2005年NPR美国国家公共电台八月-Chinese Firm Out of Running for Unocal

The Chinese offshore¹ oil corporation known as CNOOC has abandoned its bid for UNOCAL. This would have been the largest-ever purchase of an American company by a Chinese firm. CNOOC had put forth² a bid that was higher than the competing bid from US oil company CHEVRON³. But many, including quite a few in Congress, attacked CNOOC’s bid as a threat to the US. And today CNOOC cited the political uproar⁴ in the US as the main reason for its decision. NPR’s Adam Davidson reports on how today’s events may affect US-China relations.

From a business point of view, the fight over UNOCAL was simple. UNOCAL’s board was looking for a buyer, CNOOC and CHEVRON, each wanted the company. And CNOOC's offer of roughly 18.4 billion was more than a billion dollars greater than CHEVRON’s. The Chinese company had two Wall Street firms backing its bid and there was a lot of talk about the sophistication of its proposal. But in the end, it didn’t matter who was backing CNOOC. The idea of a Chinese government controlled company buying even a mid-sized US oil company was just too controversial. The Cato Institute’s Jerry Taylor.

It began to represent US fears and concerns about China. The tenor⁵ of the comments on the Hill were completely unrelated to this particular transaction.

Taylor, who is a free trade advocate, sees the drama around the CNOOC bid as a lesson about the dangers of anti-trade protectionism. Indeed, like Taylor, many in Congress analyze⁶ the CNOOC deal through the lens of whatever issue they see as most important. CNOOC 's majority shareholder⁷ is the Chinese government. And some in Congress said they would not allow the CNOOC bid to go through because of China’s human rights record. Other said they would spike⁸ the deal because China manipulates its currency and hurts US manufacturers. Others said China would never let a US company buy an oil firm in China, so China can’t buy one here. Kevin Karn is president of the US Business and Industry Council.

The problem right now in Washington is that there is no China policy. It’s very fragmented. I guess, you should call it a skip of phrenic China policy.

Karn said some in the US see China solely⁹ as an economic opportunity. Others see it as solely a potential military threat, the next great anti-America super power. For him, China is a threat, an economic threat to the small domestic manufacturers he represents. He was glad that CNOOC dropped its bid. Many Chinese companies, like CNOOC he says, get cheap loans from the Chinese government. That lets them unfairly compete against US manufacturers, costs US jobs, and will ultimately weaken the US. Karn may not care particularly about the oil industry, but he supports any efforts to stop China from encroaching on the US economy. The CNOOC bid may have been doomed¹⁰ from the start, because it came at a time of tremendous anxiety about oil supplies, and about China's intentions. It came just as many powerful people in the US are asking fundamental questions about the US-China relationship. So however good a deal it was for UNOCAL shareholders¹¹, the deal was doomed politically.

I'm sure that there are people within the Bush Administration that are heaving a big sigh of relief.

Tard Melan of the Organization for International Investments says a CNOOC-UNOCAL merger¹² would have forced the Bush Administration to take sides in the debate over the future of the US and China. UNOCAL shareholders are expected to approve CHEVRON’s bid on August 10th. One day later UNOCAL and CHVERON will be one company. Adam Davidson, NPR news.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

4 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

5 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

6 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

7 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

8 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

11 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

12 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。