纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英中国电池厂争议中特朗普利用反华情绪争取选票

For two years, a rural town in the middle of Michigan has been embroiled in a civil war over plans by a Chinese-owned electric vehicle battery company to build a $2.4 billion factory.

在过去两年里，密歇根州中部的一个乡间小镇卷入了一场内战，因为一家来自中国的电动车电池公司计划投资24亿美元在这里建厂。

On Tuesday, the local furor collided with presidential politics as the Trump campaign sought to leverage anti-China sentiment and concerns over the future of the electric vehicle industry in Michigan for political gain.

周二，当特朗普竞选团队试图利用反华情绪和人们对密歇根电动车行业未来的担忧谋取政治利益时，当地的愤怒与总统政治发生了冲突。

The fight over the E.V. battery facility has turned Green Charter Township, which is about 60 miles north of Grand Rapids, into the latest battleground over Chinese investment in the United States. Residents have expressed various concerns about the factory, including that it will be used by China to spy on Americans and will pollute the local environment.

围绕电池工厂的争斗，把位于大急流城以北约100公里的格林查特镇变成了中国在美投资的最新战场。当地居民对这家工厂表达了各种担忧，包括担心它会被中国用来监视美国人，会污染当地环境等。

The debate over the intentions of the Chinese company, Gotion, has led to angry town hall meetings, the ousting of the township’s board in an election last November and litigation over the future of the project.

围绕中国公司国轩高科的争吵，导致该城多次召开群情激愤的市政厅会议，去年11月的选举中还把本镇的董事会赶下台，并引发了围绕该项目未来的诉讼。

Michigan is a pivotal swing state in the November election, and a New York Times/Siena poll this month showed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, leading former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee, by 4 percentage points.

密歇根州是11月大选的一个关键摇摆州，《纽约时报》和锡耶纳本月联合进行的民调显示，民主党候选人、副总统贺锦丽领先共和党候选人、前总统特朗普4个百分点。

At a 150-acre horse farm owned by one of the most vocal “No Gotion” activists, Senator JD Vance, Mr. Trump’s running mate, blamed Ms. Harris for Gotion’s arrival in Michigan. In 2022, Ms. Harris cast the deciding vote that enabled passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which created billions of dollars in new green energy subsidies and has lured foreign companies to the United States.

在一个占地60公顷的马场（这里的主人是“对国轩高科说不”运动的主要成员），特朗普的竞选伙伴、参议员JD·万斯指责贺锦丽是国轩高科落户密歇根的肇始者。2022年，贺锦丽投下了决定性的一票，使《通货膨胀削减法案》得以通过，该法案包括数十亿美元的新绿色能源补贴，并吸引了外国公司来美国落户。

“Kamala Harris not only wants to allow the Chinese Communist Party to build factories on American soil, she wants to pay them to do it with our tax money,” Mr. Vance said on Tuesday afternoon. “Democrats are helping China to destroy and replace our auto industry from the inside out.”

“贺锦丽不仅想让中共在美国领土上建厂，还想拿我们纳的税给他们建厂，”万斯在周二下午说。“民主党人正在帮助中国从里到外摧毁和取代我们的汽车业。”

The crowd of approximately 500 supporters of the Trump campaign, some of whom were wearing shirts accusing Chinese companies of using forced labor, erupted in boos when Mr. Vance mentioned Gotion.

当万斯提到国轩高科时，现场约500名特朗普的支持者发出嘘声。其中一些人还穿着指责中国公司使用强迫劳动的衬衫。

The Treasury Department has estimated that only 2 percent of the clean energy investments made in the United States during the Biden administration have been made by Chinese companies and that American companies or U.S. allies have made the rest.

据财政部估算，拜登政府期间在美国进行的清洁能源投资中，只有2%来自中国企业，其余则来自美国公司或美国的盟友。

During his brief tenure in the Senate, where he represents Ohio, Mr. Vance has been hawkish on China. He introduced a 2024 bill to combat Chinese currency manipulation and another piece of legislation that would ensure that inventions created by taxpayer-funded research cannot be manufactured in adversarial countries such as China.

在代表俄亥俄州担任参议员的短暂任期内，万斯一直对中国持鹰派立场。他在2024年提出了一项打击中国汇率操纵行为的法案，以及另一项确保纳税人资助的研究所创造的发明不能在中国等敌对国家进行生产的立法。

Mr. Trump has also talked tough on China, imposing steep tariffs on its exports while president and moving to ban TikTok from U.S. app stores over national security concerns. He has since equivocated on TikTok, saying that, if elected, he would “save TikTok.” And despite his anti-China views, as president Mr. Trump welcomed U.S. investment by Taiwan’s Foxconn, which derives much of its revenue from its Chinese factories.

特朗普的对华言论也很强硬，在担任总统期间对来自中国的出口产品征收了高额关税，并出于国家安全考虑，准备在美国的应用商店禁止TikTok。此后，他对TikTok的态度变得模棱两可，称如果当选的话，他将“拯救TikTok”。尽管持反华观点，特朗普在担任总统期间还是欢迎台湾的富士康到美国投资，富士康的大部分收入都来自它在中国的工厂。

At the 2018 groundbreaking for Foxconn’s $10 billion plant in Wisconsin to make flat-screen televisions, Mr. Trump called the project the “eighth wonder of the world.” Plans for the factory later sputtered amid changing market dynamics and much of the planned site remains undeveloped.

在2018年，在为富士康在威斯康星州投资100亿美元建设液晶面板厂举行的奠基仪式上，特朗普称该项目为“世界第八大奇迹”。然而，由于市场形势的变化，建厂计划后来搁浅，大部分规划用地依旧处于未开发状态。

Mr. Vance’s decision to wade into the fight over Gotion came in the wake of another shift by Mr. Trump, who earlier this year indicated openness to foreign investment. During remarks in March and at his July convention speech, Mr. Trump suggested that he would welcome foreign companies, including those from China, building car factories in the U.S. if they were staffed by American workers.

万斯决定介入国轩高科建厂之争之前，特朗普又一次态度转变，他在今年早些时候表示对外国投资持开放态度。在3月的讲话和7月的共和党全国大会的演讲中，特朗普表示，他欢迎包括中国公司在内的外国企业在美国建汽车厂，只要这些工厂的员工是美国人。

“If they want to build a plant in Michigan, in Ohio, in South Carolina, they can, using American workers, they can,” Mr. Trump said in March, adding that they could not send Chinese workers to staff those plants. “If they want to do that, we’re welcome, right?”

“如果他们想在密歇根、俄亥俄、南卡罗来纳州建厂，可以使用美国工人，他们可以的，”特朗普在3月表示，并补充道，他们不能派中国工人来这些岗位。“如果这一点他们能接受，我们欢迎，对吧？”

Gotion’s vice president of North American manufacturing, Chuck Thelen, embraced those remarks during a virtual town hall last month, suggesting that Mr. Trump was supportive of Chinese companies such as Gotion setting up shop in the U.S.

国轩高科负责北美业务的副总裁查克·希伦在上个月的虚拟市政厅会议上对此表示赞同，暗示特朗普支持像国轩高科这样的中国公司在美国落地。

Last week, Mr. Trump changed his tenor on the issue. He said that he opposed the Gotion project, which has been supported by Michigan Democrats. They include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has praised it as a win for the state. The battery factory is projected to create more than 2,000 jobs in the region.

就在上周，特朗普对该问题的态度再次发生转变。他表示反对国轩高科项目，该项目得到了密歇根州民主党人的支持，包括州长格雷琴·惠特默，她称赞这是该州的胜利。预计这家电池工厂将为该地区创造2000多个就业机会。

“The Gotion plant would be very bad for the State and our Country. It would put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. “I AM 100% OPPOSED!”

“国轩高科的工厂对密歇根州和我们的国家都非常不利。它将使密歇根人受制于北京的中国共产党，”特朗普在社交媒体上写道。“我百分之百反对！”

Mr. Thelen said in a statement that he had not meant to suggest that Mr. Trump supported the Gotion facility but noted that the company had a good relationship with the Trump administration. He said that the company was moving forward with its plans.

希伦在一份声明中表示，他并非有意暗示特朗普支持国轩高科的设施，但他指出，该公司与特朗普政府有着良好的关系。他说，该公司正在推进自己的计划。

“Speaking last month in Grand Rapids, former President Trump supported the onshoring of electrification manufacturing in our state and the United States by Chinese-affiliated companies,” Mr. Thelen said. “Trump wants the people of Michigan and our local economy to thrive from these types of jobs, and so do we.”

“前总统特朗普上个月在大急流城发表讲话时，支持中资企业将电气化制造业回流到本州和美国，”希伦说。“特朗普希望密歇根人民和我们当地的经济能够从这些类型的工作中获利，我们也希望如此。”

Gotion received $800 million in state subsidies, such as grants and tax exemptions, from Michigan’s strategic fund. The company could also be eligible to receive tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act.

国轩高科从密歇根州的战略基金获得了8亿美元的州补贴，包括赠款和免税。该公司还有资格从《通货膨胀削减法案》中获得税收抵免。

The Coalition for a Prosperous America, which represents American manufacturers, estimates that Chinese companies could gain access to $125 billion in U.S. tax credits related to “green energy manufacturing” investments. Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation that would prevent Chinese companies from accessing such tax credits.

代表美国制造商的“繁荣美国联盟”估计，中国企业可能获得与“绿色能源制造”投资相关的1250亿美元的税收抵免。国会中的共和党人已经提出了立法，旨在阻止中国公司获取这些税收抵免。

The debate over the future of Gotion has led to arguments about the environment, national security and the local economy.

围绕国轩高科未来的争论引发了关于环境、国家安全和当地经济的争论。

“It’s important for Michigan to have jobs in these new industries,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “The question is, should we be giving subsidies to a Chinese company so we can have these jobs or could there be another alternative?”

“对密歇根来说，在这些新兴行业创造就业机会非常重要，”密歇根大学罗斯商学院教授埃里克·戈登表示。“问题是，我们是否应该向一家中国公司提供补贴，从而获得这些工作岗位，还是有其他选择？”

The Biden administration has expressed concern about Chinese companies benefiting from the 2022 climate and tax law but officials have said that the legislation does not allow them to exclude foreign companies from getting tax incentives.

拜登政府对中国企业从2022年的气候和税法中受益表示担忧，但官员们表示，该立法不允许他们将外国公司排除在税收优惠之外。

The Harris campaign did not immediately have a comment on Mr. Vance’s criticism of the vice president.

贺锦丽的竞选团队没有立即对万斯对副总统的批评发表评论。

In June, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. proposed adding a military facility located near the planned Gotion factory to a list of sites that would give the investment review panel more authority to block foreign transactions. However, the rule would not be retroactive and could only obstruct Gotion from buying additional land in the area.

今年6月，美国外国投资委员会提议，将位于计划中的国轩高科工厂附近的一处军事设施列入清单，这将赋予投资审查委员会更大的权力来阻止外国交易。然而，该规定没有追溯力，只能阻止国轩高科在该地区购买更多土地。

Mr. Vance, speaking after his prepared remarks, made no promises about what Mr. Trump might be able to do to stop construction of the Gotion factory if he is elected.

万斯的话是在事先准备好的发言之后说的，但他没有承诺如果特朗普当选，他可能会采取什么措施来阻止国轩高科工厂的建设。

“Hopefully it progresses slowly and there is something we can do about it,” Mr. Vance told reporters.

万斯对记者说，“希望进展缓慢，让我们能做点什么。”

The feud has divided Green Charter Township and the surrounding area in Michigan, leading to protests at town meetings and an aggressive “No Gotion” social media campaign. The township’s Republican board of trustees that had approved the Gotion factory was voted out last November and replaced with officials who pledged to stop the project.

这场争斗使密歇根州的格林查特镇和周边地区分裂，引发了镇会议上的抗议活动，以及社交媒体上一场声势浩大的“对国轩高科说不”运动。去年11月，批准国轩高科工厂的共和党董事会被投票否决，取而代之的是承诺停止该项目的官员。

Those efforts, which have included a move to block Gotion from accessing the local water supply, have so far been stymied by a lawsuit that the company filed against the township that alleges the officials are backing out of a legally binding agreement.

这些努力，包括阻止国轩高科获得当地水资源的行动，迄今一直受到该公司对该镇提起的诉讼的阻碍，该诉讼指控官员背弃了一项具有法律约束力的协议。

At Mr. Vance’s rally, many expressed hope that a Trump administration would support their efforts to stop Gotion.

在万斯的集会上，许多人表示希望特朗普政府会支持他们阻止国轩高科的努力。

“I’m really worried that they’re going to end up polluting the river,” Don Taylor, 82, of Hersey, Mich., said. “I don’t trust the communist Chinese, either.”

“我真的很担心它们最终会污染这条河，”82岁的唐·泰勒说，他来自密歇根州赫西说。“另外我也不相信共产中国。”

Lori Brock, leader of the movement to stop Gotion and owner of the Majestic Friesians Horse Farm where Mr. Vance spoke, said on Tuesday that it was “reckless and absurd” that the state and federal government are subsidizing a company controlled by China, which has a history of spying on the United States.

洛莉·布洛克是阻止国轩高科运动的领导人，也是万斯集会所在的雄伟弗里斯马场的所有者。她在周二表示，州政府和联邦政府补贴一家由中国控制的公司是“鲁莽和荒谬的”，而中国有对美国进行间谍活动的历史。

“We are against it and we don’t want it here,” Ms. Brock said. “The Chinese Communist Party is the biggest national security threat that our country has faced in decades.”

“我们反对它，我们不希望它出现在这里，”布洛克说。“中国共产党是我国几十年来面临的最大国家安全威胁。”