China has increased its economic sway in Pakistan during the past year, providing more than $1bn in loans to help its neighbour stave off a currency crisis.
中国在过去一年加大对巴基斯坦的经济影响力，提供逾10亿美元贷款以帮助这个邻国避免一场货币危机。
State-backed Chinese banks have twice come to the rescue of the nuclear-armed state, officials have told the Financial Times, with $900m in 2016 and $300m in the first three months of this year.官员们告诉英国《金融时报》，国家支持的中资银行两度救助拥有核武的巴基斯坦，2016年提供了9亿美元，今年头三个月提供了3亿美元。The loans demonstrate the perilous fragility of Pakistan’s stocks of foreign currency, depleted in recent months by rising imports and falls in exports and remittances from Pakistanis abroad.这些贷款显示出巴基斯坦外汇储备的脆弱性，近几个月由于进口上升、出口下降以及海外巴基斯坦人减少汇款回家而趋于枯竭。China’s financial help also underlines an increasingly close relationship at a time of strains between Pakistan and the US.在巴基斯坦与美国关系紧张之际，中国的财务援助也突显了中巴两国日益密切的关系。Beijing is preparing to invest at least $52bn in Pakistan to build a highway, energy pipelines, power-generation facilities and industrial parks from the western port of Gwadar on the Gulf to the Chinese border to the north.北京方面正准备在巴基斯坦投资至少520亿美元，沿着从该国西部濒临波斯湾的瓜德尔港到北部巴中边境的路线，建造一条高速公路，以及若干能源管道、发电设施和工业园区。But despite its expected benefits, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project is set to further deplete the foreign currency stocks, needed to pay contractors and suppliers.但是，尽管有预期的好处，但中巴经济走廊(China-Pakistan Economic Corridor)基建项目势必进一步消耗巴基斯坦的外汇储备，因为该国将需要向承包商和供应商付款。Figures from the State Bank of Pakistan show the country had $17.1bn of net reserves at the end of February, down from $18.9bn at the end of October and a peak of $25bn several years ago.巴基斯坦国家银行(State Bank of Pakistan)的数据显示，2月底该国净外汇储备为171亿美元，低于去年10月底的189亿美元，以及几年前达到的250亿美元的峰值。This has forced the country to seek emergency loans from outside sources to repay older loans made in foreign currencies.这迫使该国从外部来源寻求紧急贷款，以偿还以外币计价的较早贷款。Of the $1.2bn from the Chinese institutions, $600m came from the government-run China Development Bank and $600m from the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the only mainland bank with a branch in Pakistan. Policy banks such as CDB often act on behalf of the central bank.在中资机构提供的12亿美元中，有6亿美元来自中国国家开发银行(CDB)，还有6亿美元来自国有控股的中国工商银行(ICBC)，后者是在巴基斯坦设有分行的唯一中资银行。国开行等政策性银行往往代表中国央行行事。One Pakistani official said: “China keeps a very close eye on our economic trends and they’re happy to come to our help wherever needed.”一位巴基斯坦官员说：“中国非常关注我们的经济发展趋势，他们乐意在需要的时候帮助我们。”But experts warn that Pakistan is likely to have to return to institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, to which it sought recourse in 2013, for further support.但是专家们警告说，巴基斯坦很可能不得不再度向国际货币基金组织(IMF)这样的机构寻求进一步的支持；该国曾在2013年向IMF求助。Vaqar Ahmed, deputy executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad, said: “Technically speaking we should have gone back to the IMF in January, but ministers are likely to try and wait until after the election [for parliament planned for 2018].”
伊斯兰堡可持续发展政策研究所(SDPI)副执行主任瓦加尔?艾哈迈德(Vaqar Ahmed)表示：“从技术上说，我们应该在1月份就再度向IMF求助，但是部长级官员们很可能会试图拖到（计划于2018年举行的议会）选举之后。”One member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz told the Financial Times ministers were loath to turn to the IMF until after the election in an effort to limit the political fallout.执政的巴基斯坦穆斯林联盟（谢里夫派）的一名成员告诉英国《金融时报》，为了限制政治冲击波，部长级官员们极其不愿意在选举之前向IMF求助。“The IMF is a politically volatile issue in our country. If we go to the IMF to deal with our needs, that will send a very negative political signal and the opposition [parties] will use that against the government,” the person said.“IMF在我国是一个政治敏感的问题。如果我们去找IMF来解决我们的需要，那将发出一个非常消极的政治信号，反对派政党将借用这件事狠批政府，”此人表示。It was only last year that Pakistan cleared the IMF debt incurred in 2013, a repayment that led policymakers in Islamabad and abroad to express optimism about prospects for economic stability.巴基斯坦只是在去年才还清了2013年欠下的IMF债务，此举导致伊斯兰堡及海外的政策制定者对经济稳定前景表示乐观。Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, called it a “moment of opportunity” for the country.IMF总裁克里斯蒂娜?拉加德(Christine Lagarde)曾把这件事称为该国的“机遇时刻”。