Speech to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council
香港贸易发展局演讲
By Baroness Symons
---巴罗尼斯•西蒙
International trade is good for business. By making business more productive and competitive we raise living standards. There is good evidence that companies which export pay more, invest more in training and are more aware of health and safety issues than those companies who choose not to trade overseas. And this applies whatever the size of company. So although I know there are many who have misgivings about the effect of trade on those who work in a number of industries, the hard evidence is that trade is good for workers too.
国际贸易对商业有好处。更高产能，更有竞争力的商业让我们提高生活标准。证据显示出口公司在培训方面支付投资的越多，会比不选择出口贸易的公司更注重健康和安全问题，这适用于所有规模的公司。因此，虽然我知道有很多人对工作于好几个行业的贸易影响有担忧，但事实证明贸易会工人也是有好处的。
Our strong business links underpin our whole relationship with Hong Kong and I am confident that they will strengthen and grow over the coming years. Hong Kong continues to occupy a pivotal place for us as a major trading partner in its own right.
我们强势的商业联系支撑着我们与香港的关系，我相信我们的联系在接下来的年份中会更加强。香港一直以自己的优势占据着我们贸易伙伴极其重要的位置。
I think it worth spelling out just how extensive those links are. Two-way trade flows are now running at nearly £9 billion per year. Hong Kong is our thirteenth largest export market for goods with a quarter of our exports to the Chinese mainland going through Hong Kong. Hong Kong is also a huge market for us for services, as many of the companies represented here tonight will testify.
我想说出这些联系的广泛程度是值得的。双边贸易流现每年接近90亿英镑。香港是我们第十三大出口市场，出口到中国大陆的商品有四分之一经由香港。香港还是我们服务的巨大市场，今晚很多入席的公司将证明这一点。
It is also worth remembering that Hong Kong is the UK's second largest market in the Asia Pacific, The UK is one of the largest external investors in Hong Kong and we account for 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s investment in Europe. And what diverse investment it is! It ranges from the textiles and clothing sector to ICT to bottled water to ports. The British Governments inward investment promotion body, Invest, UK, is working hard and successfully to attract Hong Kong investors and to give I comprehensive after-care to those who have chosen to invest in the UK.
还值得提起的是香港市英国在亚洲太平洋地区的第二大市场。英国是香港最大的国外投资者之一，我们占香港在欧洲投资的80%。投资时很多样的，从纺织服装行业到信息与通讯技术，到瓶装水，到港口。英国政府对内投资的提升主体英国投资努力成功的吸引到香港投资者，并为选择英国的投资者提供综合的投资后关怀。
British businesses are very actively engaged in Hong Kong. The 1000 or so British companies with offices in Hong Kong are evidence of that as are the guests at this dinner tonight they all recognize Hong Kong’s strategic location. And we have no difficulty in encouraging British companies to take part in UK Government sponsored trade missions to Hong Kong, Fourteen Trade Partners UK supported trade missions are visiting Hong Kong this Financial Year and more SMEs are visiting than ever before. Earlier this month One North East took a mission of over 30 companies to the market.
英国商业积极融入英国。约有1000家英国公司在香港设立办公室就证明今晚在座的客人都认同香港战略性的位置。我们并不难鼓励英国公司加入英国政府资助考察团到香港。英国贸易伙伴支持商务考察团并将于今年的财政年度参观香港，更多的小企业参观也比前增加了。本月初期一东北带领30多家公司的考察团到市场。
As to the future, Hong Kong's ambition to be Asia's World City offers major new business co-operation opportunities in such areas as ICT, the environment, education and the creative industries. We are working with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and other Hong Kong partners on collaborative projects to develop our relationship in these areas.
未来香港成为亚洲世界城市的决心将会为信息与通讯技术，环境，教育和创新行业提供新的合作机会。我们与香港特别行政区政府和其他香港伙伴合作项目发展我们在这些行业的关系。
One of the most ambitious projects we have undertaken to date is the construction and fitting out of the INTEGER Hong Kong Pavilion on the Tamar site on Hong Kong Island. It is an excellent example of a public private partnership involving the government, businesses and other public bodies. The Pavilion, which is open until the end of the year, is designed to demonstrate how green and intelligent building technologies can be adapted to meet conditions in Hong Kong and, indeed, Asia more widely. It reflects many of our interests—innovation, sustainability, environmental-friendliness, education. The Pavilion has attracted widespread interest from all over the region.
我们到目前为止最有力的项目是香港岛添马舰INTEGER香港馆的建设和装配。这是有政府，企业和其他公共体参与的公司伙伴关系的很好例证。该馆会在年底开业，设计师为展示绿色智能建筑技术在新环境香港的适应性，事实上更广泛的说是亚洲。这反映了我们很多的优势---创新，持续，环境友好，教育。该馆吸引了全区广泛的兴趣。
And of course, the environment is high on our agenda. We are addressing issues like air pollution, water pollution and sustainable development. Much work has already been done but there is still much to da Protecting the environment is a moral and political imperative. Cleaning up the environment also presents opportunities for trade.
当然我们是很看重环境的。我们正询问空气污染，水污染和持续发展的问题。很多工作已经完成但我们还有很多工作要做。保护环境是道德和政治责任。清洁环境也为贸易提供机会。
The UK’s links with Hong Kong on the education side are extensive and the British Council in Hong Kong do an enormous amount of impressive work there. Their English language operation in Hong Kong is the largest such operation in the world with over 40,000 students a year. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Chevening scholarships scheme offers Hong Kong candidates around 50 scholarships a year. Around 17, 000 Hong Kong students are currently studying in the UK.
英国与香港在教育方面的联系也是很广泛的，英国驻香港的文化委员会做了大量有影响力的工作，其在香港的语言操作时全球此类操作最大的，每年有40000多名学生。外交和联邦事务部的谢弗宁奖学金为为英国候选者每年提供约50份奖学金。香港现有约17000名学生在英国就读。
In this period of global market volatility and in the aftermath of the terrible events in the US and Bali, it is vital that we work together with our partners in Hong Kong and elsewhere to weather the difficulties and maintain our trading relationships. This is important for global prosperity.
在本轮全球市场波动时期以及美国和巴厘的恐怖事件后，我们与香港伙伴一起协作是很重要的，驱除困难保持我们的贸易关系。这对全球繁荣时很重要的。
China’s accession to the World Trade Organization has meant that the international business community is now focusing its attention on China and an increased number of companies are interested in accessing the market. This can only be good for Hong Kong. Although in the long run, it will be easier for western companies to enter the mainland market directly, the whole of China will not change overnight. In the meantime Hong Kong entrepreneurs with their understanding of Chinese culture and western business, can help SMEs navigate through the intricacies of doing business in China.
中国加入世界贸易组织意味着国际商业团体现在焦点放在中国，进入中国市场的公司不断增加，这对香港来说只有好处。尽管长期来看，西方国家公司直接进入中国大陆市场更容易些，但中国大陆不是一日就能改变的。同时香港企业家了解中国文化和西方商业，能帮助小企业绕过和中国合作中的漩涡。
Pessimists say that China’s WTO accession will make Hong Kong irrelevant, that Hong Kong’s role as a middleman will be undermined and that Shanghai will take over from Hong Kong as a regional headquarters and international finance center. I do not share this view.
悲观者说中国加入世界贸易组织将使香港不相关，说香港中中坚位置将被破坏，上海会取代香港成为区域和总部和国际金融中心。我不赞同此观点。
Hong Kong has the world's busiest port and the world's busiest airport for cargo and despite its tiny size, Hong Kong is the world’s tenth largest trader And Hong Kong is one of the most competently run cities in Asia. On any number of counts—trans-port and crime are striking examples—it is the envy of any European capital.
香港有世界最繁忙的运输港口和世界最繁忙的运输机场，虽然面积小，但香港是世界第十大贸易商。香港是亚洲最有竞争力的城市之一。就任何一项数据---运输和犯罪时最典型的例子---这是欧洲城市嫉妒的地方。
Although the rapid growth of Shanghai will present challenges for Hong Kong, I believe that, with the strengths I have described Hong Kong is well placed to counter these challenges and develop its current clear competitive advantage further, so as to maintain its pre-eminent position in servicing Chinese business needs.
尽管上海的快速发展会对香港造成压力，但我相信，香港有足够的优势应对这些挑战并进一步发展现在的优势竞争力以保持其在服务中国企业需求方面的优势地位。
And Hong Kong is well placed to take advantage of the Pearl River Delta. With a population of nearly 70 million, a GDP of over 130 billion US $ (larger than Malaysia) and achieving growth rates of over 9%, the Delta market is the key i driver of Chinese economic and business development.
香港占有珠江三角洲的有利位置。三角洲人口接近7000万，GDP超过1300亿美元（比马来西亚还多），增长率超过9%，是中国经济和商业发展的主要驱动因素。
And I am upbeat about Hong Kong and its future. As long as it can maintain the rule of law, a strict anti-corruption regime and free flow of information—the very things that persuade the UK and other companies to base themselves there—I am sure that Hong Kong will continue to do well.
我对香港的未来持乐观态度。只要能保持法律规则，严厉的反腐体系和信心免费流动---这些说服英国和其他公司在此开展业务的基础---我确定香港会持续做好的。