去年10月，在马来西亚首都吉隆坡的一个投资论坛上，日本国际协力银行(JBIC)执行董事前田匡史(Tadashi Maeda)向满场观众保证日本将加倍努力获取马新高铁的建设合同。这条拟建的高铁全长350公里，将连接吉隆坡和新加坡，预估费用在97亿美元到145亿美元之间。前田匡史讲话时，可以明显看出他的不安。

　　Mr Maeda had good reason to be agitated. He was speaking last October, a month after the Indonesian government surprised many by awarding a $5.5bn, 150km Jakarta to Bandung high-speed railway contract not to Japan — which had spent five years on feasibility studies and pushing Jakarta to get the project going — but to China. It shocked the Japanese establishment , which had been certain of success.

　　他的不安是有充分理由的。就在那之前的一个月，印度尼西亚政府将投资55亿美元，全长150公里的雅加达—万隆高铁项目给了中国，而不是日本，令许多人感到惊讶。此前，日本已经花了五年时间对这个项目进行可行性研究，并推动印尼政府实施这个项目。这件事震惊了一直觉得自己胜券在握的日本当局。

　　Mr Maeda should brace himself again. FT Confidential Research, a unit of the Financial Times, believes China is the early favourite to win the Malaysian contract, too.

　　眼下前田匡史应该再次做好心理准备。英国《金融时报》旗下“投资参考”(FT Confidential Research)认为，中国在争取马新高铁合同的竞争中也初步领先。

　　Japan was the favoured development partner for Malaysia under former premier Mahathir Mohamad in the 1980s and the 1990s. But under Najib Razak, prime minister since 2009, China has moved to the fore.

　　上世纪八九十年代，马来西亚前总理马哈蒂尔?穆罕默德(Mahathir Mohamad)执政期间，日本曾是马来西亚所青睐的开发合作伙伴。但自现任总理纳吉布?拉扎克(Najib Razak)2009年上台以来，中国跑到了前头。

　　Over the past five years, China-based companies have successfully participated in high-profile infrastructure projects. The $1.1bn Second Penang Bridge — partly financed by an $800m loan from the Chinese government — was built by the state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) together with Malaysia-based UEM Group.

　　过去5年里，中国企业已成功地参与了一些备受瞩目的基础设施项目。国有的中国港湾工程(CHEC)与马来西亚UEM Group一起建造了“槟城第二大桥”(Second Penang Bridge)，这座桥投资11亿美元，部分资金来自中国政府提供的8亿美元贷款。

　　More significantly, in the rail sector about 80 per cent of Malaysian rolling stocks are Chinese made. The Malaysian rail business is so lucrative that China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) opened a $97m rolling stock manufacturing plant in the country in July 2015.

　　更值得注意的是，马来西亚铁路部门80%的列车是中国制造的。2015年7月，中国铁建(CRCC)在马来西亚投资9700万美元开设了一家铁路车辆制造厂，从中可以看出马来西亚铁路业务利润多么丰厚。

　　CRCC is part of the Chinese consortium led by freight transporter China Railway bidding for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore line. The party also includes China Railway Signals & Communication and China Communications Construction (the parent company of CHEC).

　　中国铁建是竞标马新高铁的中国联合体成员之一，联合体由中国中铁(China Railway)牵头，其他成员还包括中国铁路通信信号(China Railway Signals & Communication)以及中国交通建设（China Communications Construction，中国港湾工程的母公司）。

　　China’s cause may have been helped by its support for 1MDB, the controversial state investment fund at the centre of corruption allegations bedevilling Mr Najib. The prime minister and 1MDB deny any wrongdoing over $680m that landed in his personal bank accounts from a mysterious foreign source.

　　中国在马来西亚的事业可能受益于其对马来西亚国家投资基金“1MDB”的支持。该基金备受争议，处于困扰纳吉布的腐败指控的核心。对于纳吉布个人银行账户上来自海外不明来源的6.8亿美元巨款，纳吉布本人与1MDB都否认存在任何不法行为。

　　1MDB was at risk of default until China saved it in November and bought a set of power assets from the fund for $2.3bn. 1MDB also sold part of its stake in a large plot of prime land in Kuala Lumpur to China Railway, the same plot which the Najib government has designated as the Malaysian terminus of the planned high-speed line.

　　1MDB原本已面临违约风险，直至去年11月中国施以援手——以23亿美元购入该基金旗下电力资产。1MDB还将其在吉隆坡一大片黄金地块的部分股份卖给了中国中铁，纳吉布政府已将这一地块指定为规划中的马新高铁马来西亚段终点站。

　　Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah, head of Malaysia’s Public Land Transport Commission, denies the land sale gives China an advantage in the race. He insists Malaysia and Singapore will award the contract through an open tender to be held this year, with 2023 as the target completion date.

　　马来西亚陆路公共交通委员会(Public Land Transport Commission)首席执行官阿扎鲁丁(Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah)否认此笔土地出让会让中国在高铁竞标中获得优势。他坚称，马来西亚和新加坡将在今年通过举行公开招标决定合同归属，工程预定完工时间为2023年。

　　But the denial will be of little comfort to the Japanese consortium comprising East Japan Railway, Sumitomo, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

　　但言辞上的否认并不能让由东日本旅客铁路(East Japan Railway)、住友(Sumitomo)、日立(Hitachi)及三菱重工(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)组成的日本联合体感到安心。