在全球经济低迷时期，有一个产业正在迅速扩张：这就是中国的国有能源公司。在最近几个月里，这些公司在俄罗斯、巴西和伊拉克等地进行了多项价值数十亿美元的大型石油交易。其中教训，值得华盛顿那些认为保护主义无须付出代价的决策者深思。
In the midst of the global economic downturn, there's one industry that's expanding rapidly: China's state-owned energy companies. Over the past few months, these companies have launched major multibillion-dollar oil deals from Russia to Brazil to Iraq. There's a good lesson here for policy makers in Washington who think protectionism is costless.
中国一直急于获得长期可靠的石油供应。中国是仅次于美国的全球第二大石油消费国和进口国。但中国的人均石油消费量只是美国的十三分之一，换言之，还有很大的增长空间。作为世界上最大的石油消费国，中国和美国都会从清洁能源和可再生能源、清洁煤炭和能效方面的合作受益颇多。
China is eager to secure a reliable and long-term supply of oil. The country is the second-largest oil consumer and importer in the world, next only to the United States. But China's per capita oil consumption is only one-thirteenth of the U.S. -- in other words, there's a lot of room to grow. As the world's largest oil consumers, China and America have much to gain from cooperation in new and renewable energy, clean coal and energy efficiency.
鉴于油价从去年7月以来已经下跌了每桶100多美元，这种观点就更有道理了。两个国家的能源领域都面临收入下降和上游勘探开发成本上升的困境。存在的危险是，能源投资将会减少，而当全球经济最终走出目前的经济和金融危机时，对石油的需求可能远远超过供应，从而导致油价飙升。中国和美国因此可能会因要以高得多的价格进口石油而受到打击。
This is especially true today, given the oil price has dropped by more than $100 a barrel since last July. Both countries' energy sectors face declining revenues and the high costs of upstream exploration and production. The danger is that energy investments will dwindle, and when the global economy eventually climbs out of the current economic and financial crisis, demand for oil may far exceed supply, resulting in huge price hikes. China and America could thus potentially be hit with much higher costs for imported oil.
让人们看到希望的是，迄今为止中国增加了在全球各地的上游石油勘探开发的投资，这可能会在今后几年里填补这个巨大的真空。只要中国向公开市场出售从中生产的大部分石油，而不是装船运回国内，这样的投资就应该因其长期积极的稳定作用而受到欢迎和鼓励。
The hope is that China's increased investments in upstream oil exploration and development in different parts of the world to date -- and over the coming few years -- may make up for this significant vacuum. So long as China sells a significant amount of oil thus produced to the open market, rather than locking it up for shipment back to China, such investment should be welcomed and encouraged for its positive stabilizing effect over the long run.
美国政府有必要欢迎这些投资流入。自美国国会2005年否决了中海油对加州联合石油公司(Unocal)的竞购以来，就基本没有中国能源公司进入美国市场了。在某种程度上由于这一原因，中国的能源公司此后就在世界其它地区更加迅速地扩张。在提出收购加州联合石油公司前，中海油在非洲基本没有任何投资。但在美国筑起了保护主义的壁垒后，中海油开始大规模地进入非洲。
Washington needs to embrace these investment flows. Since Congress opposed Cnooc's bid for Unocal in 2005, few, if any, Chinese energy companies have ventured into the U.S. market. Partly as a result, Chinese energy companies have since been expanding more rapidly in other parts of the world. Prior to the proposed Cnooc-Unocal deal, Cnooc hardly had any investments in Africa. Once America erected protectionist walls, Cnooc began its grand engagement with Africa.
最终成功收购了加州联合石油公司的雪佛龙(Chevron)并未能实现中海油可能达到的目标。雪佛龙仍只是坐拥从加州联合石油公司那里获得的大量天然气储备(大多位于东南亚)，而且在今后数年里可能仍会把它们作为闲置资产，或是向中国求助，因为中国仍是出售此类产品的最合理最自然而然的市场。从中得到的痛苦教训就是，尽管石油的替代性强，但天然气卖家需要将目标对准有意愿、有准备也能够向客户付款的客户，同时也要能在今后几十年里带来稳定的，可预测的收入。
Chevron, which ultimately won the bid for Unocal, hasn't been able to match what Cnooc would have achieved. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company is still sitting on large natural gas reserves inherited from Unocal, mostly in Southeast Asia, and may either have to treat them as idle assets for years to come, or have to knock on Chinese doors anyway, since the Chinese market remains the most logical and natural market in which to sell such a product. The bitter lesson here is that while oil is fungible, natural gas sellers need to aim at markets that have willing, ready and paying customers -- and offer the prospect of stable, predictable revenues for decades to come.
中美两国应该具有走出加州联合石油公司交易失败和上周中国拒绝可口可乐以24亿美元收购汇源果汁阴影的勇气和远见。奥巴马政府已经为两国关系注入了新鲜空气，能源合作无疑应是重新引起重视的一个领域。中国作为一个坚定、可靠和负责任的利益相关者发展与美国的关系。合作，而不是对抗会让我们双方受益。
China and the U.S. should have the courage and vision to go beyond the failed Unocal deal and China's rejection last week of the proposed $2.4 billion Coca-Cola-Huiyuan merger. The Obama administration has introduced fresh air into the two countries' bilateral relations, and energy cooperation should certainly be an area of renewed focus. China conducts its relations with the U.S. as a steadfast, reliable and responsible stakeholder. We can both benefit from cooperation, not confrontation.
（责任编辑:doublejp）
