当西方转身而去，南太平洋国家看向中国 [联合国媒体]

South Pacific looks to China as West turns away
Beijing steps up assistance as traditional donors Australia, New Zealand and US cut aid to the poor island region

当西方转身而去，南太平洋国家看向中国
在澳大利亚、新西兰和美国等传统捐助国削减对这个贫穷的岛屿地区的援助，中国加大了援助力度



Villagers in a traditional fishing ceremony in Vatulele island, Yavi Rao Fiji. Photo: AFP Forum

斐济Yavi Rao瓦图莱岛村民们在进行传统的捕鱼仪式 法新社论坛

China is quietly filling the breach as traditional Western donors cut back on their aid pledges to the South Pacific. And it seems many of the struggling island nations on the receiving end of China’s largesse couldn’t be happier with the shifting currents.

当西方传统捐助国削减对南太平洋国家的援助承诺，中国正在静静的填补空缺。而且很多艰苦的岛国在接受中国的慷慨赠与时，似乎对这种转变的趋势雀跃不已。

Last month, Australia’s International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells scathingly attacked Beijing’s aid program in the region, accusing it of funding “roads to nowhere” and “useless buildings.”

“We want to ensure that the infrastructure that you do build is actually productive and is actually going to give some economic benefit or some sort of health benefit,” she said.

上月，澳大利亚国际发展部长Concetta Fierravanti-Wells尖刻的攻击中国在该地区的援助计划，指责它资助“没有目的地的道路”和“毫无作用的建筑”。
“我们想要确保你们建造的基础设施真正有用，而且会产生一些实际的经济利益或者某种健康效益，”她说。

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was more diplomatic, saying that Australia “welcomes investment in developing nations in the Pacific that supports sustainable economic growth, and which does not impose onerous debt burdens on regional governments.”

外交部长Julie Bishop的话则更加富于外交辞令，她说澳大利亚“欢迎那些对太平洋地区的发展中国家进行支持经济可持续增长的投资，而且这种投资不会给本地区的政府造成繁重的债务负担。”

Yet there is concern that Australia and its Western allies may be ceding their traditional leadership role in the South Pacific due to a combination of aid cutbacks and increasing Chinese interest in the dozen or so nations in the region.

然而有人担心，澳大利亚及其西方盟友可能会放弃其在南太平洋的传统领导地位，原因是援助的削减以及中国对该地区12个国家的兴趣的增加。

According to the Lowy Institute, an Australian research outfit, China extended about US$209 million of aid annually to nine Pacific countries — Fiji, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia — in 2006-2016.

根据澳大利亚研究机构洛伊研究所的数据，中国每年向九个太平洋国家——斐济、东帝汶、巴布亚新几内亚、萨摩亚、汤加、纽埃、库克群岛、瓦努阿图以及密克罗尼西亚联邦——提供2.09亿美元的援助。



Oceania political map. Region, centered on central Pacific Ocean islands. With Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, including Australasia and Malay Archipelago.
大洋洲的政治地图。本地区以太平洋中部诸岛为中心。有美拉尼西亚、密克罗尼西亚和波利尼西亚，包括大洋洲和马来群岛。

Canberra gives about US$870 million a year, or 60% of all global aid sent to the Pacific. New Zealand gives US$235 million and the United States US$221 million. But China will likely soon become the second biggest source of aid, as New Zealand and the US are both reducing their aid in real terms.

堪培拉每年提供约8.7亿美元的援助，占全球向太平洋援助的60%。新西兰提供了2.35亿美元，美国提供了2.21亿美元。但中国可能很快就会成为第二大援助来源，因为新西兰和美国都在削减实际援助。

US President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly plans to slash US assistance by as much as one-third this year, with East Asia and the Pacific receiving 41.4% less. Assuming the policy is implemented, Timor Leste, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands will lose their entire aid and Papua New Guinea 66.4%.

据报道，美国总统唐纳德特朗普的政府计划今年削减至多三分之一的美国援助，东亚和太平洋地区的援助将减少41.4%。如果这项政策得以实施，东帝汶、密克罗尼西亚和马绍尔群岛将失去全部援助，巴布亚新几内亚将失去66.4%。

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in early February that his country’s aid program has been under-funded for nine years and has slipped to 0.23% of gross national income, against an average of 0.4% for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members. It is being reviewed, but prospects for a sharp boost in Pacific aid are slim.

新西兰外交部长Winston Peters在2月初表示，该国的援助计划资金不足已有9年，并已下滑至国民总收入的0.23%，而经济合作与发展组织(OECD)成员国的平均水平为0.4%。这个问题正在受到关注，但太平洋援助快速增长的前景很渺茫。

Australia has shielded its Pacific aid program from wider budget reductions, but cuts of up to 10% are still likely in some country allocations in 2017-2018. Most aid goes to neighboring Papua New Guinea, which Canberra ruled under a United Nations mandate until it won independence in 1974.

澳大利亚已经从更广泛的预算削减中保护了它的太平洋援助计划，但在2017-2018年对一些国家的拨款仍有可能削减10%。大多数援助都流向了邻国巴布亚新几内亚，在1974年获得独立之前，澳大利亚一直在联合国的授权下统治该国。

Beijing channels about 40% of its funding into transport, with an eye towards incorporating the Pacific region in its global Belt & Road infrastructure-building initiative.

北京将其40%的资金投入到运输方面，并着眼于将太平洋地区纳入其全球“一带一路”基础建设项目。

A further 20% goes to government, civil society and education: China gives US$850 million a year to the secretariat that runs the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s main consultative body, and offers scholarships in such areas as capacity-building. China has recently trained more than 4,000 in technical skills in the region.

另外还有20%用于政府、公民社会和教育:中国每年向管理太平洋岛国论坛的秘书处提供8.5亿美元的资金，该论坛是该地区主要的咨询机构，并向能力培养等领域提供奖学金。中国最近在该地区培训了4000多名技术人员。



Fiji's Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama (R) shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 16, 2017. 

2017年5月16日，斐济总理在北京人民大会堂与中国总理李克强握手。

Most Chinese aid goes to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the only countries that offer any real economic value in a region where many nations are barely above subsistence level. Papua New Guinea needs better access to its lucrative copper, oil and gold resources, while Fiji has rich forestry and farming potential.

中国大部分援助都流向了巴布亚新几内亚和斐济，本地区很多国家都在勉强维持生存的水平，而这两个国家是其中唯二可以产生一些经济价值的国家。巴布亚新几内亚需要更好地利用其有利可图的铜、石油和黄金资源，而斐济拥有丰富的林业和农业潜力。

“[Papua New Guinea] is available to receive and to partner in where it matters most to suit the interests of our people and our country,” Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink Pato said in response to Australian Senator Fierravanti-Wells’ criticism of Chinese aid.

“(巴布亚新几内亚)可以接受在最符合我国人民和国家利益的地方开展合作，”外交部长Rimbink Pato在回应澳大利亚参议员Fierravanti-Wells对中国援助的批评时说。

“Using the experience with Australia, we will work alongside all the other development partners to ensure that we get the processes right.”

“利用与澳大利亚的经验，我们将与所有其他发展伙伴一起工作，以确保我们得到正确的流程。”

Those processes didn’t work with at least one of the Chinese-funded projects, a US$300 million expansion of Lae Port, the country’s biggest. The Asian Development Bank rated the project “less than successful” after the cost soared by US$134 million due to unforeseen engineering problems.

而这些流程在至少一个中国资助的项目中没有起作用，这个项目是耗资3亿美元的莱城港扩建工程，莱城港是该国最大的港口。由于无预见到的工程问题，成本飙升了1.34亿美元，之后亚洲开发银行对该项目的评级为“不够成功”。

There will be plenty more debate on the costs and benefits of China’s aid scheme, as 80% in value terms comes in the form of concessional loans — hence Julie Bishop’s barbed reference to “onerous debt burdens.”

对于中国援助计划的成本和收益将会出现更多的争论，因为80%的价值条款是以优惠贷款的形式出现的，这就是Julie Bishop讽刺的说“沉重的债务负担”的由来。

Most loans have an annual interest rate of only 2–3% and a repayment period of 15–20 years, including 5–7 year grace periods, which is generous by global standards.

大多数贷款的年利率仅为2-3%，还款期为15-20年，其中包括5-7年的宽限期，按全球标准来看是慷慨的。



Two Timorese girls look for cockles on the beach in Dili, Timor Leste in a file photo. 

东帝汶的两个女孩在帝力海滩上寻找牡蛎，资料图。

But it will still be a challenge for countries whose gross domestic products (GDP) are often smaller than those of mid-sized Western cities.

但对于那些GDP往往比中等规模的西方城市更小的国家来说，这仍是一个挑战。

For instance, Fiji had a budget deficit of 5.2% of GDP in 2016 and an external debt of US$833.4 million. Papua New Guinea’s budget was 5.7% of GDP in the red and has foreign liabilities of US$22.04 billion.

例如,斐济2016年的预算赤字占GDP的5.2%，还有8.334亿美元的外债。巴布亚新几内亚的预算赤字是GDP的5.7%，以及220.4亿美元的外债。

“For the most part, the island states’ political leaders are well aware of the benefits and pitfalls of Chinese aid,” Anthony Bergin, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and senior research fellow at the Australian National University, wrote recently in The Strategist.

澳大利亚战略政策研究所高级分析师、澳大利亚国立大学高级研究员Anthony Bergin最近在《战略家》(the Strategic)一书中写道:“在很大程度上，这些岛国的政治领导人非常清楚中国援助的好处和陷阱。”

Debt issues aside, Bergin believes that China poses little threat to Western interests in the region and advocates a more coordinated approach to aid programs.

抛开债务问题不谈，Bergin认为，中国对该地区的西方利益几乎不构成威胁，并主张采取更协调的方式来对待援助项目。

“It’s time to talk with our island neighbors about what might work best for them, to facilitate where we can, and to respect their final decisions — even if we consider that the help comes with strings attached,” he wrote.

他写道:“现在是时候和我们的岛国邻国谈谈什么对他们最有利，在我们可以的地方提供帮助，并尊重他们的最终决定——即使我们认为这些帮助是有附带条件的。”


Roger Cheng · San Francisco State University（旧金山州立大学）
I wonder how Fiji and Papua New Guinea got all those debts? It wasn′t China because she just starting to work with them. Hmm Perhaps Australain and/or American banks?

我好奇斐济和巴布亚新几内亚的那些外债是怎么来的？不是中国，因为它才刚刚跟他们合作。嗯，大概是澳大利亚或者美国的银行？

Michael Bagala · Sole proprietorship at 个体经营
Thank God, thank God almighty the Jewish run America is getting out of the Pacific. At least those guys will be saved from these blood sucking vampires who now control America.

感谢上帝，感谢全能的上帝，犹太人统治的美国正在离开太平洋。至少那些人会从这些嗜血的吸血鬼手中被拯救出来，它们现在控制着美国。

Galen Linder
"Most loans have an annual interest rate of only 2–3% and a repayment period of 15–20 years, including 5–7 year grace periods, which is generous by global standards."

No kidding. Look around the Web and see what interest rates developing countries pay to Western banks. 10% on USD demoninated debt is a good deal. Of course, if the local currency declines, as has been happening with PNG, the rate balloons accordingly. This kind of chaos happens when hedge funds short the currency or the bonds. 

This is a good reason for these countries to stay far away from Western financiers as long as China is willing to provide cheap credit. The West deals with these countries as a rentier. China's approach is that of a business proposition. Fundamental difference.

“大多数贷款的年利率仅为2-3%，还款期为15-20年，其中包括5-7年的宽限期，按全球标准来看是慷慨的。”
没有开玩笑。到网上看看，看看发展中国家付给西方银行的利率是多少，10%的美元债务都是很好的交易。当然，如果当地货币贬值，就像巴布亚新几内亚所发生的那样，利率也会随之膨胀。当对冲基金卖空货币或债券的时候，就会发生这种混乱。
只要中国愿意提供廉价的贷款，这就是这些国家远离西方金融家的一个好理由。西方国家是作为食利者来对待这些国家的。而中国的做法是一个商业命题。二者存在根本的差异。

Kevin Connolly · Westchester, New York
The Middle Kingdom continues to march forward!!!

继续前进吧，中央王国！！！

Alex Wijaya · The Ohio State University
despite decades of so called "aids" given by australia to pacific islands, they still live in poverty while australia so called "aids workers" live like an expat king in pacific islands. Yet they dare to call China's investment lead to nowhere? It is the same in Africa, decades of western "aids", no result. China only came for the past decade, and Africa is already the most vibrant continent today.

尽管澳大利亚数十年来一直向太平洋岛国进行“援助”，他们依然生活在贫穷中，而澳大利亚所谓的“援助工人”却在那些岛国过着外籍国王般的生活。他们还敢说中国的投资行不通？非洲也是这样，受到西方几十年的“援助”，却没有任何结果。中国过去十年才到那里，而今天的非洲已经成为最有活力的大陆。