3月份中国经济显示趋稳迹象

 China’s economy is stabilising after the slowdown of recent months, data suggest, easing worries about a hard landing but raising questions about the government’s commitment to rebalancing.

数据显示，在经历了最近几个月的放缓之后，中国经济正在趋稳。这种局面减轻了人们对“硬着陆”的担忧，但也让人们怀疑政府是否会致力于经济再平衡。

A slump¹ in manufacturing and property, China’s traditional growth drivers, has slammed global commodity prices and shrunk profits at Chinese groups tied to the old growth model. Planned lay-offs in steel, coal and other overcapacity sectors³ have led to labour unrest and concern over unemployment.

作为中国传统的增长引擎，制造业和房地产业的大幅下滑急剧拉低了全球大宗商品的价格，并导致依赖旧增长模式的中国企业的利润大幅缩水。钢铁、煤炭等产能过剩行业计划中的裁员，已引发了劳工抗议和对失业的担忧。

However, recent data suggest the tide is turning, at least temporarily. The Caixin purchasing managers’ indices for both manufacturing and services rose sharply in March. The manufacturing PMI hit 49.7 in March, its highest level in more than a year and a much better reading than expected. Caixin’s services PMI rose to 52.2 in March from 51.2 in February. The 50-point level separates contraction⁴ from expansion.

不过，最近的数据显示这一趋势正在逆转，至少暂时是如此。3月份，财新(Caixin)制造业和服务业采购经理指数(PMI)均呈现显著上升：制造业PMI为49.7，达到一年多来的最高水平，而且也远强于预期；服务业PMI则从2月份的51.2升至52.2。PMI读数以50为荣枯线。

The latest figures suggest recent stimulus⁵ efforts — notably⁶ in the property sector² — have succeeded in arresting the slowdown.

这些最新数字表明，近期的刺激努力——尤其是在房地产行业——已成功遏止了放缓势头。

But stimulus for property risks worsening the economy’s reliance on fixed-asset investment, hindering a transition to consumption- and services-led growth pursued by policymakers. Caixin noted⁷ on Wednesday that property was “the main factor driving the recent rebound⁸ in investment”.

不过，对房地产业实施的刺激，可能会加剧中国经济对固定资产投资的依赖，阻碍其实现政策制定者所追求的那种向消费及服务业带动型增长模式的转型。

Property was also the main driver of strong growth in the FTCR Business Activity Index, a newly launched gauge⁹ of activity in real estate, exports and logistics from FT Confidential¹⁰ Research. That index rose to 57.9 in March from 50.6 in February, its highest reading since October 2014, even as exports and logistics remained week.

FTCR商业活动指数(FTCR Business Activity Index)的飙升也是主要由房地产业贡献的。这个由英国《金融时报》旗下的《投资参考》(FT Confidential Research)不久前推出的指数，衡量的是房地产、出口和物流行业的活动。尽管出口和物流行业依然疲软，该指数却从2月份的50.6升至3月份的57.9，达到2014年10月以来的最高水平。

“We expect the uptick in real estate sales to begin feeding through into stronger construction activity in coming months, helping¹¹ to drive a more broad-based recovery,” FT Confidential wrote.

《投资参考》写道：“我们预计，房地产销售的攀升会在今后几个月里开始推动建筑活动扩张，帮助带动更广泛的复苏。”

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

9 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

10 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。