的立足点。中国是特斯拉仅次于美国的第二大市场；去年它在那里的收入翻了一番，达到20亿美元。
China has a number of electric-car makers, but they tend to make smaller, more affordable vehicles that lack the polish of Tesla’s offerings. The American-made cars can frequently be seen in some of the more upscale areas of Beijing and Shanghai.
中国有许多电动汽车制造商，但它们倾向于制造体积更小、价格更便宜的车，而这些车缺乏特斯拉产品的优雅精致。美国制造的车在北京和上海一些较高档的地区随处可见。