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| WASHINGTON — American imports from China are surging as the year draws to a close, fueled by stay-at-home shoppers who are snapping up Chinese-made furniture and appliances, along with Barbie Dream Houses and bicycles for the holidays. |
| 华盛顿——随着年底的临近，待在家中的消费者纷纷购买中国制造的家具和电器、芭比梦想屋和自行车，为假期做准备，从而导致美国从中国的进口激增。 |
| The surge in imports is another byproduct of the coronavirus, with Americans channeling money they might have spent on vacations, movies and restaurant dining to household items like new lighting for home offices, workout equipment for basement gyms, and toys to keep their children entertained. |
| 进口激增是新冠病毒的另一个附带结果，美国人将本来可以花在度假、电影和餐厅的钱用于家居用品，例如家庭办公室的新照明设备、地下室健身房的健身器材，以及让孩子开心的玩具。 |
| That has been a boon for China, the world’s largest manufacturer of many of those goods. In November, China reported a record trade surplus of $75.43 billion, propelled by an unexpected 21.1 percent surge in exports compared with the same month last year. Leading the jump were exports to the United States, which climbed 46.1 percent to $51.98 billion, also a record. |
| 这对中国来说是一个福音，中国是许多此类商品的全球最大制造商。11月，中国公布的贸易顺差达到创纪录的754.3亿美元，这得益于出口与去年同期相比意外增长21.1％。增长最快的是对美国的出口，上涨46.1％，达到519.8亿美元，也是创纪录的水平。 |
| That surge has defied the expectations of American politicians of both parties, who earlier this year predicted that the pandemic, which began in China, would be a moment for reducing trade with that country and finally bringing factories back to the United States. |
| 这种激增打破了美国两党政客的期望，他们今年早些时候预测，始于中国的大流行将减少与该国的贸易，并最终将制造业带回美国。 |
| “The global pandemic has proven once and for all that to be a strong nation, America must be a manufacturing nation,” President Trump said in May. “We’re bringing it back.” |
| “这场全球大流行病已彻底证明，美国要想成为一个强大的国家，就必须是一个制造业国家，”特朗普总统在5月说。“我们要把制造业带回来。” |
| But despite Mr. Trump’s restrictions on Chinese goods, including tariffs on more than $360 billion worth of its imports, there is little sign that global supply chains are returning to the United States. Instead, the prolonged effects of the pandemic on the United States appear to have only reinforced China’s manufacturing position. |
| 但是，尽管特朗普对中国商品施加了限制，包括对价值超过3600亿美元的进口商品征收关税，但几乎没有迹象表明全球供应链正在重返美国。相反，大流行对美国的长期影响似乎只会巩固中国的制造业地位。 |
| China employed draconian lockdowns and extensive surveillance to shake off the effects of the pandemic earlier this year, allowing its factories to reopen at a large scale more quickly than businesses in America, where the disease is still running rampant. With many American companies, especially those based on services, crippled by coronavirus, consumers are pumping their money into online shopping for manufactured goods instead. |
| 今年年初，中国采取了严厉的封锁措施和广泛的监控措施，以消除大流行的影响，大量工厂得以重新开工，速度超过美国企业。随着许多美国公司——尤其是基于服务业的公司——因新冠病毒而陷入瘫痪，消费者纷纷改为从网上购买制成品。 |
| Mary E. Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, said that U.S. imports from the world were on track to be lower this year than in 2019, but that China’s overall share of U.S. imports would likely increase. |
| 彼得森学院(Peterson Institute)的高级研究员玛丽·E·洛夫里(Mary E. Lovely)表示，今年美国从世界的进口量按理将会低于2019年，但中国在美国进口总量中的份额可能会增加。 |
| “Overall, China’s quick economic recovery and its dominance as a source for products that Americans have turned to during the pandemic have outweighed the dampening effect of Trump’s tariffs,” she said. |
| 她说：“总体而言，中国经济的快速复苏，加之美国人在大流行期间购买的产品主要都是中国制造，这些都超出了特朗普关税的抑制作用。” |
| Consumer demand is so strong that it has overwhelmed the capacity of the cargo industry, leading to a record spike in shipping rates. The surge in shipments is clogging many supply chains, snarling major ports and delaying delivery of holiday gifts by up to several weeks. |
| 消费者需求如此强劲，甚至令货运业不堪重负，导致运费创历史新高。运货量的激增导致许多供应链受阻，主要港口陷入瘫痪，并导致节日礼物的送达时间延迟数周之久。 |
| At the Port of Los Angeles, the country’s largest processor of container cargo and the gateway for many Chinese goods, shipping containers carrying Chinese imports are stacked like Legos in piles six high. Truckers jam the parking lots, waiting hours to pick up goods, which are then dispatched across the continent. |
| 洛杉矶港是美国最大的集装箱货物处理港以及许多中国货物的门户，在这里，运送中国进口货物的集装箱像乐高积木一样堆成六层高。卡车司机占满了停车场，提货需要等待数小时，然后将货物运往整个北美大陆。 |
| October was the busiest month in the port’s 114-year history, and traffic has remained high. On Dec. 1, dockworkers were busy unloading 19 vessels, compared with 10 to 12 on a normal day, said Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director. Twelve more ships waited in the harbor, which, on average, had been waiting about 48 hours beyond their scheduled arrival, he said. |
| 10月是该港口114年历史以来最繁忙的月份，交通流量居高不下。港口执行主管吉恩·塞罗卡(Gene Seroka)表示，12月1日这一天，码头工人的卸货船只为19艘，而正常情况下只有10到12艘。他说，还有另外12艘船在港口等待，平均而言，他们已经比计划的到达时间晚了约48个小时。 |
| “We’re going through a time that truly is unprecedented,” Mr. Seroka said. “You’re trying to stuff 10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound bag. This ordering and replenishment is bigger than anything we’ve seen, and now it coincides with holidays.” |
| “我们正在经历一个前所未有的时期，”塞罗卡说。“好比试着在五磅的袋子中塞满10磅的土豆。这种订货量和补货量是从未见过的，而现在又正好是节日季。” |
| The pileup started earlier this year, as American retailers and manufacturers began to restock products this summer after brief lockdowns in the spring, and consumer spending began to rebound. While the pandemic has left former employees of restaurants, airlines and theme parks destitute, many members of the country’s vast remote work force have seen their bank accounts grow, and surveys show expectations for consumer spending remain strong. |
| 积压始于今年早些时候——在春季短暂的封锁后，随着消费者支出开始回升，今年夏天美国零售商和制造商开始对产品进行补货。虽然这场大流行使餐厅、航空公司和主题公园失业的雇员经济陷入困顿，但美国大量远程工作的劳动力中许多人的银行账户却在增长，调查显示，消费者支出的预期仍然很高。 |
| The initial data snapshot of November trade released earlier this month by China’s General Administration of Customs did not include detailed data by product and country. But trade data for the first 10 months of this year, compiled from United States Customs data by IHS Markit, shows that American imports of consumer electronics from China have been strong, as have imports of masks and other personal protection equipment for the pandemic. |
| 中国海关总署于本月初发布的11月贸易初步数据快照未包括按产品和国家划分的详细数据。但是，根据IHS Markit的美国海关数据汇编，今年前10个月的贸易数据显示，美国从中国进口强劲的有消费电子产品，以及口罩和其他用于大流行的个人防护设备。 |
| Jay Foreman, chief executive of the toy company Basic Fun!, said his company had gone from being “panicked” about the future of its business in March and April to suddenly realizing that demand was stronger than ever. |
| 玩具公司Basic Fun!的首席执行官杰伊·福尔曼(Jay Foreman)表示，他的公司从3月和4月为业务前景感到“恐慌”，变成了突然意识到需求比以往任何时候都要强劲。 |
| “Especially as you got into June, July and August, the spigot got turned on,” he said. “Everybody realized we don’t need less stuff from Asia and China, we need more stuff.” |
| “特别是当进入6月、7月和8月时，犹如阀门被打开，”他说。“每个人都意识到，我们对来自亚洲和中国的产品需求不是更少，而是更多了。” |
| For the toy industry, it is shaping up to be one of the biggest holiday seasons in years. But Mr. Foreman said his business would be dampened somewhat by the shipping delays. Some of the Tonka Trucks, Lite Brite sets and Care Bears that the company sells are currently stuck on container ships, or in the yard of the Port of Los Angeles. |
| 对玩具业来说，这将会是近年来生意最好的一次假日季。但福尔曼说，运输延迟将在一定程度上影响他的业务。该公司销售的一些Tonka卡车、Lite Brite套装和爱心熊(Care Bears)目前仍滞留在集装箱船上，或在洛杉矶港的堆场里。 |
| While Mr. Foreman was confident he could still sell those toys in January, he said missing the Christmas cutoff would be much more problematic for small companies and importers of seasonal products, like wreaths and Christmas lights. |
| 虽然福尔曼相信他仍能在1月卖掉这些玩具，但他说，如果错过圣诞节的运送截止日期，对小企业和进口花环、圣诞灯等季节性产品的进口商来说，麻烦会大得多。 |
| “Everyone has stuff sitting,” he said. “Everything is a week or two behind schedule.” |
| “所有人都有动不了的货物，”他说。“所有事都比计划晚了一周或两周。” |
| Arnold Kamler, the chief executive of bicycle-maker Kent International Inc., said he was also experiencing a historic combination of strong demand and shipping delays. |
| 自行车生产商肯特国际有限公司(Kent International Inc.)的首席执行官阿诺德·卡姆勒(Arnold Kamler)表示，他也经历了强劲需求和运输延迟的前所未见的结合。 |
| Lockdowns in China earlier this year led to production delays at Kent’s Chinese factories, while American demand for bicycles began to surge, as buyers sought them for entertainment and exercise, as well as an alternative to public transportation. |
| 今年早些时候，中国的封锁导致肯特的中国工厂生产延迟，而美国对自行车的需求开始激增，因为买家都把自行车当作了娱乐和锻炼的工具，以及公共交通的替代品。 |
| Pandemic-related demand for bicycles was so strong that some had begun referring to them as “the new toilet paper,” Mr. Kamler said. |
| 卡姆勒说，与疫情相关的自行车需求非常强劲，以至于一些人开始将它们称为“新厕纸”。 |
| “I never had hoped to be compared to toilet paper, but in this case, this was a good thing,” he said. |
| “我从来不希望和厕纸相提并论，但在这种情况下，这是件好事，”他说。 |
| After maintaining light inventory all year, Mr. Kamler said his company had finally accumulated enough bicycles in its warehouses in California and South Carolina in the past four to six weeks to meet demand. But UPS and FedEx, which deliver the company’s bicycles directly to customers on behalf of Target, Kohl’s, Walmart and other retailers, have drastically cut the number of trucks they can dispatch to the warehouses each week. |
| 卡姆勒说，在全年维持低库存状态后，过去四到六周，他的公司在加州和南卡罗莱纳州的仓库终于积攒了足够的自行车，以满足需求。但是，为塔吉特(Target)、柯尔百货(Kohl’s)、沃尔玛(Walmart)和其他零售商将自行车从该公司送到消费者手上的UPS和联邦快递(FedEx)，已大幅削减了每周能派往仓库的卡车数量。 |
| “We can’t get trucks to show up,” he said. “It’s crazy to have this demand and not be able to ship it.” |
| “我们找不到卡车过来，”他说。“有这样的需求却不能发货，这太疯狂了。” |
| That surge has created an unusual problem for China: finding enough 40-foot steel boxes into which all those goods can fit. China’s exports have been so strong this autumn that far more shipping containers are leaving Chinese ports than are coming back. |
| 需求的激增给中国带来了一个不同寻常的问题：要找到够多的40英尺钢箱来装下所有这些货物。今年秋天，中国的出口非常强劲，以至于离开中国港口的集装箱远远多于返回的数量。 |
| American exports to China have also soared this fall, driven by strong purchases of soybeans and other agricultural goods under the U.S.-China trade agreement. But these goods — like the iron ore and coal that China also imports plentifully — travel in bulk freighters, not 40-foot containers. China imports few American manufactured goods that would travel in containers. |
| 美国对中国的出口也在今秋大幅增加，这是由于美中贸易协定下对大豆和其他农产品的大量购买。但这些货物——跟中国大量进口的铁矿石和煤炭一样——都是用散货船运输，而不用装在40英尺的集装箱里。中国很少进口需要用集装箱运输的美国制成品。 |
| Mr. Seroka said exports of containers stocked with American goods were down 14 percent annually so far this year at the L.A. port, creating inefficiencies and logistical issues for railroads, trucking companies and cargo lines. |
| 塞罗卡说，今年到目前为止，洛杉矶港的美国集装箱货物出口的年下降率为14%，这给铁路、卡车运输公司和货运公司带来了效率低下和物流问题。 |
| In the month of October, the port exported more than twice as many empty containers as those filled with American goods, Mr. Seroka said. He blamed the trend on the U.S.-China trade war, which spurred Beijing to impose more tariffs on American products, as well as the strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes American goods more expensive overseas. |
| 塞罗卡表示，在10月，该港口出口的空集装箱是装满美国货物的集装箱的两倍多。他将这一趋势归咎于促使北京对美国产品征收更高关税的美中贸易战，以及导致美国商品在海外更昂贵的美元强势。 |
| For both importers and logistics companies, it remains unclear how U.S. trade policy will shape their business in China in the years to come. |
| 对进口商和物流公司而言，目前尚不清楚美国贸易政策将如何影响它们在中国未来数年的业务。 |
| President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has not committed to lifting any of Mr. Trump’s tariffs, saying he will begin reviewing them once in office. Many of the exemptions that companies received from the tariffs are set to expire on Dec. 31, and the Trump administration has not said whether they would renew them. |
| 候任总统小约瑟夫·R·拜登(Joseph R. Biden Jr.)尚未承诺取消任何特朗普施加的关税，称他上任后将对此开展审查。企业在关税中获得的许多豁免将于12月31日到期，特朗普政府尚未说明会否延长这些豁免。 |
| Chris Rogers, a global trade and logistics analyst at Panjiva, said that the trade wars and tariffs that the United States placed on China had actually reduced imports of the particular goods that were hit with tariffs — but other products that have not been taxed are booming. He said that companies could still choose to relocate their production out of China, as their businesses emerge from the pandemic. |
| 磐聚网(Panjiva)全球贸易和物流分析师克里斯·罗杰斯(Chris Rogers)表示，贸易战以及美国对中国征收的关税实际上减少了受关税打击的特定商品的进口，但其他没有被征税的产品进口正在激增。他说，随着企业从疫情中恢复，仍可能选择将生产迁出中国。 |
| “The time to muck about with your supply chain is not during the pandemic,” Mr. Rogers said. “A lot of companies have been in cash preservation mode. Moving your supply chain is expensive and takes time. There clearly is an opportunity for companies coming out of the pandemic to say we need to build resilience, move manufacturing closer to consumers.” |
| “疫情并非混合供应链的好时机，”罗杰斯说。“许多企业都处在现金储备模式。转移供应链的成本是昂贵的，也需要时间。摆脱疫情的企业显然可以说，我们需要增强韧性，把生产移到距离消费者更近的地方。” |
| Despite the shipping disruptions, some companies that have kept their production in China throughout Mr. Trump’s trade wars are now feeling vindicated. |
| 尽管船运受到干扰，特朗普贸易战期间在中国保持生产的一些企业，现在感觉自己被证明是正确的。 |
| Mr. Foreman said he considered moving some operations to Vietnam or India, like many toymakers did amid the trade wars last year, but “staying in China ended up to be the best move.” |
| 福尔曼说，他曾考虑将部分业务迁往越南或印度，就像许多玩具制造商在去年贸易战中所做的那样，但“留在中国最终成了最好的决策”。 |
| “China still has the best production supply chain of anybody in the world, and as it turned out, they were able to tackle the pandemic faster and more efficiently than anybody else,” he said. “China certainly has tested the boundaries and proven that they can weather the storm, as great as a storm as we’ve seen in a hundred years.” |
| “中国仍然拥有世界上最好的生产供应链，事实证明，他们能比其他国家更快更有效地应对疫情，”他说。“中国确实挑战了极限，证明了他们能够渡过难关，哪怕这是百年来我们遇到的最艰难的考验。” |
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