国内贸易——这可是在同一片土地上

【导读】如果把中国的省份看成一个国家，那么其中的一些“国家”的贸易逆差真是高得吓人。由此可以预见，地区发展不均的现状还将持续很久。

Internal trade
国内贸易

It’s a continent, actually
这可是在同一片土地上

China’s external imbalances are as nothing compared with its internal ones
相比国内的贸易不平衡，外贸不均衡简直小意思

Feb 8th 2014 | HONG KONG AND YINCHUAN | From the print edition

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NINGXIA, an autonomous region in China’s north-west, is home to 6.3m people. About a third of them are Muslims, descendants of travellers along the Silk Road. The region is keen to revive the kind of trade networks that created its unique ethnic mix, so that it can diversify an economy which relies too much on coal, metals and chemicals.
中国西北的宁夏回族自治区拥有630万居民，其中三分之一是穆斯林。他们是过去丝绸之路上旅人的后裔。自治区渴望让创造了现今独特民族融合景致的贸易网络复兴，进而使经济走向多元化，摆脱过度依赖煤炭，冶金，化工的现状。

In that regard Ningxia is hoping to sell nutritious goji berries to people worried about their bodies, certified halal foods to Muslims worried about their souls, and fine red wines to people relaxed about both. If these schemes succeed, they will help Ningxia to close its big trade gap with the rest of the world—and the rest of the country.
有鉴于此，宁夏希望能向担心身体健康的人兜售营养的枸杞，向担心灵魂纯洁的穆斯林售卖经过认证的清真食品。如果有人两样都不担心，那就卖高级红酒给他们吧。若是这些方案能够成功，那便有助于宁夏来填补其与国际，以及国内其他地方的贸易差额。

China trades more goods across its international borders than any other country. Its provinces also trade a lot with each other, but this trade is far from balanced. If each of China’s provinces were treated as an independent economy, they would record enormous trade deficits and surpluses with the rest of the country and the world (see chart).
中国是全球外贸总额第一的国家，而且国内的省际贸易也很发达。不过国内贸易非常不均衡。如果把每个省看做一个独立的经济体，那这个世界上就会出现更多数额庞大的贸易顺差与逆差。（见图表）

The biggest deficit, in absolute terms, in 2012 was recorded by the central province of Henan, out of which China’s civilisation sprang and into which flowed goods and services worth a net 580 billion yuan ($96 billion). In relative terms, however, the widest deficits appear in China’s western provinces. Ningxia’s deficit amounted to almost 40% of its GDP, bigger than the current-account deficit of any actual country. Even wider trade gaps were recorded in Qinghai, Yunnan and Tibet.
2012年，中部省份河南创造了绝对数额上最大的逆差。河南是中国文明的发源地。当年向河南输入的商品服务净额（输入减输出）为5800亿元（960亿美元）。不过从相对数额来看，还是西北部省份的逆差更大。宁夏的贸易逆差大约占了GDP的40%，这可比世界上任何国家的经常账户逆差都高。青海，云南，西藏诸省的逆差甚至比宁夏更高。

These deficits reflect the government’s “Go West” campaign, an effort to invest in the infrastructure of the west. Net “imports” from the rest of China and beyond allow poor provinces to spend more on consumption and investment than they earn. Ningxia’s investment rate was 89% of GDP in 2012. In Tibet, the “roof of the world”, the investment rate was through the ceiling at 101% of GDP.
逆差是政府的“西部大开发”战略，投资西部基础设施的一种反映。哪怕这些贫穷省份收入很低，但这些的净“进口”使得他们可以相比收入投资、消费更多。2012年，宁夏的投资额占到了GDP的89%。在世界屋脊“西藏”，投资率甚至高达GDP的101%。

Signs of investment are everywhere in Ningxia’s capital, Yinchuan. Foreign firms are helping to build a posh hotel and mall, shaped like a flying dragon, which will attract international brands. But not everything is imported. The coal, piled around the dormitories where the labourers live and cook, is local.
在宁夏省会银川，到处都有投资的印记。外国公司帮助建造了造型如飞龙的豪华酒店与购物中心，会吸引诸多国际品牌。不过并不是所有都是进口的。劳工们在工棚里饮食居住。而工棚周围堆起的那些煤，是本土货。

From the print edition: China

附注：理解贸易顺差逆差的意义需要一些经济学以及国际贸易知识。简单来说，文中西北省份的贸易逆差问题，就是出口总额低于进口，货币流出。各区域逆差成因比较复杂，不绝对是坏事，逆差本身有助于理解某地区的经济实质。