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China’s ambition, U.S. retreat on show in Serbian factory town
Mon., July 10, 2017, 9:31 p.m.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jul/10/chinas-ambition-us-retreat-on-show-in-serbian-fact/'
SMEDEREVO, Serbia – A giant Chinese red flag flutters on a pole where an American flag used to fly at a steel mill in this dusty industrial Serbian town. The company logos of U.S. Steel are faded on the huge chimneys stacks, replaced by those of a Chinese company.
When U.S. Steel sold its loss-making smelter in Serbia to the government for the symbolic sum of $1 in 2012, few here thought the ailing communist-era factory would ever be revived. Then came along a state-owned Chinese company.
Hebei Iron & Steel’s $52 million purchase of the Steelworks Smederevo last year is part of China’s broader effort to project influence and gain an access point to the European market as other traditional powers, particularly the U.S. under President Donald Trump, retreat from the world stage.
The dynamic was laid bare at a world summit over the weekend, where Trump showed little interest in promoting free trade and was at odds with other countries on issues like climate change. China, meanwhile, was keen to promote itself as a champion of commerce and openness – even though in practice it falls far short of being one.
The Serbian plant is economically irrelevant in the short term to China, which abounds with steel production at home. But the deal saved 5,200 local jobs and gained Serbia’s political favor.
“It seems to me that everything China has been doing in the past several years in the field of its investments abroad also has a political background and connotation,” said Mijat Lakicevic, a Serbian political and economy analyst.
“China doesn’t really need the Serbian plant that produces practically nothing compared to the steel production in China,” he said. “So, I would describe this as placing a foot in the doorway in order to enter the market and the area where Russia and America are already present.”
The longer-term strategy for China is to open markets for its businesses as its home economy slows. The most high-profile effort in this direction is the ambitious $900 billion Belt and Road project, often referred to as the New Silk Road – a transport and trade corridor running from China to Germany, via Greek ports, the Balkans and Central Europe.
Annual investment by Chinese companies in Europe reached an all-time high of $18 billion in 2014, with annual inflows averaging $10 billion over the past four years, according to the Rhodium Group, a China investment monitor.
Beijing is encouraging its industries to diversify abroad in hopes of reducing China’s reliance on exports and its domestic market. That has also led to a string of acquisitions in chemicals, tourism, insurance, banking and other industries.
Chinese companies are also starting to make inroads into Eastern European construction and engineering markets, including plans to build a $2 billion high-speed rail line from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to Budapest in neighboring Hungary.
Serbian Construction Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said China has so far loaned some $6.3 billion in Serbia for the construction of bridges, highways and railroads that it plans to use as transport routes for its goods into the heart of Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has often expressed his admiration for the economic achievements of countries like China. He wants to make Hungary the main hub for Chinese business and investments in Central and Eastern Europe.
“The old model for globalization has become obsolete,” Orban said in May. “The engine room of the global economy is no longer in the West, but in the East.”
In Smederevo, the town of some 100,000 people where thousands make a living from the steel plant, there was praise for China.
“It’s been one year since the Chinese came to our town and a calmer atmosphere is visible,” Mayor Jasna Avramovic said. “There is no more uncertainty over what will happen with the plant. The salaries come on time.”
How a Serbian town shows China’s global expansion, US retreat
Chinese purchase of a formerly American-owned steel mill reflects the two superpowers’ changing international focus
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 11 July, 2017, 2:31pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 11 July, 2017, 11:10pm
A giant Chinese red flag flutters on a pole where an American flag used to fly at a steel mill in this dusty industrial Serbian town. The company logos of US Steel are faded on the huge chimneys stacks, replaced by those of a Chinese company.
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When US Steel sold its loss-making smelter in Serbia to the government for the symbolic sum of US$1 in 2012, few here thought the ailing communist-era factory would ever be revived. Then came along a state-owned Chinese company.
Hebei Iron & Steel’s 46 million-euro (US$52 million) purchase of the Steelworks Smederevo last year is part of China’s broader effort to project influence and gain an access point to the European market as other traditional powers, particularly the US under President Donald Trump, retreat from the world stage.
Berlin uneasy about Beijing’s growing clout in eastern, southern Europe
The dynamic was laid bare at a world summit over the weekend where Trump showed little interest in promoting free trade and was at odds with other countries on issues like climate change. China, meanwhile, was keen to promote itself as a champion of commerce and openness – even though in practice it falls far short of being one.
The Serbian plant is economically irrelevant in the short term to China, which abounds with steel production at home. But the deal saved 5,200 local jobs and gained Serbia’s political favour.
“It seems to me that everything China has been doing in the past several years in the field of its investments abroad also has a political background and connotation,” said Mijat Lakicevic, a Serbian political and economy analyst.
“China doesn’t really need the Serbian plant that produces practically nothing compared to the steel production in China,” he said. “So, I would describe this as placing a foot in the doorway in order to enter the market and the area where Russia and America are already present.”
The most high-profile effort in this direction is the ambitious US$900 billion “Belt and Road” project, often referred to as the New Silk Road — a transport and trade corridor running from China to Germany, via Greek ports, the Balkans and Central Europe.
Annual investment by Chinese companies in Europe reached an all-time high of US$18 billion in 2014, with annual inflows averaging US$10 billion over the past four years, according to the Rhodium Group, a China investment monitor.
Beijing is encouraging its industries to diversify abroad in hopes of reducing China’s reliance on exports and its domestic market. That has also led to a string of acquisitions in chemicals, tourism, insurance, banking and other industries.
Steel producers have an extra incentive because Beijing is trying to shrink its bloated state-dominated industry at home. China’s production glut has led to a flood of low-priced exports, which has depressed global markets and cost jobs in the US and Europe, raising political tensions. As China negotiates the issue with the US and EU, its acquisition of the Serbian plant gets it some rare good headlines in which it is credited with saving, not destroying, jobs.
EU wants faster China action on investment agreement and steel cuts
Chinese companies are also starting to make inroads into Eastern European construction and engineering markets, including plans to build a US$2 billion high-speed rail line from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to Budapest in neighbouring Hungary.
And while the EU remains the Western Balkans’ largest trading partner, local governments have sometimes looked with favour to countries like China that are willing to invest large amounts without raising concerns about the region’s patchy record on human rights or media freedoms.
“Serbia has an important role in China’s global Belt and Road project and we want to capitalise on all its potential,” Serbian construction minister Zorana Mihajlovic said. “This project cannot be realised without developed infrastructure in the countries where it passes.”
She said that China has so far loaned some 5.5 billion euros in Serbia for the construction of bridges, highways and railroads that it plans to use as transport routes for its goods into the heart of Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has often been criticised by Western European leaders as being authoritarian, has often expressed his admiration for the economic achievements of countries like China. He wants to make Hungary the main hub for Chinese business and investments in central and Eastern Europe.
“The old model for globalisation has become obsolete,” Orban said in May in Beijing while taking part in a Belt and Road conference. “The engine room of the global economy is no longer in the West, but in the East.”
China’s state fund kicks start new Silk Road project with eastern Europe investment
In Smederevo, the town of some 100,000 people where thousands make a living from the steel plant, there was praise for China.
Salaries are about 25 per cent below what they were under the US company – roughly 750 euros compared with 1,000 euros, but mayor Jasna Avramovic said it was important that the jobs had returned in the first place.
“It’s been one year since the Chinese came to our town and a calmer atmosphere is visible,” Avramovic said. “There is no more uncertainty over what will happen with the plant. The salaries come on time.”
中国捡大便宜 美国1美元甩卖企业被救活
2017-7-17 07:01 PM| 发布者: 依依123
http://www.66.ca/portal.php?mod=view&aid=131918?
据参考消息网转引港媒《南华早报》的报道称，2012年美国将塞尔维亚亏损的钢铁厂出售给政府时，只收到了象征性的1美元。这个破钢铁厂，美国人认为1美元卖了就不错了，放在手上那债务越滚越大。结果，塞尔维亚政府放了4年后，当大家都觉得这家厂子彻底玩完之后，2016年河北钢铁以4600万欧元购买了这家名称为斯梅代雷沃钢铁厂的公司。现在，在那个尘土飞扬的塞尔维亚工业小镇上，中国国旗高高飘扬，而过去那里曾挂着美国国旗。美国钢铁公司的标志在巨大的烟囱上消失了，取而代之的是中国的河北钢铁公司。中国收购塞尔维亚工厂的做法获得了好评，这一协议挽救了5200个当地就业机会，并赢得了塞尔维亚的支持。
评论说，美国正从世界舞台上退下来，特别是在特朗普治下。报道还称，在上周末的世界峰会上，特朗普对促进自由贸易不感兴趣，在气候变化等问题上与其他国家意见相左。而同时，中国则积极表现出捍卫商业和开放的形象。
看到这样的境况，估计“生意总统”特朗普要非常郁闷了。钢铁厂在自己国家手中只值1美元，但被中国4600万欧元收购后，变废为宝直接价值上升估计几亿倍。
中国钢铁产能巨大，就钢铁生产来说国内市场根本不需要去塞尔维亚收购企业，那为什么中国要到那收购钢铁企业，又是什么原因让钢铁厂在美国手里变宝为废，在中国手里就点废成金呢？
在笔者看来，中国之所以要收购塞尔维亚报废的钢铁厂，根本原因在于三点：
一、中国在东欧国家的产业布局，为进入整个欧洲市场做准备。
推动“一带一路”倡议，东欧必然搞大量基础设施建设，在当地进行提前产业布局，不但有利于中国未来抢占东欧基建市场，还有利于未来中国钢铁产品进入欧盟市场。因为，塞尔维亚已经是欧盟的候选成员国，加入欧盟是时间问题，一旦加入就意味着中国低价收购的这家钢铁公司的产品可以顺利进入欧盟市场。中国未来完全可以把一些产业放在塞尔维亚从而抢占更多欧盟市场。而且，由塞尔维亚出口到其它国家，也是绕过了某些国家的贸易保护政策。
二、中国需要进行钢铁产能转移，将其有序地转移到我们的工业输出目标区域是最好选择。
中国钢产量差不多占世界的一半，2015年粗钢产量超过8亿吨，这么大的产能中国根本消化不完。怎么办？两个办法，一个是工业输出，“一带一路”倡议恰恰对症；另一个就是产业转移。两者应该并行方为上策，否则中国环境受不了。所以，收购塞尔维亚的钢铁厂是非常好的办法，一举多得，不但可以转移产能，还能输出其它工业产品，还能增加我国在欧洲国家的投资。
三、提升资源利用效率，增加企业收益。
我国要减少钢铁产能，有些生产线还是很新的，这些生产线拆了就成了废铁，但拆下来如果能转移到其它国家就是废物再利用，就能继续为企业增加收益，是个很好的选择。
那么，为何这种钢铁企业在美国企业手里就成了废物呢？为啥中国一出手就点废成金了呢？根本原因在于四点：
一、美国的基础工业能力严重萎缩，已难为自己的海外钢铁企业提供足够的市场。
美国国内的基础设施现在已破败，根本没办法与中国相比，这一切都是因为美国的基础工业能力严重萎缩所致。工业能力严重萎缩，国内又不关注基础设施改造和建设，怎么可能为自己国家的海外钢铁企业提供足够的市场呢？
中国则恰恰相反，中国不但钢铁产能占世界一半，其中仅仅出口就超过一亿吨，这意味着中国有足够大的市场来支撑这些钢铁公司的的产品。
二、美国企业运营成本高、效率低、产品竞争力弱。
美国企业的运营成本高、效率低，产品竞争力弱，在这方面中国则恰恰相反，所以同样的厂子到中国手里就是高效、低成本的企业，产品竞争力当然就更好。
三、美国资本对这种“粗工业”投资毫无兴趣，没办法进行产能和技术的提升。
美国现在产业资本已经非常少了，就剩下金融资本了。金融资本投资的是金融市场的投资品，对这些实业投资已经不感兴趣，赚钱效率太慢。在这种情况下，美国这些企业获得资金的成本也会相对较高。相反，中国现在规模最大的还是产业资本，特别是河北的钢铁产业资本非常充沛。在这种情况下，美国企业很难进行产能和技术的提升，中国则相反。
四、中国可以进行配套工业出口，形成产业链。
中国正在进入东欧的基础设施市场，有了这样的工业产业出口，当然能刺激这样的钢铁投资的繁荣，美国没有这个能力。
塞尔维亚建设部长佐拉娜·米哈伊洛维奇说：“塞尔维亚在中国的‘一带一路’倡议中发挥重要作用，我们希望充分利用它的潜力。而且，如果没有发达的国家基础设施，这个项目很难实现。”
中国对塞尔维亚看得也是未来，塞尔维亚看的也是未来，两好合一好，未来这种合作“钱景”可观！
