为投资滴滴造势 苹果CEO高调访华
Apple chief seeks smoother ride from Beijing with visit and $1bn investment in taxi app
英国《金融时报》 查尔斯•克洛弗 北京报道
2016.05.17
US technology executives seeking to ingratiate themselves with China’s leadership are known for making big entrances, and Tim Cook set the bar high yesterday after he arrived in Beijing to fanfare over Apple’s $1bn investment in the Didi Chuxing ridehailing app.
很多人知道，寻求讨好中国领导层的美国科技业高管会高规格地访问中国。蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)昨日在这方面进一步抬高了标杆，他到达北京，大张旗鼓地为苹果10亿美元投资打车软件滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)造势。
He took a Didi car to his first destination, an Apple store in Beijing’s Wangfujing shopping district, accompanied by Jean Liu, the Chinese company’s president.
在滴滴总裁柳青(Jean Liu)的陪同下，他乘坐一辆滴滴汽车前往第一个目的地，位于北京王府井购物区的一家苹果商店。
“We are very proud of that investment,” Mr Cook told journalists as he posed with a host of local internet entrepreneurs.
“我们很自豪做出了这笔投资，”库克一边与许多中国互联网企业家合影，一边告诉记者。
“Didi has 14m drivers, 300m users — actually 300m and one now, because Jean and I took a Didi ride here this morning,” he said.
“滴滴拥有1400万司机和3亿用户——现在实际上有3亿加1个用户，因为柳青和我今早是乘坐滴滴车辆来到这里的，”他说。
Beijing is a favoured destination for US tech chiefs whose companies are in dispute with China’s leadership. And high-profile shows of goodwill tend to be made in as public a way as possible.
对于那些与中国领导层存在纠纷的美国科技公司，北京是它们的掌舵人喜欢访问之处。他们往往会尽可能公开地高调示好。
In March Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook — which remains blocked to China’s 700m internet users — was derided online as a “Zuck-up” when he jogged through Tiananmen Square in a haze of choking pollution.
今年3月，Facebook的创始人马克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)——中国的7亿互联网用户仍无法访问Facebook网站——在雾霾污染中跑步经过天安门广场，由此在网上被嘲笑为“Zuck-up”。
He also had a meeting with Liu Yunshan, the country’s propaganda chief.
他还会晤了中国最高宣传官员刘云山。
After Microsoft’s offices were raided by Chinese government investigators as part of a tax probe, a visit by Satya Nadella followed, after little more than the standard visa waiting period, in September 2014.
2014年9月，作为税务调查的一部分，微软(Microsoft)办公室遭到中国调查人员的突击检查。在标准的签证等待期过后，微软首席执行官萨蒂亚•纳德拉(Satya Nadella)便访问了北京。
Senior executives of Qualcomm have made Beijing a regular destination since the US semiconductor company was targeted in a 2014 antitrust investigation that resulted in a $1bn fine the following year.
自从高通(Qualcomm)在2014年的反垄断调查中成为目标以来，这家美国半导体公司的高管频频访问北京。次年高通被罚款10亿美元。
In Mr Cook’s case, the question is how much of Apple’s investment in Didi is motivated by business sense, and how much of it is an effort to smooth things over with the leadership in China, where the iPhone maker has faced a series of setbacks this year. In April the group’s iTunes video services became unavailable in China and in May Apple lost an intellectual property court case against a little-known leather accessories manufacturer that uses “IPHONE” as a trademark on its purses and wallets.
就库克而言，问题在于苹果投资滴滴在多大程度上是出于商业考量，在多大程度上是一种旨在缓和与中国领导层关系的努力。今年，iPhone已遭到了一系列挫折。4月，苹果的iTunes视频服务在中国无法使用，5月，苹果在一起知识产权纠纷案中输给了一家不知名的皮具配饰制造商，该公司把“IPHONE”商标用在皮夹和钱包类商品上。
In contrast Facebook won a trademark case days later against a Chinese company using the brand name “face book”, in a sign that official attitudes could be softening towards the world’s largest social network.
与此形成对照的是，Facebook在几天后的商标案中告赢了一家使用“face book”品牌的中国企业，表明中国官方对这家世界最大社交网络公司的态度可能在软化。
Apple is also grappling with declining iPhone sales, which fell by a sharp 26 per cent in China last quarter, compared with a 16 per cent overall fall.
苹果也在努力应对iPhone销量下降的局面。上一季度，苹果在华销量大减26%，总体销量则减少16%。
Jia Jinghua, who covers the domestic technology industry for the Sina Tech news agency, said: “Cook is clearly keen to curry favour with Chinese authorities and with Chinese markets.
为新浪科技(Sina Tech)报道中国国内科技行业的贾敬华说：“库克非常急切地讨好中国当局和中国市场。”
“He will take advantage of the latest investments into Didi to pay visits to key ministries.”
“他将利用最近投资滴滴的机会，拜访中国的关键部委。”
Apple declined to comment on Mr Cook’s China itinerary.
苹果拒绝就库克的中国之行置评。
The visit is his eighth to China since taking over as Apple chief, and is unlikely to be his last.
这是库克接任苹果首席执行官以来第8次访问中国，也不太可能是他最后一次来中国。
As one user of Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, commented: “Cook, how many Didi rides does it take to make back $1bn?”
正如中国版Twitter新浪微博的一名用户所评论：“库克，滴滴汽车载客多少次才能赚回10亿美元？”
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