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| Bill Chan had never set foot anywhere in Mexico, let alone the lonely stretch of desert in the north of the country where he abruptly decided to build a $300 million factory. But that seemed a trifling detail amid the pressure to adapt to a swiftly changing global economy. |
| 陈朋裕从未踏足过墨西哥的任何地方，更不用说该国北部的荒凉沙漠地带，但他突然决定在那里建造一座价值3亿美元的工厂。但在适应瞬息万变的全球经济的压力下，这似乎是一个微不足道的细节。 |
| It was January 2022, and Mr. Chan’s company, Man Wah Furniture Manufacturing, was confronting grave challenges in moving sofas from its factories in China to customers in the United States. Shipping prices were skyrocketing. Washington and Beijing were locked in a fierce trade war. |
| 那是2022年1月，在将沙发从中国工厂运往美国客户的过程中，陈朋裕的公司敏华家具制造公司遭遇了严峻挑战。海运价格飞涨。华盛顿和北京陷入了激烈的贸易战。 |
| Man Wah, one of China’s largest furniture companies, was eager to make its products on the North American side of the Pacific. |
| 敏华是中国最大的家具企业之一，它非常想在太平洋的北美一侧生产产品。 |
| “Our main market is the United States,” said Mr. Chan, chief executive of Man Wah’s Mexico subsidiary. “We don’t want to lose that market.” |
| “我们的主要市场是美国，”敏华墨西哥子公司的首席执行官陈朋裕说。“我们不想失去那个市场。” |
| That same objective explains why scores of major Chinese companies are investing aggressively in Mexico, taking advantage of an expansive North American trade deal. Tracing a path forged by Japanese and South Korean companies, Chinese firms are establishing factories that allow them to label their goods “Made in Mexico,” then trucking their products into the United States duty-free. |
| 这个目标也解释了为什么许多中国大公司利用广泛的北美贸易协定在墨西哥大举投资。效仿日本和韩国公司开辟的道路，中国企业正在那里建厂，这使得他们可以给商品贴上“墨西哥制造”的标签，然后将产品免税运往美国。 |
| The interest of Chinese manufacturers in Mexico is part of a broader trend known as nearshoring. International companies are moving production closer to customers to limit their vulnerability to shipping problems and geopolitical tensions. |
| 中国制造商对墨西哥的兴趣来自于被称为近岸外包的整体趋势。国际企业正在将生产转移到离客户更近的地方，以减少因运输问题和地缘政治紧张局势造成的隐患。 |
| The participation of Chinese companies in this shift attests to the deepening assumption that the breach dividing the United States and China will be an enduring feature of the next phase of globalization. Yet it also reveals something more fundamental: Whatever the political strains, the commercial forces linking the United States and China are even more powerful. |
| 中国企业参与这一转变证明了人们越来越深信不疑的假设，即美国和中国之间的分歧将全球化下一阶段的持久特征。然而，它也揭示了一些更根本的东西：无论政治压力有多大，连接美中之间的商业力量甚至更加强大。 |
| Chinese companies have no intention of forsaking the American economy, still the largest on earth. Instead, they are setting up operations inside the North American trading bloc as a way to supply Americans with goods, from electronics to clothing to furniture. |
| 中国企业无意放弃美国市场，它仍然是世界第一大经济体。相反，这些中国企业在北美贸易集团内部建立业务，以这种方式向美国人提供从电子产品到服装再到家具等商品。 |
| The Mexican border state of Nuevo León has positioned itself to reap the bounty. Led by a brash, 35-year-old governor, Samuel García, the state has courted foreign investment while pursuing highway improvements to ease the passage to border crossings. |
| 美墨边境的新莱昂州已做好准备，收获这笔财富。在风风火火的35岁州长塞缪尔·加西亚的领导下，该州一直在吸引外国投资，同时致力于改善高速公路，以改善通往边境口岸的通道。 |
| Mr. García recently attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to recruit more companies. |
| 为了招商，加西亚最近参加了在瑞士达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛。 |
| “Nuevo León is having a geopolitical planetary alignment,” the governor declared during an interview in the state capital of Monterrey, inside the government palace, a warren of grand rooms with high ceilings and balconies looking out to the jagged peaks of the Sierra Madre. “We’re receiving lots of Asians that want to come to the U.S. market.” |
| “新莱昂州正在经历地缘政治的重新排列组合，”州长在该州首府蒙特雷的政府大厦接受采访时说。大厦里的办公室很华丽，有着高高的天花板，还带有阳台，外面是马德雷山脉起伏的山峰。“很多想要进入美国市场的亚洲人来到我们这里。” |
| Since Mr. García took office in October 2021, nearly $7 billion in foreign investment has poured into Nuevo León, making the state the largest recipient after Mexico City, according to the Mexican Ministry of Economy. |
| 据墨西哥经济部的数据，自加西亚于2021年10月上任后，已有近70亿美元的外国投资涌入新莱昂州，使其吸收外资的规模仅次于墨西哥城。 |
| In 2021, Chinese companies were responsible for 30 percent of foreign investment in Nuevo León, second only to the United States at 47 percent. |
| 2021年，中国企业占新莱昂州外国投资的30%，仅次于美国的47%。 |
| Some of this money is financing factories that will make finished products for sale in the United States. But much is focused on a broader refashioning of the global supply chain. |
| 其中一些资金流向在美国市场销售成品的工厂。但更多资金还是集中在对全球供应链进行更广泛的改造方面。 |
| As the pandemic disrupted Chinese industry and jammed ports, companies with factories in the United States suffered shortages of parts made in Asia. Many are now demanding that their suppliers set up plants in North America or risk losing their business. |
| 随着疫情扰乱中国工业，堵塞港口，在美国设有工厂的企业出现了亚洲制造的零部件短缺的情况。许多公司现在要求供应商在北美建厂，否则将面临失去业务的风险。 |
| Lizhong, a Chinese manufacturer of automobile wheels, is erecting the company’s first factory outside Asia at an industrial park in Nuevo León. Lizhong’s largest customers, including Ford Motor and General Motors, pressed the company to open a factory in North America, said its general manager for Mexico, Wang Bing. |
| 中国的车轮制造商立中正在新莱昂的一个工业园建立该公司在亚洲以外的第一家工厂。其墨西哥厂的总经理王兵说，立中的大客户包括福特、通用，它们曾经向该公司施加压力，要求它在北美设厂。 |
| A South Korean company, DY Power, which makes components for construction equipment, is considering northern Mexico as the site for a factory near a major customer in Texas. |
| 韩国的建筑设备零部件生产商DY Power公司正考虑在墨西哥北部建厂，它在得克萨斯州有一个大客户。 |
| “After going through the pandemic and the supply chain crisis, the China Covid shutdown, many North American manufacturers would like to eliminate the risk,” said Sean Seo, a Seattle-based executive for DY Power. |
| DY Power驻西雅图的高管肖恩·徐（音）表示：“在经历了疫情、供应链危机和中国的新冠封锁之后，许多北美制造商希望消除这一风险。” |
| “Globalization has ended,” he declared. “It’s local-ization now.” |
| “全球化已经结束了，”他宣称。“现在是本地化。” |
| César Santos has placed a substantial bet on such pronouncements proving true. |
| 塞萨尔·桑托斯决定豪赌一把，赌的就是这些说法是对的。 |
| A corporate lawyer, Mr. Santos, 65, runs a sideline enterprise as a developer in Monterrey, an industrial boomtown full of upscale restaurants, glittering shopping malls and spas. |
| 65岁的桑托斯是一名企业律师，在蒙特雷还经营着一家开发公司，那是他的副业。蒙特雷是一座新兴工业城市，到处都是高档餐厅、光彩夺目的购物中心和水疗馆。 |
| A decade ago, he was approached by a developer in Los Angeles who was representing a Chinese electronics company that was contemplating a factory in Mexico. Mr. Santos controlled an asset of considerable interest — a 2,100-acre parcel of land. |
| 十年前，洛杉矶的一位开发商找到了他，那人代表一家正考虑在墨西哥建厂的中国电子公司。桑托斯手中有一项非常重要的资产——一块面积达850公顷的土地。 |
| Dotted by cactus, the property sat less than 150 miles from the Texas border. While surrounding states grappled with violence linked to drug trafficking, Nuevo León carried a reputation for security. The state boasted a highly skilled work force, given the presence of universities that churned out engineering graduates, among them Tec de Monterrey, often referred to as “Mexico’s M.I.T.” |
| 这块点缀着仙人掌的土地，距离得州不足250公里。周边各州都在努力应对与贩毒有关的暴力事件时，新莱昂州却以安全著称。该州拥有高技能的劳动力，因为这里有许多培养工程专业毕业生的大学，其中包括经常被称为“墨西哥麻省理工”的蒙特雷理工学院。 |
| The land was his family’s cattle ranch when Mr. Santos was a child, the scene of horseback riding adventures. Now, he saw a lucrative opportunity to turn it into an industrial park. |
| 在桑托斯小时候，这块地是他家的养牛场，是他骑马探险的地方。现在，他看到了一个有利可图的机会，把它变成一个工业园区。 |
| He took a trip to China, riding a high-speed train from Shanghai to the lakefront city of Hangzhou to meet the Holley Group, which had constructed an industrial park for Chinese companies in Thailand. |
| 他去了一趟中国，从上海乘高铁前往湖滨城市杭州，与华立集团代表见面，该集团在泰国为中国企业建设了一个工业园区。 |
| “China was a country that had developed everything so fast,” Mr. Santos said. “I was really amazed.” |
| “中国是一个一切都发展得如此迅猛的国家，”桑托斯说。“真让我叹服不已。” |
| By 2015, he had joined with Holley and another Chinese partner to forge a joint venture, Hofusan Real Estate. They plan a grid of warehouses and factories fronted by a hotel and temporary apartments for visiting managers, plus more than 12,000 homes for workers. |
| 到2015年，他与华立集团和另一位中国合作方成立了合资企业华富山地产。他们规划了一片仓库和工厂区，厂房前是一家酒店和供来访经理人住宿的临时公寓，另外还有超过1.2万套工人住所。 |
| The Holley Group dispatched Jiang Xin to oversee the venture. He had previously worked at the company’s project in Thailand. Mexico presented a different proposition. |
| 华立集团派遣蒋欣（音）管理该企业。他此前曾参与该公司在泰国的项目。对他来说，在墨西哥面临的任务是截然不同的。 |
| “Chinese companies had no idea about Mexico, and the only things we knew were bad things, dangerous things,” Mr. Jiang said. “Then Trump came.” |
| “中国企业对墨西哥一无所知，我们只知道恶劣和危险的事情，”蒋欣说。“然后特朗普上台了。” |
| When he became president in 2017, Donald J. Trump demanded that American companies abandon China. By 2018, he was slapping steep tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese imports. |
| 2017年上任总统后，特朗普要求美国企业放弃中国市场。到2018年，他对价值数千亿美元的中国进口商品征收高额关税。 |
| “The tariff thing did help us,” Mr. Jiang said. “Chinese companies wanted more options. And we are one of their options.” |
| “关税确实对我们有帮助，”蒋欣说。“中国企业希望得到更多选择。我们正是其中之一。” |
| By the time Mr. Chan began contemplating Mexico in the fall of 2021, 27 other Chinese companies had already locked up land inside the Hofusan park. Only one large parcel remained. |
| 到2021年秋，陈朋裕开始考虑在墨西哥建厂时，另外27家中国企业已经进驻华富山工业园。园区空置的大块土地仅剩一处。 |
| Man Wah had already responded to the tariffs by building a factory in Vietnam, and using it to make products for the American market. But the soaring price of shipping beggared that strategy. |
| 作为应对关税政策的手段，敏华已经在越南建厂，为美国市场生产产品。但航运成本飙升让这一策略难以为继。 |
| Man Wah was moving 3,500 40-foot shipping containers a month across the Pacific from Vietnam. Voyages that previously cost $2,000 were suddenly 10 times as much. |
| 敏华当时每月要从越南横跨太平洋运送3500个40英尺集装箱。以前耗费2000美元的运输费用一下翻了10倍。 |
| Mr. Chan used the Chinese social media platform WeChat to connect with Mr. Jiang. His questions were blunt. How soon could Man Wah begin construction? (Immediately.) How were the highways? (Not great, but improving.) Were there any authentic Chinese restaurants in the vicinity? (No.) |
| 陈朋裕使用微信联系了蒋欣。他的问题直截了当：敏华多久可以动工？（马上可以。）高速路条件如何？（不算好，但正在改善。）附近有没有正宗的中餐馆？（没有。） |
| Within weeks, Man Wah had committed to purchase the land. In January 2022, Mr. Chan signed the contract before boarding a flight to Mexico, leaving his wife and two children behind in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. |
| 几周之内，敏华就承诺购买这块土地。2022年1月，陈朋裕在登上飞往墨西哥的航班前签了合同，将妻子和两个孩子留在了中国深圳。 |
| While the factory is being constructed, Man Wah has already begun producing sofas at a small, leased plant nearby. |
| 在工厂建设期间，敏华就已经租下附近的一家小型工厂生产沙发。 |
| Even before he located the temporary site, Mr. Chan loaded 70 containers full of machinery and raw materials in China, putting them on a ship bound for Mexico. |
| 甚至在他找到临时厂址之前，陈朋裕就已经在中国把设备和原材料装满70个集装箱，运上了开往墨西哥的货船。 |
| “We always do things quickly,” he said. “Don’t worry about anything, just do it.” |
| “我们做事总是很快，”他说。“什么都不用担心，去做就行了。” |
| Man Wah does worry about a few things: hiring enough workers and cultivating local suppliers. |
| 敏华确实需要担心几件事：雇用足够的工人和培养当地供应商。 |
| The company has plans to manufacture nearly 900,000 pieces of furniture per year in Mexico. That will require hiring and retaining 6,000 workers. |
| 这家公司计划每年在墨西哥生产近90万件家具。这将需要雇用和留住6000名工人。 |
| Man Wah is accustomed to operating in China and Vietnam, where independent labor unions are essentially barred, and where rural people stream into industrial areas in pursuit of jobs. |
| 敏华习惯了中国和越南的经营环境，在那里，独立工会基本不存在，还有涌入工业区寻找工作的大量农村人口。 |
| In Nuevo León, the unemployment rate is 3.6 percent. The surge of investment has set off a fierce competition for workers. |
| 而在失业率3.6%的新莱昂州，投资的激增引发了激烈的抢夺工人大战。 |
| Savvy companies have wooed their employees with extras like quality meals and transportation to work. But Man Wah and other Chinese companies answer to bosses in China, who are conditioned toward thrift while thinking of workers as easily replaceable. |
| 精明的企业会用优质膳食和免费通勤等额外福利来吸引员工。但敏华和其他中国企业要对在中国的老板负责，而那里的老板习惯了节俭作风，也认为工人很容易被取代。 |
| Finding local suppliers is also a challenge. Under the terms of the North American trade agreement, manufacturers must employ minimum percentages of parts and raw materials from within the region to qualify for duty-free access to the other countries in the bloc. |
| 寻找当地供应商也是一个难题。根据北美贸易协定，要想获得进入北美其他国家市场的免税资格，制造商使用区域零部件和原材料的比例必须达到最低要求。 |
| Three years ago, Lenovo, the Chinese computer maker, opened a factory in Monterrey dedicated to making servers, the boxes that hold data for cloud computing. |
| 三年前，中国计算机制造商联想在蒙特雷开设了一家工厂，专门生产服务器，即存储云计算数据的机箱。 |
| Until last year, Lenovo flew in one crucial component — so-called motherboards — from a factory in China. But as international shipping troubles intensified, the company switched to a supplier in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. |
| 直到去年，联想才从中国的工厂空运来主板这一关键部件。但随着国际航运问题加剧，该公司选择了墨西哥瓜达拉哈拉市的一家供应商。 |
| Lenovo also stopped importing packaging materials from China, instead buying them in Mexico. |
| 联想也不再从中国进口包装材料，转而在墨西哥进行采购。 |
| But Lenovo continues to import many key components from China, from memory devices to specialized cables. |
| 但从存储设备到专用电缆，联想仍继续从中国进口许多关键零部件。 |
| “There’s no supply chain for these things in Mexico,” said Leandro Sardela, the company’s Western operations director. |
| “墨西哥没有这些部件的供应链，”该公司西方区运营总监莱昂德罗·萨德拉表示。 |
| At least, not yet. |
| 至少现在还没有。 |
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