西班牙经济寒冬中华商生意兴隆

文/托拜厄斯·巴克 译/张宵 魏家海

西班牙经济寒冬中华商生意兴隆

文/托拜厄斯·巴克 译/张宵 魏家海

From his fi rst- fl oor of fi ce in an industrial estate south of Madrid, Chen Maodong can track the steady flow of bright orange delivery trucks passing through the gates of his sprawling warehouse complex1complex类型相似的建筑群。.

[2] Laden2laden装满的。with beer, liquor, soft drinks and snacks, the trucks are on their way to restock3restock补充（货源）。the thousands of Chinese-run corner shops and convenience stores that dot4dot遍布于。the Spanish capital. Business is good. It always has been, even in the worst moments of Spain’s economic crisis. Since 2008,the country has been through a housing bust, a banking crisis and a double-dip5double-dip双底衰退，指在一个经济周期内，经济出现两次衰退。recession. But Don Pin, the wholesale company founded by Mr Chen, managed to triple6triple成为三倍。its sales over the same time period.

[3] Only 34 years old, Mr Chen has emerged as one of the most recognisable faces of the Chinese community in Spain—and as a symbol of its commercial clout7clout〈非正式〉影响力。and remarkable ability to withstand economic adversity8adversity困境；逆境。. His story finds parallels across the crisisscarred countries in southern Europe,which have seen a burst in Chinese migrant arrivals—and in Chinese economic activity—despite the brutal9brutal残暴的。recession of recent years.

[4] Over the past decade, the number of Chinese arrivals in countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal has soared.According to official data, there are now more than 180,000 Chinese nationals living in Spain, three times more than in 2003. Add in students and those who have become naturalised10naturalised入籍的。Spaniards, and the fi gure leaps to more than 200,000, the fi fth-largest minority in the country.

[5] Chinese migration to Spain continued to rise even after the start of the crisis, highlighting how well the community has been able to weather111 weather〈比喻〉度过,挨过。the economic storm. In a country where one-in-four workers is out of a job,unemployment is virtually unknown among the Chinese. Furthermore, they account for12account for（数量、比例上）占。a vastly disproportionate13disproportionate不成比例的。share of business start-ups: there are now more than 40,000 self-employed Chinese on Spain’s commercial register,twice as many as before the crisis.

[6] At the same time, there are growing signs that the Chinese are starting to work their way up14work one’s way up使自己地位逐步上升。the economic value chain. Gone are the days when Chinese economic activity in Spain was confi ned to15confined to只限于。serving uprollitos de primavera(spring rolls) or selling trinkets16trinket（价值不高的）小首饰。in dusty 100-pesetas177 peseta比塞塔（西班牙基本货币单位）。shops. Today there are Chinese-owned fashion chains,import-export businesses, media groups and law fi rms.

[7] Dressed in a smartly cut black suit, white shirt and black tie, Mr Chen looks every inch the successful businessman. A native of Qingtian, an impoverished18impoverished贫困的。rural county in the coastal Chinese province of Zhejiang, he arrived in Madrid in 1998. Like most Chinese migrants in those years, he came without money and spoke no Spanish.Just 18, he earned his first cash waiting tables in a Chinese restaurant and selling plastic toys and cheap clothes at funfairs19funfair游乐场。in villages across Spain. The only Spanish words he knew at the time were numbers (to haggle20haggle争论（尤指讨价还价）。over prices)along withhola, gracias and adiós211 hola, gracias and adiós西班牙语的“你好”“谢谢”和“再见”。.

[8] Determined to scrimp22scrimp省吃俭用，节衣缩食（尤指为了攒钱）。and save as much as possible, Mr Chen shared a single room with his brother, who had left the family home a few years earlier.Four years after he arrived, Mr Chen joined forces with his brother and uncle to set up their own business. His partners had savings but they had to ask for loans from two other family members to reach the €20,000 they needed to buy their delivery van. “We worked every day from 8am in the morning to midnight. Once, I made a whole round trip just to take a kilo of peanuts to one of our customers,” he says.

[9] The hard work paid off. As the number of Chinese-owned shops soared,so did the business of supplying them.Don Pin reported sales of €220,000 in its first year. Today it turns over more than €60m, boasts a fleet of 35 trucks and employs 110 workers.

[10] The Chinese community in Spain kept growing long after the economic collapse—and even as other migrant groups began to return to their home countries. Newcomers say that the more recent wave of Chinese migrants is different from Mr Chen’s generation. Many arrive by choice, not out of economic necessity. They come to see something of the world, improve their skills, but they are also a little less driven than the early entrepreneurs.

[11] Work visas are harder to come by and—after decades of relentless economic growth in China—the eeccoo--nomic gain of moving to Europe is not as clear-cut as previously. Some data suggest that the number of new arrivals from China is finally dropping off:migrants are still coming, but there are fewer, they are better educated, and often come for a speci fi c job or to study a particular course.

[12] Yet just as the wave of migrants has crested23crest到达山顶；达到顶点。, a new wave is building—this time bringing money and investment from China rather than workers and entrepreneurs. David Höhn, a partner at KPMG in Madrid, has watched it gather in strength since he began heading the accounting fi rm’s China desk in the Spanish capital. What the Chinese are looking for is, above all else, expertise. Mr Höhn points out that most transactions involve Chinese groups buying minority stakes in Spanish companies, with the aim of launching joint ventures either in third markets or back in China itself.

[13] Chinese companies have shown interest in sectors where Spain enjoys a strong record, such as tourism, food,infrastructure and construction. Over the past year, for example, Chinese investors have bought large stakes in NH,the Spanish hotel chain; in Campofrio, a maker of sausages, ham and other pork products; and in Osborne, the sherry group.

[14] It is an approach that mirrors the one taken by Chinese companies in Germany, where they have bought into the machinery and equipment sector, and in Italy, which has seen a string of deals in textiles and fashion. “What they want is access to speci fi c expertise and to technology,” says Mr Höhn.

[15] Mr Chen says there are countless things he likes about life in his adopted country. But he, for one, has no desire to grow old in Madrid. “When I die, I want to die in my village. I arrived here when I was 18 but I still feel my roots very strongly. But it is different for the children. My children will be Madrilians.” ■

马德里南部的一座工业建筑里，老板陈茂东（音译）在他的一楼办公室就可以监测一辆辆橘色铮亮的送货车井然有序地进出一个个仓库。

[2]这些货车满载着啤酒、烈酒、饮料和各种点心，为华人开办的街角小店和便利店补货，这些成千上万的小店星罗棋布地散布在西班牙首都马德里。陈先生的生意一直不错，即使在西班牙经济危机最严重的时刻亦如此。2008年以来，这个国家接连遭遇了房地产泡沫破裂、银行倒闭和双底衰退的打击。但陈先生创办的唐平批发公司的销售额竟在此期间增长了两倍。

[3]年轻有为的陈先生，34岁便成为西班牙华人社群中响当当的人物，象征着这一社群的商业影响力以及抵御经济危机的非凡能力。在危机深重而又千疮百孔的南欧国家中，他的故事并非独一无二。尽管这些国家近些年来遭遇了近乎残酷的经济衰退，但这并不能阻挡来自中国的移民大量涌入以及随之而来的经济活动大规模涌现。

[4]过去十年，西班牙、意大利和葡萄牙等欧洲国家的中国移民数量急剧增加。官方数据显示，现有超过18万华侨居住在西班牙，比2003年增长了3倍。若加上留学生和已入西班牙国籍的华人，人数则已超过20万，这一数量庞大的社群构成了西班牙第五大少数族裔。

[5]甚至在爆发经济危机之后，移居到西班牙的中国人数量也持续上升，这突出显示了华裔社群抵抗经济危机风暴的强大能力。在一个失业率高达四分之一的国家，华裔移民却几乎无失业之忧。而且，他们在创业者中所占的比例非常大：如今西班牙注册在案的从事个体经营的中国人就有四万多，比经济危机之前翻了一番。

[6]同时，越来越多的迹象表明，华人开始奋力攀登西班牙的经济价值链。往昔，华人在西班牙的经济活动仅限于贩卖春卷或者在老旧的百元店里出售小饰品。如今，华人有自己创办的时装连锁店、进出口企业、传媒集团和律师事务所。

[7]陈先生一身帅气的黑西服，配白衬衫和黑领带，一副十足的成功商人模样。他的故乡是中国沿海浙江省贫穷的青田县。1998年，陈先生背井离乡，来到西班牙首都马德里。与那些年到马德里闯荡的大多数移民一样，他身无分文，西班牙语也一窍不通。那年他只有18岁，在中餐馆当服务员，在各种乡村游艺集市上售卖塑料玩具和廉价服装，赚得了在异国他乡的第一笔钱。那时，他所知道的西班牙语仅是一些数字（用于讨价还价）的表达，还有“你好”“谢谢”“再见”这几个简单的词语。

[8]陈先生下定决心节省开支，尽量多攒钱，于是就与几年前先于他离开老家的哥哥合租了一个单间房。来西班牙四年后，陈先生和哥哥、叔叔一起，开始合伙创业。哥哥和叔叔虽然有些存款，但他们还需要向另外两个亲戚借钱，才能凑足购买运货车的两万欧元。他说：“我们每天从上午8点一直工作到半夜。有一次我跑了一趟往返，只为给顾客送一公斤花生。”

[9]但是苦尽甘来。随着华人商店如雨后春笋般涌现，陈先生的供货生意也做得如火如荼。唐平公司开业第一年的销售额为22万欧元，而今天竟达到了6000多万欧元，公司现有运货车35辆，雇佣工人110人。

[10]经济危机发生后的很长一段时间里，即使其他移民群体纷纷开始打道回府，西班牙的华人群体仍不断壮大。新移民们说，最近的华裔移民与陈先生那一代有所不同。如今，很多人来到西班牙，不是迫于生计，而是想来扩大视野，提升技能，而他们开拓进取的精神也稍逊于早期的华人企业家。

[11]由于工作签证办理的难度越来越大，加上几十年来中国经济实力不断提升，移民欧洲的经济收益已不像从前那样明显。一些数据显示，欧洲来自中国的新移民数量终于有所下降。虽然仍有移民进来，但数量更少，文化程度更高，且通常是为了从事特定的工作或者学习特定的课程。

[12]随着旧的移民潮由盛转衰，新一波移民潮逐渐形成——这一次从中国来的不再是劳动力和创业者，而是金钱和资本。毕马威会计师事务所马德里分公司的合伙人戴维·霍恩从担任公司中国办事处主管开始，目睹了这次移民潮逐渐积聚的力量。华人优先考虑的是专业技能。霍恩先生指出，大部分都是华人集团公司购买少数股权的交易，他们的目的是或在第三方市场或返回中国成立合资企业。

[13]中国企业对于西班牙的强势产业很感兴趣，譬如旅游、食品、基础设施和建筑行业。过去的一年中，中国投资者买下了西班牙几家企业的很大一部分股权，包括连锁酒店品牌诺翰酒店集团，生产香肠、火腿和其他猪肉产品的坎波夫里奥公司，以及经营雪利酒的奥斯本集团。

[14]这种做法效仿了中国企业在德国和意大利的投资模式——在德国，中国企业入股机械和设备产业；在意大利，则达成了一系列纺织和时装交易。霍恩先生说：“他们想要的是专业技能和技术。”

[15]陈先生说，西班牙有数不清的东西令他着迷，但他并不愿在马德里终老。“我希望能在自己的家乡度过人生的最后一刻。我来到西班牙时才18岁，但直到现在，我依然觉得在中国的老家是我的根。可孩子就不一样了，我的孩子们会成为马德里人。” □

China’s Migrants Thrive in Spain’s Financial Crisis

ByTobias Buck

（译者单位：华中师范大学外国语学院）