西班牙經(jīng)濟(jì)寒冬中華商生意興隆

文/托拜厄斯·巴克 譯/張宵 魏家海

西班牙經(jīng)濟(jì)寒冬中華商生意興隆

文/托拜厄斯·巴克 譯/張宵 魏家海

From his fi rst- fl oor of fi ce in an industrial estate south of Madrid, Chen Maodong can track the steady flow of bright orange delivery trucks passing through the gates of his sprawling warehouse complex1complex類型相似的建筑群。.

[2] Laden2laden裝滿的。with beer, liquor, soft drinks and snacks, the trucks are on their way to restock3restock補(bǔ)充（貨源）。the thousands of Chinese-run corner shops and convenience stores that dot4dot遍布于。the Spanish capital. Business is good. It always has been, even in the worst moments of Spain’s economic crisis. Since 2008,the country has been through a housing bust, a banking crisis and a double-dip5double-dip雙底衰退，指在一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)周期內(nèi)，經(jīng)濟(jì)出現(xiàn)兩次衰退。recession. But Don Pin, the wholesale company founded by Mr Chen, managed to triple6triple成為三倍。its sales over the same time period.

[3] Only 34 years old, Mr Chen has emerged as one of the most recognisable faces of the Chinese community in Spain—and as a symbol of its commercial clout7clout〈非正式〉影響力。and remarkable ability to withstand economic adversity8adversity困境；逆境。. His story finds parallels across the crisisscarred countries in southern Europe,which have seen a burst in Chinese migrant arrivals—and in Chinese economic activity—despite the brutal9brutal殘暴的。recession of recent years.

[4] Over the past decade, the number of Chinese arrivals in countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal has soared.According to official data, there are now more than 180,000 Chinese nationals living in Spain, three times more than in 2003. Add in students and those who have become naturalised10naturalised入籍的。Spaniards, and the fi gure leaps to more than 200,000, the fi fth-largest minority in the country.

[5] Chinese migration to Spain continued to rise even after the start of the crisis, highlighting how well the community has been able to weather111 weather〈比喻〉度過,挨過。the economic storm. In a country where one-in-four workers is out of a job,unemployment is virtually unknown among the Chinese. Furthermore, they account for12account for（數(shù)量、比例上）占。a vastly disproportionate13disproportionate不成比例的。share of business start-ups: there are now more than 40,000 self-employed Chinese on Spain’s commercial register,twice as many as before the crisis.

[6] At the same time, there are growing signs that the Chinese are starting to work their way up14work one’s way up使自己地位逐步上升。the economic value chain. Gone are the days when Chinese economic activity in Spain was confi ned to15confined to只限于。serving uprollitos de primavera(spring rolls) or selling trinkets16trinket（價(jià)值不高的）小首飾。in dusty 100-pesetas177 peseta比塞塔（西班牙基本貨幣單位）。shops. Today there are Chinese-owned fashion chains,import-export businesses, media groups and law fi rms.

[7] Dressed in a smartly cut black suit, white shirt and black tie, Mr Chen looks every inch the successful businessman. A native of Qingtian, an impoverished18impoverished貧困的。rural county in the coastal Chinese province of Zhejiang, he arrived in Madrid in 1998. Like most Chinese migrants in those years, he came without money and spoke no Spanish.Just 18, he earned his first cash waiting tables in a Chinese restaurant and selling plastic toys and cheap clothes at funfairs19funfair游樂場(chǎng)。in villages across Spain. The only Spanish words he knew at the time were numbers (to haggle20haggle爭(zhēng)論（尤指討價(jià)還價(jià)）。over prices)along withhola, gracias and adiós211 hola, gracias and adiós西班牙語(yǔ)的“你好”“謝謝”和“再見”。.

[8] Determined to scrimp22scrimp省吃儉用，節(jié)衣縮食（尤指為了攢錢）。and save as much as possible, Mr Chen shared a single room with his brother, who had left the family home a few years earlier.Four years after he arrived, Mr Chen joined forces with his brother and uncle to set up their own business. His partners had savings but they had to ask for loans from two other family members to reach the €20,000 they needed to buy their delivery van. “We worked every day from 8am in the morning to midnight. Once, I made a whole round trip just to take a kilo of peanuts to one of our customers,” he says.

[9] The hard work paid off. As the number of Chinese-owned shops soared,so did the business of supplying them.Don Pin reported sales of €220,000 in its first year. Today it turns over more than €60m, boasts a fleet of 35 trucks and employs 110 workers.

[10] The Chinese community in Spain kept growing long after the economic collapse—and even as other migrant groups began to return to their home countries. Newcomers say that the more recent wave of Chinese migrants is different from Mr Chen’s generation. Many arrive by choice, not out of economic necessity. They come to see something of the world, improve their skills, but they are also a little less driven than the early entrepreneurs.

[11] Work visas are harder to come by and—after decades of relentless economic growth in China—the eeccoo--nomic gain of moving to Europe is not as clear-cut as previously. Some data suggest that the number of new arrivals from China is finally dropping off:migrants are still coming, but there are fewer, they are better educated, and often come for a speci fi c job or to study a particular course.

[12] Yet just as the wave of migrants has crested23crest到達(dá)山頂；達(dá)到頂點(diǎn)。, a new wave is building—this time bringing money and investment from China rather than workers and entrepreneurs. David H?hn, a partner at KPMG in Madrid, has watched it gather in strength since he began heading the accounting fi rm’s China desk in the Spanish capital. What the Chinese are looking for is, above all else, expertise. Mr H?hn points out that most transactions involve Chinese groups buying minority stakes in Spanish companies, with the aim of launching joint ventures either in third markets or back in China itself.

[13] Chinese companies have shown interest in sectors where Spain enjoys a strong record, such as tourism, food,infrastructure and construction. Over the past year, for example, Chinese investors have bought large stakes in NH,the Spanish hotel chain; in Campofrio, a maker of sausages, ham and other pork products; and in Osborne, the sherry group.

[14] It is an approach that mirrors the one taken by Chinese companies in Germany, where they have bought into the machinery and equipment sector, and in Italy, which has seen a string of deals in textiles and fashion. “What they want is access to speci fi c expertise and to technology,” says Mr H?hn.

[15] Mr Chen says there are countless things he likes about life in his adopted country. But he, for one, has no desire to grow old in Madrid. “When I die, I want to die in my village. I arrived here when I was 18 but I still feel my roots very strongly. But it is different for the children. My children will be Madrilians.” ■

馬德里南部的一座工業(yè)建筑里，老板陳茂東（音譯）在他的一樓辦公室就可以監(jiān)測(cè)一輛輛橘色錚亮的送貨車井然有序地進(jìn)出一個(gè)個(gè)倉(cāng)庫(kù)。

[2]這些貨車滿載著啤酒、烈酒、飲料和各種點(diǎn)心，為華人開辦的街角小店和便利店補(bǔ)貨，這些成千上萬(wàn)的小店星羅棋布地散布在西班牙首都馬德里。陳先生的生意一直不錯(cuò)，即使在西班牙經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)最嚴(yán)重的時(shí)刻亦如此。2008年以來，這個(gè)國(guó)家接連遭遇了房地產(chǎn)泡沫破裂、銀行倒閉和雙底衰退的打擊。但陳先生創(chuàng)辦的唐平批發(fā)公司的銷售額竟在此期間增長(zhǎng)了兩倍。

[3]年輕有為的陳先生，34歲便成為西班牙華人社群中響當(dāng)當(dāng)?shù)娜宋铮笳髦@一社群的商業(yè)影響力以及抵御經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)的非凡能力。在危機(jī)深重而又千瘡百孔的南歐國(guó)家中，他的故事并非獨(dú)一無(wú)二。盡管這些國(guó)家近些年來遭遇了近乎殘酷的經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，但這并不能阻擋來自中國(guó)的移民大量涌入以及隨之而來的經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)大規(guī)模涌現(xiàn)。

[4]過去十年，西班牙、意大利和葡萄牙等歐洲國(guó)家的中國(guó)移民數(shù)量急劇增加。官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，現(xiàn)有超過18萬(wàn)華僑居住在西班牙，比2003年增長(zhǎng)了3倍。若加上留學(xué)生和已入西班牙國(guó)籍的華人，人數(shù)則已超過20萬(wàn)，這一數(shù)量龐大的社群構(gòu)成了西班牙第五大少數(shù)族裔。

[5]甚至在爆發(fā)經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)之后，移居到西班牙的中國(guó)人數(shù)量也持續(xù)上升，這突出顯示了華裔社群抵抗經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)風(fēng)暴的強(qiáng)大能力。在一個(gè)失業(yè)率高達(dá)四分之一的國(guó)家，華裔移民卻幾乎無(wú)失業(yè)之憂。而且，他們?cè)趧?chuàng)業(yè)者中所占的比例非常大：如今西班牙注冊(cè)在案的從事個(gè)體經(jīng)營(yíng)的中國(guó)人就有四萬(wàn)多，比經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)之前翻了一番。

[6]同時(shí)，越來越多的跡象表明，華人開始奮力攀登西班牙的經(jīng)濟(jì)價(jià)值鏈。往昔，華人在西班牙的經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)僅限于販賣春卷或者在老舊的百元店里出售小飾品。如今，華人有自己創(chuàng)辦的時(shí)裝連鎖店、進(jìn)出口企業(yè)、傳媒集團(tuán)和律師事務(wù)所。

[7]陳先生一身帥氣的黑西服，配白襯衫和黑領(lǐng)帶，一副十足的成功商人模樣。他的故鄉(xiāng)是中國(guó)沿海浙江省貧窮的青田縣。1998年，陳先生背井離鄉(xiāng)，來到西班牙首都馬德里。與那些年到馬德里闖蕩的大多數(shù)移民一樣，他身無(wú)分文，西班牙語(yǔ)也一竅不通。那年他只有18歲，在中餐館當(dāng)服務(wù)員，在各種鄉(xiāng)村游藝集市上售賣塑料玩具和廉價(jià)服裝，賺得了在異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)的第一筆錢。那時(shí)，他所知道的西班牙語(yǔ)僅是一些數(shù)字（用于討價(jià)還價(jià)）的表達(dá)，還有“你好”“謝謝”“再見”這幾個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的詞語(yǔ)。

[8]陳先生下定決心節(jié)省開支，盡量多攢錢，于是就與幾年前先于他離開老家的哥哥合租了一個(gè)單間房。來西班牙四年后，陳先生和哥哥、叔叔一起，開始合伙創(chuàng)業(yè)。哥哥和叔叔雖然有些存款，但他們還需要向另外兩個(gè)親戚借錢，才能湊足購(gòu)買運(yùn)貨車的兩萬(wàn)歐元。他說：“我們每天從上午8點(diǎn)一直工作到半夜。有一次我跑了一趟往返，只為給顧客送一公斤花生。”

[9]但是苦盡甘來。隨著華人商店如雨后春筍般涌現(xiàn)，陳先生的供貨生意也做得如火如荼。唐平公司開業(yè)第一年的銷售額為22萬(wàn)歐元，而今天竟達(dá)到了6000多萬(wàn)歐元，公司現(xiàn)有運(yùn)貨車35輛，雇傭工人110人。

[10]經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)發(fā)生后的很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間里，即使其他移民群體紛紛開始打道回府，西班牙的華人群體仍不斷壯大。新移民們說，最近的華裔移民與陳先生那一代有所不同。如今，很多人來到西班牙，不是迫于生計(jì)，而是想來擴(kuò)大視野，提升技能，而他們開拓進(jìn)取的精神也稍遜于早期的華人企業(yè)家。

[11]由于工作簽證辦理的難度越來越大，加上幾十年來中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力不斷提升，移民歐洲的經(jīng)濟(jì)收益已不像從前那樣明顯。一些數(shù)據(jù)顯示，歐洲來自中國(guó)的新移民數(shù)量終于有所下降。雖然仍有移民進(jìn)來，但數(shù)量更少，文化程度更高，且通常是為了從事特定的工作或者學(xué)習(xí)特定的課程。

[12]隨著舊的移民潮由盛轉(zhuǎn)衰，新一波移民潮逐漸形成——這一次從中國(guó)來的不再是勞動(dòng)力和創(chuàng)業(yè)者，而是金錢和資本。畢馬威會(huì)計(jì)師事務(wù)所馬德里分公司的合伙人戴維·霍恩從擔(dān)任公司中國(guó)辦事處主管開始，目睹了這次移民潮逐漸積聚的力量。華人優(yōu)先考慮的是專業(yè)技能。霍恩先生指出，大部分都是華人集團(tuán)公司購(gòu)買少數(shù)股權(quán)的交易，他們的目的是或在第三方市場(chǎng)或返回中國(guó)成立合資企業(yè)。

[13]中國(guó)企業(yè)對(duì)于西班牙的強(qiáng)勢(shì)產(chǎn)業(yè)很感興趣，譬如旅游、食品、基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施和建筑行業(yè)。過去的一年中，中國(guó)投資者買下了西班牙幾家企業(yè)的很大一部分股權(quán)，包括連鎖酒店品牌諾翰酒店集團(tuán)，生產(chǎn)香腸、火腿和其他豬肉產(chǎn)品的坎波夫里奧公司，以及經(jīng)營(yíng)雪利酒的奧斯本集團(tuán)。

[14]這種做法效仿了中國(guó)企業(yè)在德國(guó)和意大利的投資模式——在德國(guó)，中國(guó)企業(yè)入股機(jī)械和設(shè)備產(chǎn)業(yè)；在意大利，則達(dá)成了一系列紡織和時(shí)裝交易。霍恩先生說：“他們想要的是專業(yè)技能和技術(shù)。”

[15]陳先生說，西班牙有數(shù)不清的東西令他著迷，但他并不愿在馬德里終老。“我希望能在自己的家鄉(xiāng)度過人生的最后一刻。我來到西班牙時(shí)才18歲，但直到現(xiàn)在，我依然覺得在中國(guó)的老家是我的根。可孩子就不一樣了，我的孩子們會(huì)成為馬德里人。” □

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（譯者單位：華中師范大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院）