China’s two dominant manufacturers of railway equipment were on a roll at the end of October.
China CNR won a contract to supply more than 280 subway cars to Boston’s transit system in the first successful US bid by a Chinese rolling stock company. A few weeks later a consortium including CNR’s main domestic rival, CSR Corp, secured the country’s first ever overseas contract for a high-speed rail project, awarded by the Mexican government.
中国北车(CNR)赢得了一份向波士顿交通系统供应280多辆地铁车辆的合同，这是中国轨道车辆制造企业首次在美国成功中标。不久后，一个包括中国北车的主要国内竞争对手中国南车(CSR)的财团获得了墨西哥政府授予的、中国首个海外高铁项目合同。By early November, however, the Mexico contract had been cancelled and CNR and CSR both suspended trading in their shares ahead of a possible government-mandated merger that could reshape the global rail industry. The two companies already rank as the world’s largest manufacturers of rolling stock, with annual sales of about $16bn each.
但是，墨西哥的高铁合同在11月初即被取消。而在中国北车和中国南车在中国政府主导下的可能合并之前，两家公司的股票双双停牌。这一合并将重塑全球铁路行业格局。两公司已位居世界最大的轨道车辆制造商前列，每家年销售额都约在160亿美元。
A decade after splitting CNR and CSR off from the same state-owned parent to promote competition in the domestic rail sector, the Chinese government now thinks the strategy has been too successful. It wants to recombine the two to prevent them from undercutting each other abroad.
当年为了促进国内轨道行业竞争，中国北车和中国南车从同一家国有母公司分拆成立。10年后，中国政府现在认为这一战略成功得过了头，因此想重新合并两家公司，防止他们在竞标海外项目时相互掣肘。“They should have merged earlier,” says Zhao Jian, a transport expert at Beijing Jiaotong University. “We have to avoid situations in which they are at each other’s throats. Only the foreign fisherman benefits when Chinese sandpipers and oysters fight.” CNR and CSR, Mr Zhao adds, both invest about 2 per cent of revenue in research and development, much of it duplicated, compared with reinvestment of 5 per cent for international rivals such as Siemens.
“他们早就应该合并，”北京交通大学运输问题专家赵坚说。“我们必须避免两家公司相互卡住对方喉咙的情况。中国鹬蚌相争，只会外国渔翁得利。”赵坚补充说，中国北车和中国南车在研发方面的投入都只占收入的约2%，且其中大部分是重复的，而像西门子(Siemens)这样的国际竞争对手，再投入的比例为5%。Chinese press reports have cited multiple examples of self-defeating competition between the two companies, including a Turkish locomotive tender for which CNR bid below cost and another in Argentina where CSR submitted a bid almost 50 per cent cheaper than its domestic rival. CNR and CSR declined interview requests.
中国媒体的报道列举了多起两家公司之间恶性竞争的案例。一起是在土耳其的一个机车项目招标中，中国北车以低于成本价投标；另一起是在阿根廷，中国南车提交的竞标价格比中国北车低了近乎一半。两家公司均拒绝接受采访。The Boston contract, awarded in October, illustrated how divergent the two companies’ performances can be. While the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was effusive in its praise of CNR’s bid — which came in at $570m compared with a $1bn proposal from Bombardier of Canada — it disqualified CSR. Massachusetts officials said CSR’s bid was considered “unacceptable” in three categories including technology, manufacturing and quality assurance.
中国北车10月份赢得的波士顿项目合同可以说明这两家公司的表现还是有很大差别的。马萨诸塞州运输部(Massachusetts Department of Transportation)对中国北车的标书大加赞赏——报价为5.7亿美元，而加拿大庞巴迪(Bombardier)报价10亿美元——但它取消了中国南车的竞标资格。该州官员说，中国南车标书被认为在技术、制造和质量保证三方面“不可接受”。CNR’s bid also included a novel $60m investment in a final assembly facility in western Massachusetts that will create 250 jobs.
中国北车的标书中还包括了一项特别的6000万美元的投资，用于在马萨诸塞州西部地区建立一家总装配厂，并创造250个就业机会。“The Boston deal shows that Chinese railway companies can compete against foreign brands,” says Robin Xu, a Shanghai-based transport analyst with UBS Securities. “We’re going to see more orders in future.”
瑞银证券(UBS Securities)驻上海的运输业分析师Robin Xu说：“这份波士顿合同表明，中国铁路设备公司能够与外国品牌竞争。今后，我们将看到更多订单。”According to Mr Xu, the final assembly facility was unusual as CNR and CSR typically bolt their trains together in China, where economies of scale allow them to offer prices 50 per cent lower than their international competition.
Robin Xu认为，在美国建总装配厂是不寻常的，因为中国北车和中国南车通常都在国内组装车辆，这里的规模经济能够使他们的报价比国际竞争对手低一半。Rebounding from its failure in Boston, CSR’s participation in the Mexico contract was a much bigger prize. It represented the first overseas export order for high-speed rail technology from China, which has built the world’s largest high-speed train network in just five years. But CSR was not able to enjoy its coup for long. Within days the contract was rescinded after objections from Mexican legislators, who said it had been issued too hastily.
从波士顿的失败中恢复过来，中国南车参与到墨西哥的合同是一个更大的胜利。墨西哥高铁合同是中国高铁技术首个海外出口订单，中国仅用5年时间就建起了世界最大的高速铁路网。但中国南车没能将胜利的喜悦品尝多久。几天内，这一合同就被取消，原因是遭到了墨西哥议员的反对，他们认为合同授予过于匆忙。Partly because of the hurried tender process, the Chinese consortium was the only bidder. It also emerged that a Mexican member of the Chinese group had built a mansion for Mexico’s first lady, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. State-owned China Railway Construction Corp, which led the consortium, has vowed to bid again for the project when it is retendered.
部分由于仓促的招标过程，中国财团成为唯一的竞标者。还有消息称，中国竞标财团中的一家墨西哥公司为墨西哥第一夫人建了一处豪宅。她断然否认有任何不当行为。财团的牵头者、国有的中国铁建(China Railway Construction Corp)已宣告要在重新招标时再次竞标该项目。CSR and CNR could participate in the consortium’s second bid as either a merged entity or through a new joint venture focused on overseas markets. After denying merger reports in September, both companies’ shares have been suspended from trading since October 27 pending an announcement regarding a “significant event”.
中国北车和中国南车可能以合并后的实体或通过成立一家新的专注海外市场的合资公司，参与该财团的第二次投标。在9月份否认合并的消息后，两家公司的股票从10月27日就已经双双停牌，原因是“重大事项”有待公告。A full-blown merger of the two would be a victory for China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which prioritises the efficiency and returns of national industrial champions over the wishes of the National Development and Reform Commission, which is more concerned about domestic competition and prices.
对于中国国有资产监督管理委员会来说，中国北车和中国南车的彻底合并意味着一场胜利，因为它优先考虑的是民族工业领军企业的效率和收益，而非国家发展和改革委员会的期望，后者更关注国内竞争和价格。