中国拟在哥伦比亚建造铁路

飞雪寒冰

China is in talks to build an alternative to the Panama Canal that would link Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail – a move that Bogotá also hopes will spur Washington to push for Congressional approval of a US-Colombia free-trade pact.
中国正谈判建设一条与巴拿马运河形成竞争的运输干线，即连接哥伦比亚大西洋和太平洋海岸的铁路。哥伦比亚方面还希望，此举将刺激华盛顿方面推动美国国会批准美国-哥伦比亚自由贸易协定。

“It’s a real proposal . . . and it is quite advanced,” Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia’s president, told the Financial Times. “The studies [the Chinese] have made on the costs of transporting per tonne, the cost of investment, they all work out.”
“这是一个切实的提议……而且已相当深入，”哥伦比亚总统胡安•曼努埃尔•桑托斯(Juan Manuel Santos)对英国《金融时报》表示。“（中方）已对每吨运输成本、投资成本等进行了研究，一切都没有问题。”

飞雪寒冰

The mooted rail link is the latest example of China’s increasingly aggressive lending to the developing world, as evidenced by Chinese banks having lent more to developing countries over the past two years than the World Bank.
这条正在酝酿中的铁路，是中国向发展中国家放贷越来越积极的最新例证。过去两年间，中资银行向发展中国家放贷总量超过了世界银行(World Bank)。

The 220km “dry canal” would run from the Pacific to a new city near Cartagena where imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export throughout the Americas. Colombia-sourced raw materials would make the return journey to China.
上述“干运河”全长220公里，将从太平洋海岸延伸至卡塔赫纳(Cartagena)附近的一座新城市，进口的中国商品将在那里组装，然后再出口至美洲各地。回程时，船舶将把在哥伦比亚采购的原材料运往中国。

飞雪寒冰

“I don’t want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense,” Mr Santos said. “Asia is the new motor of the world economy.”
“我不想制造夸大的期望，但这一切意义重大，”桑托斯表示。“亚洲是全球经济新的发动机。”

Colombia has long dreamt of building an alternative to the Panama Canal. The country is the US’s closest ally in South America, but Bogotá is frustrated by Washington’s stalling over a free-trade agreement signed by both governments four years ago but yet to be ratified by Congress.
哥伦比亚一直梦想着建造一条可以替代巴拿马运河的运输干线。该国是美国在南美洲最亲密的盟友，但哥方对美国迟迟不批准一项自由贸易协定感到失望，两国政府4年前就已签署该协定，但美国国会至今未予批准。

飞雪寒冰

Bilateral Sino-Colombian trade has meanwhile soared from $10m in 1980 to more than $5bn in 2010, making China Colombia’s second-biggest trade partner, after the US.
与此同时，中国-哥伦比亚双边贸易额已从1980年的1000万美元，增至2010年的逾50亿美元，使中国成为哥伦比亚的第二大贸易伙伴，仅次于美国。

“Colombia has a very important strategic position, and we view the country as a port to the rest of Latin America,” said Gao Zhengyue, China’s ambassador to Colombia.
“哥伦比亚的战略地位十分重要，我们将该国视为通往拉美其它国家的门户，”中国驻哥伦比亚大使高正月表示。

飞雪寒冰

In documents seen by the FT, the project is just one of a series of Chinese proposals that would boost transport links with Asia and improve Colombia’s creaking infrastructure – a priority of Mr Santos’ administration.
根据英国《金融时报》看到的文件，上述项目只是中方一系列提议之一，这些提议将提振哥伦比亚与亚洲之间的交通联系，同时改善哥伦比亚陈旧的基础设施——这也是桑托斯政府的首要任务之一。

Chinese and Colombian officials say talks are most advanced over a 791km railway and expansion of the Pacific port of Buenaventura. The $7.6bn project, funded by the Chinese Development Bank and operated by China Railway Group, would move up to 40m tonnes of cargo a year from Colombia’s economic heartland to the Pacific. Priority would be given to coal destined for China.
中国和哥伦比亚的官员们表示，围绕一条791公里的铁路和扩建太平洋港口布埃纳文图拉(Buenaventura)的谈判最为深入。这个76亿美元的项目由中国国家开发银行(Chinese Development Bank)提供资金，中国中铁(China Railway Group)负责运营，建成后每年可把至多4000万吨货物从哥伦比亚的经济腹地运至太平洋港口。重点将是运往中国的煤炭。

飞雪寒冰

Colombia is the world’s fifth-largest coal producer, but most is exported via Atlantic ports even as demand is growing fastest across the Pacific.
哥伦比亚是全球第五大煤炭生产国，但目前多数煤炭通过大西洋港口出口，尽管太平洋彼岸的需求增长最快。