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Berlin has intervened in the takeover of a small but innovative German aerospace company, using a new law that gives it enhanced powers to block Chinese deals in strategic sectors of the economy.
柏林方面利用一项新法律介入了中资对一家规模虽小但具有创新性的德国航空航天公司的收购，该法扩大了其阻止中资在德国战略性经济领域并购交易的权力。
Cotesa, which makes parts for aircraft makers such as Airbus and Boeing, was due to be bought by a subsidiary of the state-run China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group for a price German media reported at between 100m and 200m.
Cotesa为空客(Airbus)和波音(Boeing)等飞机制造商生产部件，本将被中国国有的中国钢研科技集团(CISRI)的一家子公司收购。据德国媒体报道，收购价在1亿欧元到2亿欧元之间。
But Germany’s economics ministry has now stepped in to put the transaction on hold. A ministry spokesman confirmed it was investigating the deal “to check whether it complies with Germany’s law on foreign trade”.
但德国经济部现在介入致使交易搁置。德国经济部的一名发言人确认，该部正在调查这项交易“以确认其是否符合德国的对外贸易法律”。
Berlin moved last year to expand its powers to stop Chinese groups acquiring German companies amid creeping concerns about the scale of Chinese M&A activity in Germany’s high-tech sector.
去年德国政府采取行动扩大了对中国企业收购德国企业的交易的封杀权，背景是柏林方面对中国在德国高科技产业领域并购交易的规模越来越担忧。
The backlash was prompted by the 4.5bn takeover two years ago of Kuka, Germany’s largest manufacturer of industrial robotics, by Chinese appliance maker Midea, which stoked fears that advanced German technology would end up in Asian hands.
2年前中国家电制造商美的(Midea)以45亿欧元收购德国最大工业机器人制造商库卡(Kuka)，促使德国政府做出这一举动，这笔交易引发了对德国先进科技落入亚洲人之手的担忧。
Such deals have been subjected to much greater scrutiny since then. Later in 2016 Fujian Grand Chip Investment was forced to abandon its offer for Aixtron, a German chip equipment maker, after US authorities raised objections on national security grounds. Before that the German government had unexpectedly reopened a review of the deal.
自那之后，这类交易受到了更为严格的审查。2016年，由于美国当局以国家安全理由提出反对，福建宏芯投资基金(Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund)被迫放弃了对德国芯片设备制造商爱思强(Aixtron)的收购要约。在那之前，德国政府出人意料地重启了对该交易的审核。
Part of the increased concern about Asian deals has been prompted by a series of job losses at companies acquired by Chinese investors.
对于亚洲国家在德国并购交易的日益加剧的忧虑，部分是由中国投资者收购的公司发生一系列就业岗位流失引起的。
Ledvance, a former subsidiary of light company Osram that was bought last year by a Chinese consortium, recently announced plans to lay off more than half its employees in Germany — a total of 1,300 workers — and close two factories. Kuka has also said it is cutting 250 of its 750 jobs in Augsburg.
去年被中国财团收购的照明设备公司欧司朗(Osram)前子公司Ledvance，近期宣布了裁撤德国超过一半员工——共计1300人——以及关闭两家工厂的计划。库卡也表示正在裁撤其在奥格斯堡(Augsburg)的750个工作岗位中的250个。
The earlier version of Germany’s law on foreign trade allowed the government to block a company from outside the EU acquiring more than 25 per cent of a German entity if the deal endangered public order or national security. It largely applied to defence industry enterprises.
在之前德国对外贸易相关法律下，欧盟(EU)以外的企业收购某个德国实体超过25%的股份时，如果交易威胁到公共秩序或国家安全，德国政府有权封杀该交易。该法律主要适用于防务工业企业。
But the law has since been expanded to cover a broad range of companies operating in “critical infrastructure” such as electricity and water suppliers, hospitals and transport, as well as advanced defence technologies. The government also has up to four months to investigate takeovers, from two months previously.
不过，之后该法的适用范围扩大，涵盖了在“关键基础设施”领域运营的各类企业的交易，如电力和供水公司、医院和运输企业，以及先进防务技术企业。政府还拥有更长时间调查并购交易，从之前的2个月延长到4个月。
The economics ministry spokesman said 30 deals had been investigated since the law changed in July. He also stressed that “no acquisition has been blocked” since the original law came into force in 2004.
那名德国经济部发言人表示，自2017年7月修改该法之后，有30项交易被调查。他还强调，自2004年该法最初生效以来，“没有收购交易被阻止”。
Germany has also backed plans drawn up last year by the European Commission to toughen screening of overseas investment on national security grounds.
德国还支持欧盟委员会(European Commission)去年制定的以国家安全为由强化对海外投资审查的计划。
Under the plan, EU governments would have the power to block Chinese and other foreign takeovers even if they were carried out via European shell companies. Intra-EU takeovers are normally exempt from such checks because of EU rules on free movement of capital within the bloc.
在该计划下，欧盟成员国政府将有权阻止中资和其他外资企业的收购，即使这些收购交易是通过欧洲的壳公司进行的。由于欧盟关于资本在欧盟内部自由流动的规定，欧盟内的收购通常都免于这种审查。
Cotesa, which has about 750 employees and expects revenues this year of 65m, produces composite fibre parts used in Airbus’s long-range aircraft and in Boeing’s helicopters. J?rg Hüsken, its founder and managing director, told Handelsblatt newspaper that he had sought investors to fund an expansion but “the Chinese are the only ones who recognised our real potential”.
Cotesa拥有大约750名员工，2017年的收入预计将达到6500万欧元。Cotesa生产空客远程飞机和波音直升机使用的复合纤维部件。该公司创始人和董事总经理约尔格?许斯肯(J?rg Hüsken)告诉《德国商报》(Handelsblatt)，他曾寻找投资者为该公司的扩张提供资金，但“中国人是唯一认可我们真正潜力的人”。
China Iron & Steel’s goal is to use Cotesa to supply China’s state-owned aircraft-maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, also known as Comac.
中国钢研科技集团的目标是利用Cotesa为中国国有的飞机制造商中国商飞(Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China)供应部件。
