经济学人下载:中国经济--南北差距

China's economy 

中国经济

Southern tiger 

南方虎势汹汹

As northern China struggles, the south surges ahead 

在中国北方挣扎之际，南方却奋起直追

"Don't invest beyond Shanhaiguan" is a popular quip in China, referring to a pass in the Great Wall that leads to the north-eastern rust belt. Online pundits have updated the maxim to "don't invest outside the Southern Song", a dynasty that fell almost 750 years ago whose territory was roughly the same as China's southern half today. The joke has a nub of truth: China's southern provinces are outperforming the north in nearly every economic dimension. 

“不要投资山海关以外的地方”在中国是一个很流行的讽刺语，说的是通往东北铁锈地带的长城关隘。网络权威人士将这则格言更新为“不要投资南宋以外的地方”，南宋是一个朝代，在大约750年前就灭亡了，其领土大致相当于今天中国的南半部。这个笑话有一点道理：中国南方省份在几乎所有经济领域的表现都优于北方省份。

Figures released on January 18th showed that China's GDP grew by 2.3% in 2020. The recovery was unbalanced, with factories at full throttle but consumption subdued. That should improve after the pandemic ends. The north-south imbalance, though, is likely to outlast it. 

1月18日公布的数据显示，2020年中国GDP增长了2.3%。经济的复苏是不平衡的，工厂马力全开，但消费受到抑制。新冠疫情结束后情况可能会有所改善，但是，南北方之间发展的不平衡可能会持续更久。

The south's share of GDP has risen to a peak of 65%, from 59% in 2015. Some of that is down to luck. The north, home to China's largest coal mines and oil reserves, was caught out by falls in commodity prices after 2013. It also boasts big industrial firms; China's shift from construction-fuelled growth towards consumption and services has hurt. 

南方占GDP的比重从2015年的59%上升到65%的峰值，这在一定程度上要归功于运气。2013年之后，拥有中国最大煤矿和石油储量的北方受到了大宗商品价格下跌的影响。北方还拥有大型工业企业，中国经济增长从建筑驱动型向消费和服务驱动型的转变已对其造成损害。Northern officials have tried harder to goose up growth, to the region's detriment. In 2013, the peak of China's building frenzy, investment in assets such as roads and factories reached an eyewatering 66% of GDP in the north versus 51% in the south. Southern officials have been more hands-off. China's two most dynamic regions are in the south, anchored by Shanghai and Shenzhen. The south also makes the smartphones and sofas lapped up globally. Its foreign-trade surplus last year was about 7% of GDP. The north ran a 2% deficit. 

北方官员一直在努力刺激经济增长，但这对该地区不利。2013年，中国的建筑热潮达到顶峰，在公路和工厂等资产上的投资达到了令人瞠目的GDP的66%，而在南方则是51%。南方官员则更加不干涉。中国最具活力的两个地区位于南部，以上海和深圳为中心。南方还生产风靡全球的智能手机和沙发。中国去年的对外贸易顺差约为GDP的7%，北方有2%的赤字。

To add insult to injury, the north has also been disrupted more by sporadic covid-19 outbreaks. Geography is part of the problem: a harsher winter makes the virus more transmissible. The north is stuck out in the cold. 

雪上加霜的是，北方也更多地受到了零星爆发的新冠疫情的影响。地理位置也是问题的一部分：严冬令病毒更具传染性，而北方寒冷刺骨。