What in the world does China own?

中国到底有什么呢？

 

With an estimated $4 trillion (£2.7tn) of foreign reserves stashed away in various sovereign wealth funds, China has plenty of cash to splash.

据估计，中国约有4万亿外汇储备藏在各种国家财富基金里，中国有大把现金可以挥霍。

 

Despite the recent slowdown in the country's GDP, most developed economies would dream of an annual growth rate of 7%.

尽管中国近来国内生产总值增幅减缓，但大部分发达国家都梦想着每年7%的增长率。

 

No wonder then that annual Chinese investment overseas has grown eightfold over the past 10 years to reach more than $140bn in 2013.

难怪中国2013年的年度海外投资额超过了1400亿，在过去的十年间增长了八倍之多。

Somewhat surprisingly, there was a modest slowdown in 2014, with investment in the first half lower than a year earlier, largely due to a fall in spending on energy projects.

有点令人惊讶的是，中国2014年投资额缓慢减小，上半年的投资额比上一年少，这主要是由于能源项目上的花费减小了。

But this dip is likely to be short lived, for the simple reason that population growth and, more importantly, the exploding middle classes mean China's voracious appetite for resources will continue to grow.

但这一投资额减少的现象也就是昙花一现。原因很简单，人口在增长，更重要的是，人数众多的中产阶级对资源的巨大需求会持续增长。

The US has been the largest recipient of Chinese money over the past decade, largely due to a burst of investment since 2012 – this time last year, Australia was the number one destination over the previous 10 years.

迄今为止（在2005年到2014年）的十年间，美国是中国投资最大的接收方，主要因为2012年起的投资激增。而去年同期的数据则表明，澳大利亚是2004年到2013年的十年里中国投资排名第一的去向之所。

In the first half of last year, however, investment in the UK matched that in the US, as it cemented its place as China's favourite European country to invest in – at $24bn it received more than double France's $11bn.

然而，去年上半年，中国在英国的投资额和在美国的相当，英国稳固了其地位，成为“中国最爱投资的欧洲国家”。

China has made investments and signed contracts all over the world, but Africa in particular has piqued its interest.

中国在世界各地投资、签订合同，而中国对非洲又尤为有兴趣。

China, the world's second largest economy, has done business in 34 African countries.

中国作为世界第二大经济强国，已和34个非洲国家做过生意。

 

The reason is simply Africa's wealth of natural resources.

原因就在于非洲丰富的自然资源丰富。

At the other end of the scale, political tensions help explain why China has invested almost as much in Mongolia ($1.4bn) as it has in Japan ($1.6bn), the country it recently overtook in the league of the world's most powerful economies.

另一方面，紧张的政治关系也能解释说明为何中国在蒙古（14亿美元）和日本（16亿美元）的投资几乎相当。中国最近刚刚赶超日本成为世界最强劲经济体之一。

 

 

Resources are what China needs, particularly to meet demand for energy that is predicted to triple by 2050.

中国需要的是资源，尤其要满足其对能源的需求，预计在2050年能源需求要番三倍。

That is why investment in energy has dwarfed that in other sectors since 2005.

这也就是为什么自2005年起，中国在能源方面的投资比其他领域投资的都来得多。

Investment in energy actually dipped slightly last year, with that in other areas such as transportation, property and technology taking up much of the slack.

事实上，去年能源投资稍微减少了一些，而交通、财产和技术等其他领域的闲置资源得以充分利用。

Metals are another key area of investment, as these are needed in construction and industry to help fuel China's rapidly expanding economy.

金属制造业也是一大关键的投资领域，建筑和工业都需要投资来帮助中国飞速扩张经济。

 

 

Outside of energy and resources, finance has also attracted some serious money, with Morgan Stanley and Standard Bank the biggest recipients of Chinese cash.

除了能源和资源，金融业也很吸引投资，摩根斯坦利和南非标准银行是中国投资最大的去向。