潘功胜:中国不会回资本管制的老路

 　　China’s top foreign exchange regulator says the country will not follow the “old road of capital controls”, as the government seeks to reassure 1 investors 2 that their money will not be trapped in China following recent measures to restrict capital outflows.

　　中国最高外汇监管官员表示，中国不会重回“资本管制的老路”。此时，中国政府正想方设法让投资者放心，在近来的限制资本流出的措施之后，他们的资金将不会被困在中国。
　　A flurry of moves to keep money onshore has sparked concern that China is backtracking on promises to liberalise cross-border investment and internationalise its currency. The measures include tighter approval procedures for foreign acquisitions by Chinese companies and higher hurdles 3 for forex purchases by individuals.
　　一连串旨在把资金留在境内的举措导致人们担忧，中国可能正在走回头路，不再履行放开跨境投资和推进人民币国际化的承诺。
　　In a rare media interview, Pan Gongsheng, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, described the recent tightening 4 primarily as an effort to close loopholes and improve enforcement of existing rules and root out fraud, not to abandon the general trend towards greater openness.
　　在一次不多见的媒体采访中，中国央行副行长、外管局局长潘功胜称，近来的收紧措施主要是为了封堵漏洞、完善现有规则执行和根除欺诈，而不是放弃扩大开放的大趋势。
　　“We persist in one principle: the window we have opened will not be closed again. Foreign exchange management policy will not retreat backwards 5, let alone will we return to the old road of capital controls,” Mr Pan told China Business News. Neither Mr Pan nor his predecessor 6 at Safe has ever granted an interview to foreign media while serving in the position.
　　“我们坚持一个原则：打开的窗户不会再关上。外汇管理政策不会后退，更不会走回资本管制的老路，”潘功胜对《第一财经》表示。无论是潘功胜还是外管局的前局长，在任期间都没有接受过外国媒体的采访。
　　Mr Pan said that recent measures to restrict capital outflows are primarily targeting suspicious or fraudulent transactions, as well as currency speculation 7. The “going out” policy of encouraging outbound investment by Chinese companies is crucial to fulfilling President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt One Road” policy, which calls for Chinese groups to fund infrastructure 8 investment in Central Asia and the Middle East.
　　潘功胜表示，近期限制资本流出的措施，主要是为了打击可疑或欺诈交易，以及汇率投机。鼓励中国企业对外投资的“走出去”政策，对于实现中国国家主席的“一带一路”战略是至关重要的。该战略要求中国企业出资支持中亚和中东的基础设施建设。
　　On the other hand, he said that the abrupt 9 surge of Chinese outbound deals raised questions, citing commerce ministry 10 figures showing a 44 per cent rise in outbound foreign direct investment in 2016.
　　另一方面，他表示，2016年来对外直接投资规模增长迅速，可能会带来不少潜在问题。他提到，2016年中国对外直接投资增长了44%。
　　“If outbound FDI shows an extraordinary change within a relatively 11 short period, this needs to spark our close attention,” he said. “Some enterprises’ outbound FDI is carried out with a strong element of blindness.”
　　“如果对外直接投资在比较短的时间内出现了异常变化，则需要引起我们的重视，”他说，“一些企业对外直接投资带有很强的盲目性。”
　　Mr Pan said the government was especially suspicious about investments outside an investor’s core business and those where the investment target was much larger than its acquirer. He cited the example of Japan, where investors bought a series of US trophy 12 assets in the 1980s. This buying spree preceded an economic crash and two decades of stagnation 13.
　　潘功胜表示，中国政府尤其对大额非主业投资和“母小子大”的投资感到怀疑。他举了日本的例子。在1980年代，日本企业曾横扫美国的炫耀性资产。在并购狂欢之后，日本发生了经济崩盘，经历了长达20年的滞涨。