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| Kenya’s government has disclosed some details of the loan agreement the country signed in 2014 with China to build a railway, a major step toward political accountability but one that could strain relations with Beijing, the country’s top financier of infrastructure projects. |
| 肯尼亚政府披露了2014年与中国签署的铁路建设贷款协议的一些细节，向政治问责迈出了重要的一步，但此举也可能导致肯中关系紧张。中国是该国基础设施项目最大的出资者。 |
| The administration of President William Ruto of Kenya on Sunday published three documents from a contract used to construct the railway, a passenger and freight service that was funded, designed and built by China. The railway starts from Kenya’s coastal region but ends in the middle of nowhere. |
| 肯尼亚总统威廉·鲁托的政府周日公布了该铁路建设项目合同中的三份文件。这条提供客运和货运服务的铁路，资金来自中国贷款，并由后者设计、建造，它东起肯尼亚沿海，但止于一个荒芜人烟的地方。 |
| Since the $4.7 billion project, known as the Standard Gauge Railway, began five years ago, it has cast a long shadow over the East African nation. It was over budget by millions of dollars and became the center of multiple criminal investigations, saddling the economy with ever-growing debt and ending with judges declaring it illegal because it contravened the country’s procurement laws. |
| 这个被称为“标准轨距铁路”的项目耗资高达47亿美元，自从五年前开工以来，该项目一直是这个东非国家的心病。项目已超出预算数百万美元，是多项刑事调查的焦点，使经济背上了不断增长的债务，最后法官宣判项目非法，因为它违反了该国的采购法。 |
| Experts on China and Africa said the revelations were unprecedented, given that Chinese loan contracts are often shrouded in secrecy. |
| 研究中非关系的专家们说，考虑到中国的贷款合同往往保密，因此肯尼亚政府的披露是前所未有的。 |
| “It is a significant gesture toward transparency,” said Cobus van Staden, managing editor of The China Global South Project, a nonprofit researching China’s engagement with Africa. |
| “这是迈向透明度的一个重要姿态，”中南项目(China Global South Project)的执行主编科巴斯·范斯塔登说，这家非营利组织研究中国与非洲的交往情况。 |
| The three documents revealed how the railway’s financier, Exim Bank of China, had the upper hand in the negotiations. China is Kenya’s top trading partner, and the African country owes more bilateral debt to China than to any other nation. |
| 这三份文件揭示了铁路融资方中国进出口银行在谈判中的主导权。中国是肯尼亚最大的贸易伙伴，这个非洲国家欠中国的双边债务比欠任何国家的都多。 |
| The contract stipulated that any goods bought using proceeds from the railway would preferably be sourced from China. Any dispute that emerged from the agreement, the documents said, must be resolved through binding arbitration in China. The contract also could not be disclosed to any third parties without the financier’s consent, a move that, now completed, could strain relations between the two countries. |
| 合同明确要求，用铁路运营收入购买的任何商品最好来自中国。文件规定，执行协议时出现的任何争议，必须通过具有约束力的中国仲裁解决，也不能在没有融资方同意的情况下将合同内容透露给任何第三方。肯尼亚政府现在的做法可能会使两国关系紧张。 |
| Although it wasn’t immediately clear whether the Kenyan authorities had consulted Beijing before releasing the documents, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement after the move. |
| 虽然尚不清楚肯尼亚当局在公布这些文件之前是否与中国政府进行了磋商，但中国外交部在肯尼亚政府公布了文件后发表了一份声明。 |
| “Chinese financial institutions provide financing support for China-Kenya cooperation in accordance with internationally accepted commercial and market principles, which alleviated Kenya’s lack of funds and enhanced Kenya’s capacity for independent development,” a spokesperson for the Chinese ministry said. |
| “中国金融机构按照国际通行的商业和市场原则，为中肯合作提供融资支持，缓解了肯方资金短缺的问题，增强了肯方自主发展的能力，”中国外交部发言人说。 |
| The documents also showed that the loan’s terms were costlier than expected, said Tony Watima, a Nairobi-based economist. The loan’s interest rate was higher than what is typically found in a deal between two governments, he said. |
| 这些文件还显示，贷款的信贷条件比人们预计的昂贵得多，住在内罗毕的经济学家托尼·瓦蒂马说。贷款的利率高于两国政府间交易的通常水平，他说。 |
| The agreement also stipulated that if Kenya defaulted on any other external loan, the default clause on the railway clone would automatically kick in, forcing Kenya to repay the loan and all accrued interest immediately and giving China the right to cease further disbursements. |
| 协议还规定，如果肯尼亚拖欠任何其他外部贷款的话，铁路贷款的违约条款将自动生效，迫使肯尼亚立即偿还铁路贷款和全部利息，并赋予中国停止进一步拨款的权利。 |
| “Despite it being negotiated as a government-to-government project where one expects a symbiotic relationship, all the risks were taken by the Kenyan taxpayer,” Mr. Watima said. “Whether the project pays for itself or defaults, the financiers are guaranteed their return.” |
| “尽管这是作为政府对政府的项目进行谈判的，人们期待的是一种共生关系，但所有的风险都由肯尼亚纳税人来承担，”瓦蒂马说。“不管项目是益损相当还是出现违约，出资方都得到了回报的保证。” |
| The deal was signed by the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta; Mr. Ruto was vice president at the time and part of the administration that launched and vigorously defended the project. But troubles with the railway mounted, and China balked at financing the last section, which would have been a link to neighboring Uganda. |
| 这个项目是前总统乌胡鲁·肯雅塔的政府签署的，时任副总统的鲁托，也是启动该项目并为其大力辩护的政府一员。但这条铁路的问题越来越多，中国拒绝为最后一段铁路提供资金，按原定方案，这条铁路本连到邻国乌干达。 |
| To make the railway profitable, the Kenyan authorities issued a directive that all incoming cargo at the Mombasa port be transported by train — a move that led to huge protests, multiple court cases and growing unemployment. In the lead-up to the August elections, Mr. Ruto vowed to revisit the project. When he was inaugurated in September, he reversed the directive in a bid to restore thousands of jobs, particularly in Mombasa. |
| 为了让这条铁路转亏为盈，肯尼亚当局颁布了一项命令，要求从蒙巴萨港入境的货物都通过火车运往内陆，这已引发了大规模抗议、多起法庭诉讼以及不断增长的失业率。鲁托曾在今年8月的大选前期郑重宣布，将重新考虑这个项目。他在9月份上任后撤销了上述命令，以恢复几千个工作岗位，尤其是在蒙巴萨。 |
| On Sunday, Kipchumba Murkomen, the cabinet secretary for transport, announced on Twitter that he was releasing the agreement as part of the new administration’s campaign promises. |
| 周日，负责交通运输的内阁部长基普春巴·穆尔科门在Twitter上宣布，作为新政府竞选承诺的一部分，他将公布铁路协议。 |
| But observers said on Monday that Mr. Ruto’s government should publish the full contract in order to allow activists and the public to scrutinize the agreement. That would reveal what the authorities offered as a guarantee to get the loan, and may reveal whether the deal was padded by Kenyan officials and Chinese contractors, said Mr. van Staden, of The China Global South Project. |
| 但观察人士周一表示，为了让活动人士和公众对协议进行仔细审查，鲁托政府应该将合同全文公布出来。这会让人看到当局为获得贷款提供了什么担保，并可能揭示肯尼亚官员和中国承包商是否在这笔交易上做了手脚，中南项目的范斯塔登说。 |
| If they did release the full details “it would probably add pressure to renegotiate the loan,” he added. “For incoming governments facing loans taken on by their predecessors, this could be an interesting precedent.” |
| 如果他们真正公布了全部细节的话，“这可能会增加重新对贷款进行谈判的压力，”他补充说。“对于面临前任政府谈下的贷款问题的新上任政府来说，这可能是个有意思的先例。” |
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