Japanese business ---Rebalancing act

Japan Inc is caught in the rift between America and China

经济学人9月刊

WHEN ABE SHINZO became Japan’s prime minister for a second time in 2012, relations with China were on the skids. Tensions over disputed islands brought the two countries to the brink of conflict. Japanese car dealerships in China were set ablaze. Protests at a Panasonic factory turned violent.

Rift  n. /rɪft/   1.分裂；分歧；严重不和 •The rift within the party deepened. 党内的分歧加深了。 •Efforts to heal the rift between the two countries have failed. 弥合两国间分歧的各种努力都已失败。2.断裂；裂缝；裂口

ABE SHINZO：安倍晋三

skid  /skɪd/  

[ V ] (  通常指车辆 ) 侧滑；打滑；滑行 •The car skidded on the ice and went straight into the wall. 汽车在冰上打滑，径直撞到了墙上。

[N] 1. 侧滑；打滑；突然向一侧滑行 •The motorbike went into a skid . 摩托车朝一侧滑了出去。2.（飞机的）起落橇，滑橇 •the skids of a helicopter 直升机的起落橇

1. put the ˈskids under sb/sth   使失败；使走下坡路

2. be on the ˈskids  逐渐衰落；走下坡路

brink  n.  /brɪŋk/  

1. the ~ (of sth) （新的、危险的，或令人兴奋的处境的）边缘，初始状态

•on the brink of collapse/war/death/disaster 濒于崩溃╱战争╱死亡╱灾难

•Scientists are on the brink of making a major new discovery. 科学家很快就会有新的重大发现。

2. （峭壁、河岸等的）边沿，边缘 •the brink of the precipice 悬崖边缘

3. the brink of conflict：冲突边缘

ablaze  adj.   /əˈbleɪz/  

1.猛烈燃烧 •Cars and buses were set ablaze during the riot. 暴乱中许多轿车和公共汽车被纵火焚烧。

2.~ (with sth) 闪耀；发光；明亮；色彩鲜艳 •The trees were ablaze with the colours of autumn. 树木披上了绚丽的秋装。

3.~ (with sth) 充满激情的；情绪激动的

After that, tempers cooled and relations warmed. Mr Abe had planned to host Xi Jinping for a state visit in Tokyo this spring, the first by a Chinese leader since 2008. Japan mc, too, has been dining out on the bonhomie. Annual trade between China and Japan, the world’s second- and third-biggest economies, amounts to more than $300bn. Japanese firms accumulated over $l30bn in assets in China. The flow of Japanese foreign direct investment there hit an all-time high of $14.4bn last year.

MC：Member of congress 国会议员     bonhomie  n.  /ˈbɒnəmi/  欢快友好的感觉；欢乐的友情

According to Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, listed Japanese firms derived only 4% of revenues from China. But 26% of their profits were tied to China through suppliers or customers, more than depended on America, calculates Jes per Koll, a Tokyo-based economist. He reckons this profit share shot up to 63% in the second quarter, as the Chinese economy recovered faster than others from covid-19.

derive  v. /dɪˈraɪv/  

1.DEˈRIVE FROM STH  |  BE DEˈRIVED FROM STH：从…衍生出；起源于；来自 •The word ‘politics’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘city’. politics一词源自希腊语，意思是city。

2.DEˈRIVE STH FROM STH

(1) （从…中）得到，获得 •He derived great pleasure from painting. 他从绘画中得到极大的乐趣。

(2) (术语 ) （从…中）提取 •The new drug is derived from fish oil. 这种新药是从鱼油中提炼出来的。

Reckon  v. /ˈrekən/  vt. 测算，估计；认为；计算 vi. 估计；计算；猜想，料想

1.ˈRECKON ON STH 指望；依赖 •We'd reckoned on having good weather. 我们原指望会有好天气。

2.ˌRECKON STH←→ˈUP ( especially BrE ) 统计；合计 •He reckoned up the cost of everything in his mind. 他在脑子里把所有费用都合计了一下。

3.ˈRECKON WITH SB/STH

(1)重视；认真处理 •They were already a political force to be reckoned with . 他们已经成为一支不容忽视的政治力量。

(2) ( 通常用于否定句 ) 把（可能出现的问题）考虑进去 •I didn't reckon with getting caught up in so much traffic. 我没有考虑到塞车会这么严重。

4.ˈRECKON WITHOUT SB/STH 没考虑到；不把…算在内

Shot up：射出；发芽；暴涨；迅速成长

Now the mood seems once again to be souring. Covid-19 put paid to Mr Xi’s visit. Earlier this year Mr Abe’s government imposed new restrictions on foreign investment to protect certain industries, battered by covid-19, from Chinese bargain-hunters. The pandemic and the spectre of further American sanctions against Chinese companies such as Huawei, a telecoms-equipment giant, are making Japanese companies think about the stability of their supply chains, not just efficiency, says Ke Long of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, a think-tank. Mr Abe’s sudden resignation on August 28th over ill health has added to the uncertainty.

put paid to ：结束，完全结束，了结    think-tank:智囊团

batter   /ˈbætə(r)/  

[V]~ at/on sth |~ sb/sth  连续猛击；殴打 •She battered at the door with her fists. 她用双拳不断地擂门。 •Somebody had battered her to death . 有人把她打死了。

batter sth←→ˈdown （连续重击以致）砸毁，砸倒

[N] 1.面糊（用于做煎料）;2.面糊（用于做糕饼）; 3. ( 棒球 ) 正在击球的球员；击球员

resignation n.   /ˌrezɪɡˈneɪʃn/  

1.辞职 •a letter of resignation 辞职信 2.辞职信；辞呈 •to offer/hand in/tender your resignation 呈递╱上交╱提交辞职信 3.顺从；听任 •They accepted their defeat with resignation. 他们无可奈何地承认失败。

Closer inspection reveals a more nuanced picture, however. One source close to the government says its aim is to focus on “several strategic choke-points” in China (such as medical supplies), while “keeping many areas open for commercial activity”. Not so much a great decoupling, then, as a quiet rebalancing.

Nuanced  /'njuːɑːnst/ adj. 微妙的；具有细微差别的         choke-point：瓶颈，阻碍

decouple  v. /diːˈkʌpl/  [ VN ] ~ sth (from sth)（使两事物）分离，隔断

a conception which decouples culture and politics. 一种分离文化与政治的观念。

Mr Abe’s Y244bn ($2.2bn) programme to induce Japanese firms to diversify their supply chains away from China is a case in point. In July 57 companies, including Iris Ohyama, a big plastics producer, and Sharp, a maker of electronics, received a combined Y57bn to invest in production at home; others got help to build factories in South-East Asia. But of the 87 winning projects, 60 will be producing masks, disinfectants, drugs or other medical supplies.

disinfectant  n.  /ˌdɪsɪnˈfektənt/   消毒剂；杀菌剂

Having business in China was not a precondition for the handouts; many companies, especially small and medium-sized ones that made up the bulk of applicants, had little or none. An executive at Novel Crystal Technology, a producer of materials for semiconductors, says his firm applied for the subsidy to reduce overconcentration in the American market. The sums on offer are far too small to spur all-out decoupling, says Onishi Yasuo, a former official at the Japan External Trade Organisation, an independent government agency.

Semiconductor：semi-conductor 半导体

Overconcentration：over-concentration 过度浓缩

Spur这个词遇到很多次，n. 马刺；鞭策；山嘴；（公路或铁路的）支线；骨刺

v. 用踢马刺驱马前进；激励；促进

All-out：竭尽全力，毫无保留

Most Japanese firms with lots of exposure to China are in “wait and see” mode, says Mr Ke. America may have a new government soon. The scope and enforcement of American sanctions is vague. Even if tensions keep rising, Japan Inc is unlikely to behave as a monolith. Makers of niche products for export may decamp from China. Firms with a large Chinese business, such as carmakers, will be loth to leave.

monolith  n. /ˈmɒnəlɪθ/  

1. （尤指古人凿成、表示某种宗教意义的）单块巨石，独石柱

2. ( often disapproving ) （少有变化，不关心个人的）单一庞大的组织

decamp  v. /dɪˈkæmp/  ~ (from...) (to...) to leave a place suddenly, often secretly 逃亡；潜逃

Loth=loath  adj. /ləʊθ/  ~ to do sth ( formal ) not willing to do sth 不情愿；不乐意；勉强 • He was loath to admit his mistake. 他不愿承认自己的错误。

In the long run the risk for corporate Japan is less geopolitics than competition. China already transformed once, from a land of cheap labour into a booming consumer market; more than 70% of what Japanese companies’ affiliates produce in China is sold there. Now a second shift is under way, from consumer market to rival in sophisticated technology.

affiliate  /əˈfɪlieɪt/

1. ~ sb/sth (with/to sb/sth)  使隶属，使并入（较大的团体、公司、组织） •The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。

2. ~ (yourself) (with sb/sth) 加入；与…有关；为…工作 •The majority of people questioned affiliated themselves with a religious group. 接受询问的人大多数都属于某个宗教团体。

3. [N] 附属机构；分支机构；分公司；分会

The latest annual survey of 74 technology products and services by Nikkei, a Japanese business newspaper, found that last year Chinese companies overtook Japan in market share for liquid-crystal displays installed in smartphones and insulators for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. As an adviser to a large japanese bank observes,that is what really makes japanese firms nervous.

liquid-crystal ：液晶的            liquid-crystal display：液晶显示屏

insulator /ˈɪnsjʊˌleɪtə/ 隔离材料 • Fat is an excellent insulator against the cold. 脂肪是极好的抵御寒冷的隔热材料。

lithium-ion n. 锂离子         lithium n. /ˈlɪθiəm/锂     ion  n. /ˈaɪən/  /ˈaɪɒn/ 离子