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Inflation
通货膨胀
Paid in China
中国承担
Long a force for lower consumer prices, is China now exporting inflation?
中国一直是廉价商品来源，如今竟输出高价？
Eric zhu, an international sales manager at a Chinese forklift-maker, has just sent his second letter of the year to customers, explaining that prices are going up once again. "We need to share some of the price increases with our partners. We cannot absorb them all ourselves," he says. "The world is crazy now." Although not standard economics terminology, crazy is a good description for the price movements now coursing through global markets. Inflation in America is running at its fastest since 2008. Energy and commodity prices have soared. And as Mr Zhu can attest, investors and company bosses are worried that China, the world's workshop, is itself starting to export inflation.
埃里克·朱是一家中国叉车制造商的国际销售经理，他刚刚给客户发了今年的第二封信，对再一次的价格上涨做解释。“我们需要与合作伙伴分享价格上涨的一部分。我们无法完全自己承担。“现在这个世界太疯狂了。”虽然不是标准的经济学术语，但“疯狂”很适合描述目前全球市场价格的变动。美国的通货膨胀正处于2008年以来的最高水平。能源和大宗商品价格飙升。正如朱先生可以证明的那样，投资者和公司老板们担心作为世界工厂的中国本身也开始输出通货膨胀。
It is easy to see why people are concerned. On June 9th China reported that factory-gate prices rose at an annual rate of 9% in May, the highest in more than a decade. That, along with soaring shipping costs and a stronger yuan, will probably push up the prices of made-in-China goods, from phones to futons. America's imports from China already cost 2.1% more in April than they did a year ago, the fastest rise since 2012.
能够理解人们为何担忧。6月9日，中国报告称5月份出厂价格的年增长率为9%，这是十多年来的最高水平。再加上运费飙升和人民币升值，中国制造的商品从手机到沙发床的价格可能会因此上涨。4月份，美国从中国的进口比去年同期上涨了2.1%，这是自2012年以来最快涨幅。
Yet the danger of China-exported inflation can be overplayed. Only part of the rise in China's producer prices reflects domestic causes. Its strong economic recovery was led by investment in homes and infrastructure, which pushed up the price of steel. In order to meet green targets, the government has reined in both coal and steel production. Officials have also vowed to crack down on "excessive speculation" in domestic commodity futures, suggesting that this helped the run-up in prices.
不过，中国出口通胀的危险可能被夸大了。中国生产者价格指数的上涨只有一部分是源于国内因素。中国强劲的经济复苏是由住房和基础设施投资推动的，这些投资推高了钢铁价格。为了实现绿色目标，政府控制了煤炭和钢铁产量。官员们还誓言要打击国内大宗商品期货市场的“过度投机”，暗示这也是推动价格上涨的因素之一。
Most of the price pressures instead reflect the peculiarities of the covid-clouded world. The global demand for consumer goods—things you can buy online while confined at home—has soared. Chinese exports are about 20% higher than their prepandemic trend, and factories have struggled to keep up with orders. Disruptions to global commodity supplies, such as lockdowns that limited copper mining in Chile and Peru, have also pushed up prices.
相反，大多数价格压力反映了新冠肺炎笼罩的世界的特殊性。全球对消费品的需求——那些你在家就能在网上买到的东西——已经飙升。中国的出口比大疫情前的趋势高出约20%，工厂难以满足订单。全球大宗商品供应中断也推高了价格，比如智利和秘鲁的封锁限制了铜矿开采。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
