纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英尼泊尔要求中国免除216亿美元机场建设项目贷款

When Nepal’s new international airport opened last year in one of the country’s biggest cities, it was the type of landmark project expected to elevate the fortunes of one of Asia’s poorest countries while deepening its ties with China, which built and financed the project.

去年，一个的新国际机场在尼泊尔最大城市之一投入使用，人们曾指望它会成为那种里程碑式的项目，既能增加一个亚洲最贫穷国家的财富，又能加深与中国的关系，该机场由后者投资承建。

But the Pokhara airport has become a symbol of another sort: the pitfalls of China’s international infrastructure projects, which face criticism for sometimes costly and poor-quality construction that leaves borrower countries awash in debt.

但博克拉机场已成为另一种象征：中国在国际上投资基础设施项目已成为一种陷阱，其中有些项目面临造价昂贵、质量低劣的批评，并令借贷国负债累累。

On Thursday, Nepal’s one-month-old government, led by the country’s largest communist party, which has close ties to Beijing, formally asked China to convert a $216 million loan for the airport into a grant, wiping away the debt. It made the request during a visit by a Chinese delegation including Sun Weidong, China’s vice foreign minister.

上周四，由尼泊尔上任刚一个月的政府正式要求中国将这笔2.16亿美元的机场建设贷款转为赠款，将债务一笔勾销。尼泊尔新政府由该国最大的共产主义政党所领导，它在一个中国代表团来访期间提出了这一要求，代表团成员包括外交部副部长孙卫东。

The airport has been beset by problems. A few weeks after it opened in January 2023, a domestic flight headed for the city crashed into a river gorge, killing 72 people. The airport has not attracted any regular international flights, dimming the financial outlook for the project. Over the last year, Nepal’s anti-corruption agency and a parliamentary committee started investigations into the airport’s construction.

博克拉机场一直受各种问题的困扰。2023年1月通航数周后，一架国内抵港航班坠入了一条河谷，造成72人死亡。机场一直没有吸引来任何定期的国际航班，这让项目的财务前景不妙。去年，尼泊尔反腐败机构和议会的一个委员会开始对机场的建设展开调查。

Last year, The New York Times reported that China CAMC Engineering, the construction arm of a state-owned conglomerate, Sinomach, had inflated the cost of the project and undermined Nepal’s attempts to keep tabs on construction quality.

《纽约时报》去年曾报道，大型国有企业中国机械工业集团下属的中工国际工程股份有限公司夸大了项目造价，削弱了尼泊尔监督建设质量的努力。

Through its Belt and Road Initiative, a signature campaign of President Xi Jinping, China has extended more than $1 trillion in loans and grants, according to some estimates, for international infrastructure projects. The initiative is part of Beijing’s efforts to forge economic and diplomatic ties with other countries, while building a lucrative portfolio of construction work for its state-owned enterprises. But for some developing countries, the loans have become a financial albatross as they struggle to repay the debt.

据估计，中国通过国家主席习近平大力倡导的“一带一路”计划已为国际上的基础设施项目提供了逾一万亿美元的贷款和赠款。“一带一路”是中国政府与其他国家加强经济和外交关系努力的一部分，同时也为中国国有企业带来了利润丰厚的建设项目。但对一些发展中国家来说，中国提供的贷款已成为它们难以偿还的债务负担。

In an interview on Friday, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Nepal’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, said it had made the request to China as “our neighboring country” because Nepal was still scrambling to revive its economy.

尼泊尔副总理兼财政部长比什努·普拉萨德·保德尔上周五接受采访时表示，尼泊尔之所以向其所谓的“邻国”——中国提出这一请求，是因为尼泊尔在努力振兴经济上仍面临问题。

“We are hopeful,” Mr. Paudel said, but he declined to elaborate.

“我们抱有希望，”保德尔说，但他拒绝详细说明。

The Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

中国驻尼泊尔首都加德满都的大使馆没有马上回复置评请求。

If Beijing agrees to Nepal’s request, it will be another indication of a strengthening relationship between the country’s new government and China.

如果中国政府同意尼泊尔的请求，这将是该国新政府与中国关系加强的又一迹象。

In July, Nepal’s biggest communist party joined forces with the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the country’s Parliament, to create a coalition government, led by K.P. Sharma Oli. He forged a reputation for opposing the influence of India, Nepal’s neighbor to the south and a regional rival to China, during three previous stints as prime minister.

今年7月，尼泊尔最大的共产主义政党与在议会中拥有最多席位的尼泊尔大会党联手组建了由卡·普·夏尔马·奥利领导的联合政府。奥利以前曾三度出任总理，以反对南边的邻国印度的影响而闻名，印度也是中国在该地区的竞争对手。

His government has wasted no time cozying up to Beijing. On Thursday, he overturned a ban on TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, that his predecessors had imposed less than a year ago.

奥利政府上台后立即向中国政府示好。上周四，他推翻了前任不到一年前宣布的TikTok禁令，TikTok是中国科技巨头字节跳动旗下的一个热门社交媒体应用。

On the same day, Nepal also said the two countries had agreed to a series of development projects, including two to upgrade highways that connect to the Chinese border. They also agreed to build integrated check posts along the border between Nepal and China.

尼泊尔还在同一天表示，两国已就一系列发展项目达成一致意见，包括对两条通往中国边境的高速公路进行升级的项目。双方还同意在两国边境修建综合检查站。

Nepal’s economy, heavily reliant on overseas remittances and tourism, has struggled to recover since the pandemic. The international airport in Pokhara, a picturesque city in the foothills of the Himalayas, was seen as a way to bolster tourism and breathe new life into the economy.

尼泊尔经济严重依赖海外汇款和旅游业，新冠疫情后一直难以复苏。位于喜马拉雅山麓风景如画的城市博卡拉的国际机场曾被视为有助于促进旅游业，为经济注入新活力。

But so far, the airport has failed to attract any commercial international flights, largely because India has refused to grant permission for its carriers to fly in and out of Pokhara. This has raised fears that the airport would not generate enough revenue to pay back the loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. Nepal is scheduled to start repayment of the loan in 2026.

但到目前为止，该机场未能吸引来任何国际商业航班，主要是因为印度拒绝允许本国航空公司进出博卡拉。这已引发了人们对机场收入不足以偿还中国进出口银行贷款的担忧。按计划尼泊尔将从2026年开始偿还贷款。

At the same time, there are two investigations into the airport’s construction. Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse and Authority is looking into reports of corruption by the Chinese construction company for compromising construction quality to maximize profit. Nepali officials are also accused of accepting kickbacks while awarding the contract to CAMC. A separate parliamentary committee was formed to investigate possible irregularities in construction.

与此同时，机场的建设也面临两项调查。尼泊尔的滥用职权调查委员会正在调查指控中工国际腐败的报告，报告称中工国际为了利润最大化，牺牲了建筑质量。尼泊尔官员也被指控在将合同授予中工国际时收受了回扣。尼泊尔还另外成立了一个调查建设中可能存在违规行为的议会委员会。

CAMC did not respond to a request for comment about the investigations.

中工国际没有回复有关调查的置评请求。

Binoj Basnyat, a retired Nepali general working as a researcher with Rangsit University in Thailand, said China would probably convert the loan to a grant because it wanted to build a strong relationship with Nepal’s communist party. He also noted another benefit for China if it agreed to the request.

在泰国兰实大学从事研究工作的尼泊尔退役将军比诺伊·巴斯尼亚特说，中国可能会将贷款转为赠款，因为中国想与尼泊尔共产党建立牢固的关系。他还指出，如果中国同意这一请求，还有另一个好处。

“The investigation into the corruption charges will quickly come to an end,” Mr. Basnyat said. “Nobody will talk about that anymore.”

“对腐败指控的调查将很快结束，”巴斯尼亚特说。“没有人会再提那事。”