Napoleon dismissed Britain as a nation of shopkeepers. George Osborne’s bid to make it easier for Chinese tourists to come on shopping trips to the UK at least proves that retailers’ fortunes weigh heavily on the government’s mind.

拿破仑(Napoleon)曾把英国视为不值一提的小店主之国(a nation of shopkeepers)。乔治·奥斯本(George Osborne)努力为中国游客到英国旅游购物提供便利，至少证明政府特别重视零售商的命运问题。

The move is part of a broader initiative to help British business do more business with China, a country that is now the world’s largest buyer of foreign goods and services behind the US and the EU. The UK has won only 1 per cent of this market, far less than its 3 per cent share of world trade. It does not help that China’s imports are skewed towards goods that Britain does not make. Germany, which specialises in industrial gear needed to get the country’s factories humming, has done much better. But that is not the whole story. The UK wins less Chinese custom than countries such as France, Brazil and Angola. According to UK Treasury calculations, British exports to China would triple if it won the same share of Chinese product markets as it does in the corresponding global ones.

此举是刺激英国企业对华商业往来的广泛举措的一部分。中国目前是世界上仅次于美国和欧盟(EU)的第三大商品和服务进口国。英国对华出口仅占中国进口额的1%，远低于其在世界贸易中3%的份额。中国倾向于进口的商品，英国却并不生产，这对英国很不利。德国专注于生产中国工厂运行需要的工业设备，在这方面远优于英国。但这还不是问题的全部。英国获得的中国订单要少于法国、巴西以及安哥拉。据英国财政部(UK Treasury)估算，如果英国在中国商品进口中的份额与其在全球商品进口的份额相当，那么英国对华出口额将提升到原来的三倍。

Part of the problem has been the UK’s refusal to play the obsequious merchant. Beijing last year declared itself “hurt” when David Cameron met the Dalai Lama in public. His predecessors courted China, but also lectured it about human rights and pollution. The charm offensives launched this week by George Osborne, the chancellor, and Boris Johnson, mayor of London, signal a more pragmatic approach.

部分原因就是英国不愿意扮演一个顺从的商人的角色。去年，戴维·卡梅伦(David Cameron)与**喇嘛(Dalai Lama)公开会面的时候，北京方面表示“很受伤”。卡梅伦的前任比较迎合中国，但也曾批评中国的**和污染问题。本周，英国财政大臣乔治·奥斯本和伦敦市长鲍里斯·约翰逊(Boris Johnson)对中国发动“魅力攻势”，标志着英国采取了一种更加务实的态度。

As well as hawking its wares, Britain is hoping to tap Chinese investors. Sunday’s announcement of Chinese participation in the redevelopment of Manchester airport follows a number of similar property deals in London. Other initiatives will be more sensitive. A Chinese state-owned company is expected to help to build and operate a UK nuclear reactor, perhaps to a Chinese design, raising worries about energy security. According to a report in the Financial Times, Mr Osborne will announce special arrangements allowing UK branches of Chinese banks to rely on their foreign parents’ capital instead of holding capital locally, and to operate primarily under Chinese rather than British supervision. A similar arrangement with Icelandic banks proved costly.

除了推介本国商品外，英国还希望吸引中国投资者。继周日宣布中国企业将参与曼彻斯特机场重建项目之后，伦敦又与中国企业达成了一系列类似的地产投资项目。其他一些举措将更加敏感。中国一家国有企业有望在英国协助建设并运作一座核反应堆，并且可能使用中国设计方案，这导致人们担忧能源安全。英国《金融时报》的一篇报道指出，奥斯本将宣布特殊安排，允许中国各银行的英国分行依靠其外国母公司的资金而不必在英国持有资本金，并且主要是在中国而不是英国的监管下运营。而此前与冰岛达成的一项类似安排，已令英国付出了巨大代价。

Britain no longer has an indisputable claim to seniority in its economic partnership with China. Unpalatable compromises will more often be necessary. However, they should be contemplated only when they advance Britain’s long-term interests, and not merely for the sake of making a fast buck.

在与中国的经济合作中，英国已不再享有无可争议的优势地位。以后令人不快的妥协将是家常便饭。然而，只有在能增加英国长远利益的情况下，才能考虑进行妥协，绝不能仅仅为了赚快钱。