Japanese business ---Rebalancing?act

Japan Inc is caught in the rift between America and China

經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人9月刊

WHEN ABE SHINZO became Japan’s prime minister for a second time in 2012, relations with China were on the skids. Tensions over disputed islands brought the two countries to?the brink of conflict. Japanese car dealerships in China were?set ablaze.?Protests at a Panasonic factory turned violent.

Rift??n.?/r?ft/? ?1.分裂；分歧；嚴(yán)重不和??The rift within the party deepened. 黨內(nèi)的分歧加深了。??Efforts to heal the rift between the two countries have failed. 彌合兩國間分歧的各種努力都已失敗。2.斷裂；裂縫；裂口

ABE SHINZO：安倍晉三

skid ?/sk?d/ ?

[ V ] ( ?通常指車輛 ) 側(cè)滑；打滑；滑行??The car skidded on the ice and went straight into the wall. 汽車在冰上打滑，徑直撞到了墻上。

[N] 1. 側(cè)滑；打滑；突然向一側(cè)滑行??The motorbike went into a skid . 摩托車朝一側(cè)滑了出去。2.（飛機(jī)的）起落橇，滑橇??the skids of a helicopter 直升機(jī)的起落橇

1. put the ?skids under sb/sth???使失?。皇棺呦缕侣?/span>

2. be on the ?skids??逐漸衰落；走下坡路

brink ?n. ?/br??k/ ?

1.?the ~ (of sth) （新的、危險(xiǎn)的，或令人興奮的處境的）邊緣，初始狀態(tài)

?on the brink of collapse/war/death/disaster 瀕于崩潰╱戰(zhàn)爭╱死亡╱災(zāi)難

?Scientists are on the brink of making a major new discovery. 科學(xué)家很快就會有新的重大發(fā)現(xiàn)。

2.?（峭壁、河岸等的）邊沿，邊緣??the brink of the precipice 懸崖邊緣

3.?the brink of conflict：沖突邊緣

ablaze ?adj. ??/??ble?z/ ?

1.猛烈燃燒 ?Cars and buses were set ablaze during the riot. 暴亂中許多轎車和公共汽車被縱火焚燒。

2.~ (with sth) 閃耀；發(fā)光；明亮；色彩鮮艷??The trees were ablaze with the colours of autumn. 樹木披上了絢麗的秋裝。

3.~ (with sth) 充滿激情的；情緒激動(dòng)的

After that, tempers cooled and relations warmed. Mr Abe had planned to host?Xi Jinping for a state visit in Tokyo this spring, the first by a Chinese leader since 2008. Japan mc, too, has been dining out on the bonhomie. Annual trade between China and Japan, the world’s second- and third-biggest economies, amounts to more than $300bn. Japanese firms accumulated over $l30bn in assets in China. The flow of Japanese foreign direct investment there hit an all-time high of $14.4bn last year.

MC：Member of congress 國會議員? ? ?bonhomie ?n. ?/?b?n?mi/ ?歡快友好的感覺；歡樂的友情

According to Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, listed Japanese firms derived only 4% of revenues from China. But 26% of their profits were tied to China through suppliers or customers, more than depended on America, calculates Jes per Koll, a Tokyo-based economist. He reckons this profit share shot up to?63% in the second quarter, as the Chinese economy recovered faster than others from covid-19.

derive ?v. /d??ra?v/ ?

1.DE?RIVE FROM STH??| ?BE DE?RIVED FROM STH：從…衍生出；起源于；來自??The word ‘politics’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘city’. politics一詞源自希臘語，意思是city。

2.DE?RIVE STH FROM STH

(1) （從…中）得到，獲得??He derived great pleasure from painting. 他從繪畫中得到極大的樂趣。

(2) (術(shù)語 ) （從…中）提取??The new drug is derived from fish oil. 這種新藥是從魚油中提煉出來的。

Reckon??v. /?rek?n/??vt. 測算，估計(jì)；認(rèn)為；計(jì)算?vi. 估計(jì)；計(jì)算；猜想，料想

1.?RECKON ON STH?指望；依賴??We'd reckoned on having good weather. 我們原指望會有好天氣。

2.?RECKON STH←→?UP?( especially BrE ) 統(tǒng)計(jì)；合計(jì)??He reckoned up the cost of everything in his mind. 他在腦子里把所有費(fèi)用都合計(jì)了一下。

3.?RECKON WITH SB/STH

(1)重視；認(rèn)真處理??They were already a political force to be reckoned with . 他們已經(jīng)成為一支不容忽視的政治力量。

(2) ( 通常用于否定句 ) 把（可能出現(xiàn)的問題）考慮進(jìn)去??I didn't reckon with getting caught up in so much traffic. 我沒有考慮到塞車會這么嚴(yán)重。

4.?RECKON WITHOUT SB/STH?沒考慮到；不把…算在內(nèi)

Shot up：射出；發(fā)芽；暴漲；迅速成長

Now the mood seems once again to be souring. Covid-19 put paid to?Mr Xi’s visit. Earlier this year Mr Abe’s government imposed new restrictions on foreign investment to protect certain industries, battered by covid-19, from Chinese bargain-hunters. The pandemic and the spectre of further American sanctions against Chinese companies such as Huawei, a telecoms-equipment giant, are making Japanese companies think about the stability of their supply chains, not just efficiency, says Ke Long of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, a think-tank. Mr Abe’s sudden?resignation?on August 28th over ill health has added to the uncertainty.

put paid to?：結(jié)束，完全結(jié)束，了結(jié)? ? think-tank:智囊團(tuán)

batter ??/?b?t?(r)/ ?

[V]~ at/on sth?|~ sb/sth ?連續(xù)猛擊；毆打??She battered at the door with her fists. 她用雙拳不斷地擂門。 ?Somebody had battered her to death . 有人把她打死了。

batter sth←→?down?（連續(xù)重?fù)粢灾拢┰覛?，砸?/span>

[N]?1.面糊（用于做煎料）;2.面糊（用于做糕餅）; 3. ( 棒球 ) 正在擊球的球員；擊球員

resignation n. ??/?rez?ɡ?ne??n/ ?

1.辭職??a letter of resignation 辭職信?2.辭職信；辭呈??to offer/hand in/tender your resignation 呈遞╱上交╱提交辭職信?3.順從；聽任??They accepted their defeat with resignation. 他們無可奈何地承認(rèn)失敗。

Closer inspection reveals a more?nuanced picture, however. One source close to the government says its aim is to focus on “several strategic choke-points” in China (such as medical supplies), while “keeping many areas open for commercial activity”. Not so much a great decoupling, then, as a quiet rebalancing.

Nuanced??/'nju?ɑ?nst/ adj. 微妙的；具有細(xì)微差別的? ? ? ? ?choke-point：瓶頸，阻礙

decouple ?v. /di??k?pl/ ?[ VN ] ~ sth (from sth)（使兩事物）分離，隔斷

a conception which decouples culture and politics. 一種分離文化與政治的觀念。

Mr Abe’s Y244bn ($2.2bn) programme to induce Japanese firms to diversify their supply chains away from China is a case in point. In July 57 companies, including Iris Ohyama, a big plastics producer, and Sharp, a maker of electronics, received a combined Y57bn to invest in production at home; others got help to build factories in South-East Asia. But of the 87 winning projects, 60 will be producing masks, disinfectants, drugs or other medical supplies.

disinfectant ?n. ?/?d?s?n?fekt?nt/ ??消毒劑；殺菌劑

Having business in China was not a precondition for the handouts; many companies, especially small and medium-sized ones that made up the bulk of applicants, had little or none. An executive at Novel Crystal Technology, a producer of materials for semiconductors,?says his firm applied for the subsidy to reduce overconcentration in the American market. The sums on offer are far too small to?spur?all-out decoupling, says Onishi Yasuo, a former official at the Japan External Trade Organisation, an independent government agency.

Semiconductor：semi-conductor 半導(dǎo)體

Overconcentration：over-concentration 過度濃縮

Spur這個(gè)詞遇到很多次，n. 馬刺；鞭策；山嘴；（公路或鐵路的）支線；骨刺

v. 用踢馬刺驅(qū)馬前進(jìn)；激勵(lì)；促進(jìn)

All-out：竭盡全力，毫無保留

Most Japanese firms with lots of exposure to China are in “wait and see” mode, says Mr Ke. America may have a new government soon. The scope and enforcement of American sanctions is vague. Even if tensions keep rising, Japan Inc is unlikely to behave as a monolith. Makers of niche products for export may decamp from China. Firms with a large Chinese business, such as carmakers, will be loth to leave.

monolith ?n. /?m?n?l?θ/ ?

1. （尤指古人鑿成、表示某種宗教意義的）單塊巨石，獨(dú)石柱

2.?( often disapproving ) （少有變化，不關(guān)心個(gè)人的）單一龐大的組織

decamp ?v. /d??k?mp/ ?~ (from...) (to...) to leave a place suddenly, often secretly 逃亡；潛逃

Loth=loath??adj. /l??θ/ ?~ to do sth ( formal ) not willing to do sth 不情愿；不樂意；勉強(qiáng)?? He was loath to admit his mistake. 他不愿承認(rèn)自己的錯(cuò)誤。

In the long run the risk for corporate Japan is less geopolitics than competition. China already transformed once, from a land of cheap labour into a booming consumer market; more than 70% of what Japanese companies’ affiliates?produce in China is sold there. Now a second shift is under way, from consumer market to rival in sophisticated technology.

affiliate ?/??f?lie?t/

1. ~ sb/sth (with/to sb/sth) ?使隸屬，使并入（較大的團(tuán)體、公司、組織）??The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 這家醫(yī)院附屬于當(dāng)?shù)卮髮W(xué)。

2.?~ (yourself) (with sb/sth) 加入；與…有關(guān)；為…工作??The majority of people questioned affiliated themselves with a religious group. 接受詢問的人大多數(shù)都屬于某個(gè)宗教團(tuán)體。

3. [N]?附屬機(jī)構(gòu)；分支機(jī)構(gòu)；分公司；分會

The latest annual survey of 74 technology products and services by Nikkei, a Japanese business newspaper, found that last year Chinese companies overtook Japan in market share for liquid-crystal displays installed in smartphones and?insulators for lithium-ion?batteries used in electric vehicles. As an adviser to?a large japanese bank observes,that is what really makes japanese firms nervous.

liquid-crystal ：液晶的? ? ? ? ? ??liquid-crystal display：液晶顯示屏

insulator /??nsj??le?t?/ 隔離材料 ? Fat is an excellent insulator against the cold. 脂肪是極好的抵御寒冷的隔熱材料。

lithium-ion?n. 鋰離子? ? ? ???lithium n. /?l?θi?m/鋰? ? ?ion ?n. /?a??n/ ?/?a??n/ 離子

?

?