On a recent trip to mainland China, I found myself posing the same question, again and again, to the economists, technologists and business leaders who I met with. “Trade is an exchange. You provide something of value to me, and in return, I must offer something of value to you. So what is the product, in the future, that China would like to buy from the rest of the world?”
我最近去了一趟中国内地，在跟当地经济学家、技术专家和企业老总会面时，我不断提出同一个问题。“贸易是一种交换。你把某种有价值的东西提供给我，反过来，我也必须把某种有价值的东西提供给你。那么将来有什么东西是中国愿意从世界其他地区购买的？”
The answers were revealing. A few said “soyabeans and iron ore” before realising this was not much help to a European. Some observed that Louis Vuitton handbags are popular and then went on to talk about the export prospects for fast-rising Chinese luxury brands. “Higher education” was another common answer, qualified sometimes with the observation that Beijing University and Tsinghua are harder to get into, and more academically rigorous, than anything on offer in the west.
他们的回答发人深省。有人说“大豆和铁矿石”，然后意识到这对一个欧洲人并无裨益。有些人提到路易威登(Louis Vuitton)手袋很受欢迎，紧接着谈起快速崛起的中国奢侈品牌的出口前景。“高等教育”是另一个共同答案，但是有时候又有如下补充：北京大学和清华大学比西方名校更难进，学业要求更严苛。
Several of the economists, who had perhaps pondered the issue already, jumped ahead to a different point altogether: “This,” they said, “is why you should let Chinese companies set up factories in Europe.”
有几个经济学家——他们以前也许思考过这个问题——很快跳到一个不同的话题。他们说：“这就是为什么你们应该让中企在欧洲设厂的原因。”