Financial Express | No.29

Google is finally going on the record with its once-secret Project Dragonfly, a censorship-friendly search engine for the people of China.

谷歌最终公开了其针对中国人民推出的一款符合审查制度的搜索引擎“蜻蜓项目”，该项目一度是该公司的机密。

Google CEO Sundar Pichai not only confirmed the existence of the project but also boasted about how well testing of the search engine was going.

谷歌总裁桑达·皮采不仅证实了这一项目的存在，而且还自夸该搜索引擎的测试结果非常好。

“It turns out we'll be able to serve well over 99 percent of the queries,” Pichai said of search results in the testing, pushing back on the controversy surrounding a product that must adhere to the Chinese-government's strict censorship laws.

“测试结果显示，对于99%的查询，我们都可以给出满意的搜索答案，”皮采在谈到测试的搜索结果时说道，而对于这项产品必须符合中国政府严格的审查制度这一争议，他却避而不谈。

The Google CEO went on to give an example of how beneficial the service will be for the Chinese people, pointing out that current Chinese search products can return “fake” info for a query like “cancer treatments.”

谷歌总裁继续举例说明，谷歌的这项服务给中国人民带来的益处，他指出中国目前的搜索引擎会给人们提供“虚假的”回答，例如“癌症疗法”。

“There are many, many areas where we would provide information better than what's available,” explained Pichai.

“与中国现有的搜索引擎相比，我们在许多领域可以提供更令人满意的信息。”

谷歌搜索确认将重返中国！你期待吗？.jpg

Pichai made it very clear that Google is going ahead with Project Dragonfly, saying the company is “compelled by our mission to provide information to everyone” and commenting on how China makes up roughly 20% of the world’s population.

皮采表明，谷歌将继续开发蜻蜓项目，并表示“该公司的使命是为每一个人提供信息”，而且他还指出中国人口大约占世界人口的20%。

Google previously launched censored version of its search engine in China in 2006 before deciding that the censorship required to run the product was antithetical to the company's values. Google pulled the service in 2010. Clearly, eight years later, the U.S.-based search giant feels very differently.

2006年谷歌曾在中国推出符合中国审查制度的搜索引擎版本，之后谷歌公司认为按照中国的审查制度运营的产品与该公司的价值观相悖。2010年谷歌撤销了这项服务。显然，8年后，这家美国搜索引擎巨头有了不同的想法。

2018年10月17日，美国白宫宣布，美国启动退出万国邮政联盟UPU程序。

On oct 17, 2018, the White House announced that the United States determined to leave from the UPU （Universal Postal Union). 

 今年8月，特朗普就曾签署一份备忘录，指示美国邮政总局取消国际邮政折扣，组织外国商品廉价涌入美国，并与万国邮政联盟重谈国际邮政费用。

In August, Trump has already signed a memorandum , instructing the U.S. postal service to cancel international postal discounts, organize the cheap influx of foreign goods into the United States, and renegotiate the international postal fees with the Universal Postal Union. 

如果未来一年未能与万国邮政联盟达成新协议，美国将会退出。

If no new agreements reached in the coming year, the United States will leave the union.

万国邮政联盟随即发布《关于美国决定退出万国邮政联盟条约的声明》正式回应此事，表示希望与美国政府代表会晤，进一步讨论此事。

The Universal Postal Union immediately published ‘the Treaty about  the United States decision to leave from the Universal Postal Union’ to formally respond to the announcement, saying that it hoped to meet with representatives of the United States government to further discuss the matter. 

虽然暂时没有定论，但特朗普此举无疑将对国内跨境电商和商家以及带来重要影响。

While there is no definite result, Trump's action will undoubtedly have an important impact on domestic cross-border e-commerce and merchants.

预计2017年中国“隐性”地方政府债务高达40万亿元人民币（合6万亿美元），相当于中国国内生产总值(GDP)的60%，这一比例高得惊人。这正值中国经济降温，制造业开始受到中美贸易争端冲击。

"Hidden" local government debt in China is projected to have hit as much as Rmb40tn ($6tn), or 60 per cent of China’s gross domestic product in 2017, an alarmingly high rate as the country’s economy cools and manufacturing starts to suffer from China’s trade dispute with the US.

虽然确切数字未知，因为大部分债务不在资产负债表上，但标普全球(S&P Global)的一份报告估计，中国地方政府融资平台(LGFV)已积累了30万亿至40万亿元人民币（合4.5万亿至6万亿美元）的债务。 

While the exact number is not known because much of the debt is not held on balance sheet, a report from S&P Global estimated that local government financing vehicles, or LGFVs, have racked up between Rmb30tn and Rmb40tn ($4.5tn and $6tn).

该报告称：“这是一座蕴含巨大信用风险的债务冰山。”

“And that’s a debt iceberg with titanic credit risks,” the report states.

预计中国经济增长将在未来几年放缓。今年中国第三季度GDP预计将增长6.6%，较上一季度略有下降。中国政府还在推行严格的银行业改革，收紧了通过表外渠道获得信贷的渠道。

China’s economic growth is expected to decelerate in the coming years. GDP is expected to grow 6.6 per cent in the third quarter of the year, a slight decline compared to the previous quarter. At The government is also pushing through rigorous banking reforms that have tightened the access to credit through off-balance-sheet channels.

与此同时，中美之间爆发的一场激烈贸易战，预计将在未来几个月内削弱中国的经济产出。

At the same time, a fierce trade war that has broken out between the US and China is expected to dent economic output in the coming months.

6月，芬兰撕毁了与葡萄牙的税收协定，并表明本国无论如何都会从1月起贯彻对退休者大部分退休金征税的规定。

In June Finland tore up a tax treaty with Portugal and said it would anyway impose a tax on most pensioners from January. 

据评估，每年芬兰流入葡萄牙的收入损失不过3到5百万欧元。

It is estimated that the annual loss of Finnish revenue to Portugal is only 3 to 5 million euros. 

领退休金的人对葡萄牙的旅游业非常重要，2017年旅游业对葡萄牙的GDP贡献超过17%。

The average monthly pension for finns living in Portugal is about 3,500 euros, which is a big help for Portugal as the amount is lower than the eurozone average. 

居住在葡萄牙的芬兰人平均每月的养老金约为3500欧元，由于该数额比欧元区平均数额低，这对葡萄牙有很大帮助。Pensioners are very important to Portugal's tourism industry, which contributed more than 17 percent to Portugal's GDP in 2017. 

葡萄牙对外国退休者的慷慨受到了当地人的批评。

Portugal's generosity to foreign pensioners has been criticised by locals.

‘We are doing our jobs’: Federal Reserve ignores Trump and stays focused on gradual interest rate hikes

美联储无视了特朗普对中央银行提高利率过快的批评。美联储的政策决定者没有和特朗普在他们最近九月的会议里提及抬高利率的事情，相反的，他们反复强调经济现在实力很雄厚并且保持的方法就是持续提高利率。The Federal Reserve is ignoring President Trump’s growing criticism that the central bank is raising interest rates too quickly.

Top Fed policymakers didn’t discuss Trump at their late September meeting when they hiked interest rates, instead, the nation’s top central bankers reiterated their assessment that the economy is strong and that the best way to keep it that way is to continue gradually raising interest rates.

美联储在他们九月的会议把美国银行的利率提高了2-2.25个百分比并会在12月以及未来持续提高。特郎普对此甚是不满，甚至叫美联储疯子：“我最大的威胁是美联储，他们的利息抬高的太快了。”

The Fed raised the U.S. benchmark interest rate to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent at the September meeting and signaled that it would probably hike it again in December and potentially three more times next year.

Trump has made increasingly hostile comments about the Fed and its leader, Chairman Jerome H. Powell, since July. He recently called the Fed “crazy” and has said he is “disappointed” by Powell, whom he nominated for the position a year ago.“My biggest threat is the Fed,” Trump said in a Fox Business Network interview that aired Tuesday. “The Fed is raising rates too fast.”

美国的利率从历史上看也是相对低的，美联储说自然的利率―――不促进也不使经济衰退的为3%。任何低于这个的利率被提升可以促进经济。但对于当在明年年中利率被抬高到3%高怎么办却没有定论。

Interest rates in the United States are still low by historical standards. The Fed’s top leaders say the “natural” rate of interest, which neither helps nor hurts the economy, is about 3 percent. Anything below that is viewed as boosting the economy. But the minutes of the September meeting revealed that there is debate internally at the Fed about what to do when interest rates hit 3 percent, probably around the middle of next year.

“我们在做我们的工作。我们继续制定我们认为对经济有益的政策”Mary Daly说，“你只需要回到你的岗位做好你的工作（指特朗普）”

“We are doing our jobs. We continue to make interest rate policy we think is appropriate for the economy,” Mary Daly said. “You just keep going back and doing your job.”

美联储的政策决定者还说贸易战对美国目前的经济还没有明显的影响。

The Fed’s top policymakers also said that there was still little sign of harm to the overall economy so far from the trade battle.

Two-way investment between China, Germany exceeds $40b

中德双向投资超过400亿美元 -       

据中国商务部一名官员称，中德双向投资已超过400亿美元。Two-way investment between China and Germany has amounted to more than $40 billion, according to an official with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

今年是中德签署科技合作政府间协议40周年，这是促进中德合作的重要协议。This year marks the 40th anniversary of the China-Germany Intergovernmental Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation, a key deal that has boosted cooperation between the two sides.

商务部投资促进司副司长李勇，在周日于中国东部山东省青岛市举行的投资论坛上表示，两国合作不断扩大，合作的领域和层次也越来越高。The bilateral cooperation has been expanding with more fields and higher levels, said Li Yong, deputy head of the Investment Promotion Agency of the MOC, at an investment forum held Sunday in the city of Qingdao, East China’s Shandong province.

2017年，中欧贸易额达到1681亿美元，占中欧贸易额的近30%。李勇表示，中国已经连续两年成为德国最大的贸易伙伴。Trade volume between the two sides reached $168.1 billion in 2017, accounting for nearly 30 percent of China’s trade with Europe. China has been German’s largest trade partner for two consecutive years, according to Li.

随着中国城市化进程的加快和中等收入群体的不断壮大，中国的消费市场正在蓬勃发展。李勇说，中国政府正进一步加大对外开放并努力保护外国企业在中国的权利。With China’s accelerating urbanization and growing middle-income groups, the country is seeing a booming consumption market. The Chinese government is further opening up and working to protect the rights of foreign businesses in the country, Li said.

据德国政府机构德国贸易投资公司称，自2013年以来，中国已成为德国电子行业最大的投资来源国，投资项目涵盖了该行业多个生产和研发领域。Since 2013, China has become the largest source of investment in the German electronics industry, with investment projects covering multiple areas of production and R&D in the industry, according to German government agency Germany Trade & Invest.

参考消息网10月21日报道 外媒称，根据美国财政部16日公布的最新数据，中国和日本——美国国债的两大持有者——在8月份减少了债券的持有量。

China and Japan, the two largest holders of us treasuries, reduced their bond holdings in August, according to the latest data released by the us Treasury Department on Thursday.

今日俄罗斯电视台10月17日刊登题为《中日抛售美国国债，美元霸主地位下滑》的报道称，中国持有的美国主权债务从7月份的1.171万亿美元降至8月份的1.165万亿美元，这是这个世界第二大经济体在与美国的贸易关系紧张中支撑本国货币以来连续第三个月减持。

Russia today television October 17 published titled "sino-japanese sell treasuries, dollar decline," the report said, China's holdings of us sovereign debt from $1.171 trillion in July fell to $1.165 trillion in August, this is the world's second largest economy in the trade tensions with the United States to support their currencies since the reduction of the third month in a row.

中国仍是美国国债的最大外国持有者，其次是美国的长期盟友日本。

China remains the largest foreign holder of us treasuries, followed by Japan, a longstanding us ally.

报道称，东京8月份减持美国国债至1.029万亿美元，是2011年10月以来的最低水平。7月份，日本的持有量为1.035万亿美元。

Tokyo reduced its holdings of U.S. treasuries to $1.029 trillion in August, the lowest level since October 2011, the report said. Japan held $1.035 trillion in July. 

根据日本财务省的最新数据，日本投资者8月份决定购买英国债券，抛售美国和德国债券。据报道，日本净清偿债务56亿美元。

Japanese investors decided in August to buy British bonds and sell U.S. and German bonds, according to the latest data from Japan's ministry of finance. Japan reported net debt payments of $5.6 billion.

编辑 | 学术部 Arya