中国对美国公司加强监管消费者获益

Duringthepastyear,Chineseanti-monopolywatchdogsraidedfourMicrosoftoffices,investigatedchipmakerQualcomm,andvowedtopunishAudiandseeveralBMWdealersforessentiallychargingunfairprices.Thisweek,foodgiantH.J.HeinzCo.founditselfinastormasChineseregulatorssaidtheyfound“severelyhighlevelsoflead”inthecompany’sinfantcereals.去年，中国反垄断监管部门曾突访微软（Microsoft）4个办事处、调查芯片制造商高通（Qualcomm），并称要就价格垄断处罚奥迪（Audi）及一些宝马（BMW）汽车经销商。最近一周中国有关部门又发现亨氏（H.J.HeinzCo）婴儿米粉“含铅量严重超标”，将这个食品巨头推向了风口浪尖。Withyetanotherhigh-profileinvestigationofaforeignbrandinChina,manyarguethatthegovernmentissinglingoutforeignfirmstosupportdomesticplayers.TheEuropeanUnionChamberofCommerceinChinahaswrittenawhitepapercriticizingthegovernment’sefforts,suggestingthemovesareunfairandprotectionist.ForeigndirectinvestmentintoChinadropped16.9%inJulyfromayearago,givingammunitiontocriticsofthegovernment’sinvestigations.随着一起起针对外国品牌的高调调查，很多评论称中国政府正为了扶植国内企业而排挤外企。中国欧盟商会（EuropeanUnionChamberofCommerce）发表了一份白皮书，批评中国政府的此类举动，表示这些举措并不公平，属于保护主义行径。今年7月，中国的外商直接投资（Foreigndirectinvestment）比去年下跌16.9%，更令外界有了批评政府调查的理由。ButarecriticsofChina’santi-trustinvestigationsright?Ordotheyindicateattemptsbythegovernmenttocatchuptointernationalstandardsandeventheplayingfieldtoeventuallycreatemorecompetitionandspurmoreconsumptionthroughlowerprices?但这些对中国反垄断调查的批评正确吗？还是说，中国的反垄断调查实际上显示了政府正在向国际标准靠拢，甚至正在改善整体的商业环境，从而最终创造更多竞争，并通过更低的价格带动更多消费？First,itisamistaketolumptheanti-monopolyinvestigationsandtheconsumersafetywatchdogstogether.ThesafetyregulatorshavetargetedMcDonald’s,KFC,andnowHeinzforsellingtainted,mislabeledandtoxicproductstoChineseconsumers.Executiveshavebeenfinedandjailed.ThesecompanieshaveundoubtedlymademistakesthathaveendangeredthehealthofChineseconsumers.McDonald’s,forinstance,soldhamburgersmadewithexpiredmeat.首先，我们不应该将反垄断调查和消费者安全监督混为一谈。安全监管部门瞄准了麦当劳（McDonald’s）、肯德基（KFC）以及现在的亨氏，原因是这些公司向中国消费者出售受污染的、有毒及虚假食品。涉案高管已被处以罚款及监禁。这些公司危害中国消费者的健康，错误昭然。比如麦当劳就出售用过期肉制作的汉堡包。TheChinesegovernmentismovingtosafeguardthefoodsupplychaininresponsetocitizens’demands.FoodandproductsafetyandpollutionarethetwobiggestconcernsinChina–aheadofpayingformedicalcareandeducationforfamilymembers,accordingto5000interviewsmyfirm,TheChinaMarketResearchGroup,conductedin2013across15cities.Inresponse,thegovernmentforinstancehasbeenpushingforconsolidationwithinthedairysector–justasithadinthesteelindustry–toensurebetterqualitycontrolandcurbenvironmentaldegradation.中国政府正在响应民众要求，捍卫食品供应链安全。2013年中国市场研究集团曾在15个城市采访5,000名民众，结果显示，污染以及食品和消费品安全排在家庭医疗费用及教育支出之前，是中国目前最受关注的两大焦点。为此，中国政府已采取不同措施，例如推动乳制品业整合，就像过去促进钢材制造业整合一样，从而确保实现更好的质量控制，防止环境进一步恶化。Second,manycompanies,suchasQualcommandMicrosoft,havecomeunderfireinotherjurisdictionslikeEuropeformonopolisticpracticesinthepast.Regulatorsinvestigatedthemandfinedthemoverthecourseofseveraldecades,whileinChinathesecompanieshavegottenarelativelyfreepass.Untilrecently,theChinesegovernmentwasoverwhelmedbyotherprioritieslikepovertyreductionanddidnotdevotesignificantresourcesintothingslikeanti-monopolyinvestigations.其次，许多公司，比如高通及微软也曾因为垄断在欧洲等其它司法管辖区受罚。欧洲等地的监管部门过去数十年来一直在调查并处罚这些公司的垄断行为，但是这些企业在中国却面对着相对宽松自由的环境。中国政府过去一直致力于脱贫等更重要的任务，因而并未向反垄断调查等事宜专门投入大量资源，但情况最近已有所改变。Somemediareportshavepaintedthewaveofinvestigationsasasuddenanti-foreigncrackdown,suggestingthatitisamovebyPresidentXiJinpingtoconsolidatepower.However,companieshavebeenawarethatinvestigationslikethesewouldbecomingforsometimenow.China’sNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission(NDRC),thebodychargedwithenforcingaportionoftheanti-monopolylaw,announcedthestartofmanyoftheseinvestigationsin2011.Xididnottakeofficeuntil2012–ayearlater.部分媒体报道把车企反垄断调查描绘成一场突如其来的排外行为，并暗示这是中国国家主席习近平为巩固政权所采取的行动。但多家企业现在已意识到这类调查将持续一段时间。负责部分反垄断法执行的中国国家发展和改革委员会（NDRC）声称，其中一些调查早在2011年就已展开。而习近平出任中国国家主席是在之后的2012年。Theseriesofinvestigationshasgiventheappearanceofatargetedcrackdown,thoughinmanywaysthereasonforthisissimplythatregulatorsareonlynowcatchingupwiththetaskofregulatingthemarketandreachingstandardsofmarketbehaviorheldbyotheradvancedeconomies.DomesticChinesefirmshavealsobeentargeted–manyoftheBMWdealerstargetedforinstancearelocallyownedbyChineseentrepreneurs,notBMWitself.However,thesecaseshavenotbeeninWesternnewsasmuch.这一系列调查呈现出一种有针对性的打击模式，但从许多方面来看，这样做的原因很简单——监管部门现在开始着手规范市场，以达到其它发达国家的市场行为标准。中国国内的企业也成为调查目标，例如宝马公司的一些经销商其实隶属于当地企业。然而，这些情况在西方的新闻里并不会被大肆报道。Itistruethatregulatorsneedtobemoretransparentintheirinvestigationsandrulings;theyshouldallowlawyersrepresentingthefirmsunderinvestigationintomeetingswhendecisionsandjudgmentsaremade.Theopaquewaymanyinvestigationshavebeencarriedouthasgiventheappearanceofthegovernmentmakingdecisionsinbackroomstostrong-armbrandsintoloweringtheirprices.的确，监管者需要让他们的调查和裁决更加透明化；他们应该允许律师代表被调查企业参与到判决结果的会议当中。而很多不透明的调查，已经给外界一种政府暗中制定决策并强迫品牌降价的印象。Finally,althoughtheinvestigationsarehurtingprofitmarginsandmakingexecutivesnervousfornow,inthelong-term,thiswillhelpoverallprofitabilityforChineseandWesternbrandsalike.最后，尽管这些调查目前影响了企业的利润率，也令管理人员惶惶不可终日，不过从长远来看，这将有助于提升中国乃至西方汽车品牌整体的盈利能力。Overthepastdecade,Chineseconsumershavebeensoworriedaboutpoorfoodandproductsafetystandardsthattheytendtobuythemostexpensiveitems