解散的特朗普顧問團：在對華政策上起過作用

The US business leaders who served on the two now-defunct advisory groups to President Donald Trump have suffered a hail of opprobrium for their involvement. But some of them continue to believe that their efforts were worthwhile.

美國一些商界大佬因參加了總統(tǒng)唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)兩個如今已經(jīng)解散的顧問團而遭受抨擊，但其中部分人仍然認為他們的努力是值得的。

They knew when the administration convened the two groups, the strategy and policy forum and the manufacturing and jobs initiative, that joining would expose them to reputational risk, but they believed that working with Mr Trump would also give them an opportunity to shape the administration’s position.

當時特朗普政府組建了兩個顧問團——策略和政策論壇以及制造業(yè)委員會，他們知道加入其中會讓他們面臨聲譽風險，但他們認為與特朗普一起工作可以讓他們有機會改變特朗普政府的立場。

The president’s remarks on Tuesday, including the comments that there were “very fine people” alongside the neo-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville at the weekend, convinced almost all the business leaders that they had to end the association with him.

這位美國總統(tǒng)周二的言論——包括聲稱上周末在夏洛茨維爾(Charlottesville)與新納粹主義抗議者一道的也有“非常好的人”——讓幾乎所有商界領(lǐng)袖意識到他們不得不與特朗普結(jié)束這種關(guān)系。

But several argue that their engagement brought significant benefits, in particular over the issue of labelling China a currency manipulator.

但是一些人認為，他們的參與帶來了顯著效果，特別是在是否把中國列為匯率操縱國的問題上。

In an interview with the Financial Times on April 2, Mr Trump was still sticking to his argument from the campaign trail that “they [China] are world champions” at currency manipulation.

在4月2日接受英國《金融時報》(Financial Times)采訪時，特朗普仍然堅持他在競選時的觀點，聲稱中國在匯率操縱方面是“世界冠軍”。

But at the meeting of the strategy forum on April 11, a succession of executives argued that the accusation was misguided and counter-productive.

但在4月11日策略論壇召開的一次會議上，企業(yè)高管們相繼發(fā)表意見，都認為該指控是錯誤的，并且會適得其反。

“As it went round the table, just about everyone there said it would be a really bad idea,” remembers one former member.

“隨著在座的人輪流發(fā)言，差不多每個人都表示這將是非常糟糕的想法，”一名前成員回憶道。

When he spoke to the Wall Street Journal the following day, Mr Trump had shifted his line completely: he said he would not label China a currency manipulator, and since then the issue has been allowed to fade.

第二天特朗普接受《華爾街日報》(Wall Street Journal)采訪時，他已經(jīng)完全改變了說法，聲稱不會給中國貼上匯率操縱國的標簽。從那以后，該問題得以逐漸淡化。

Mark Weinberger, chief executive of EY who was a member of the strategy forum, wrote in a note to staff yesterday that it had “had a positive impact on issues such as trade, economic growth and paid leave for families”.

安永(EY)首席執(zhí)行官馬克•溫伯格(Mark Weinberger)曾經(jīng)是策略論壇的成員，他在昨天給員工的信中寫道，該論壇“在貿(mào)易、經(jīng)濟增長和家庭帶薪假期等問題上產(chǎn)生了積極影響”。

The business leaders were not always successful in their attempts to persuade Mr Trump. Many of them urged him to keep the US in the Paris climate agreement, but he rejected their advice.

商界領(lǐng)袖們并非總能成功說服特朗普。很多人敦促他讓美國留在巴黎氣候協(xié)定內(nèi)，但他拒絕了。

Elon Musk of Tesla quit both advisory groups over that decision in June, and many other members were unhappy about it. But Stephen Schwarzman, the Blackstone chief executive who chaired the strategy forum, argued that the group should stay together to continue make the case for business.

6月，由于特朗普的這一決定，特斯拉(Tesla)的埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)退出了兩個顧問團，其他很多成員也對特朗普該決定不滿。但策略論壇的主席、黑石(Blackstone)首席執(zhí)行官蘇世民(Stephen Schwarzman)認為，該小組應(yīng)該團結(jié)起來繼續(xù)為商業(yè)付出努力。

When they heard Mr Trump’s remarks in the marble-clad lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon, however, many of the business leaders decided it was time to draw a line.

然而，當他們聽到周二下午總統(tǒng)在特朗普大廈(Trump Tower)鋪著大理石的大廳中的發(fā)言后，很多商業(yè)領(lǐng)袖決定是時候與特朗普劃清界限了。

They had been reassured by Mr Trump’s prepared statement in the White House on Monday, when he had unequivocally condemned “the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans”.

周一特朗普在白宮發(fā)表的事先準備好的聲明原本讓他們放下了心，當時他明確譴責了“3K黨、新納粹分子、白人至上主義者和其他反感我們美國人所珍視的一切事物的仇恨團體”。

But on Tuesday, Mr Trump observed that “you also had people that were very fine people on both sides” of the protests, including those “innocently” demonstrating against the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee.

但周二，特朗普稱“你也能看到(抗議)雙方都有非常好的人，包括那些‘沒有惡意地’參加示威以反對拆除南方聯(lián)盟將領(lǐng)羅伯特•E•李(Robert E Lee)雕像的人。”

“He was like an actor stepping on his own lines,” says one former member of the strategy forum, of Mr Trump’s Tuesday press conference. “It’s meant to be about infrastructure, and then all that goes out the window.”

“他就像是踐踏自己臺詞的演員一樣，”一名策略論壇的前成員談到特朗普周二的新聞發(fā)布會時表示，“本意是打造基礎(chǔ)，之后一切都化為烏有了。”

Members of the forum talked about what they should do throughout the afternoon, and on a call at about 9pm that evening, some chief executives, including Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Ginni Rometty of IBM, and Rich Lesser of the Boston Consulting Group, concluded that the full membership should make a decision the following day.

當天整個下午，策略論壇的成員都在討論應(yīng)該怎么做。在當晚大約9時的一個電話會議上，幾位CEO——包括百事可樂(PepsiCo)的盧英德(Indra Nooyi)、IBM的羅睿蘭(Ginni Rometty)和波士頓咨詢集團(BCG)的里奇•萊塞(Rich Lesser)——認為，全體成員應(yīng)在第二天做出決定。

Mr Schwarzman had been reticent about his own position, but overnight he convened a call for the entire forum at 11.30 on Wednesday morning. He also wrote a statement explaining that the group had decided to disband, which he read out on the call for the other members to approve.

蘇世民一直對自己的立場諱莫如深，但隔日，他在周三上午11點半召開了全體成員出席的電話會議。他還寫了一份聲明，解釋論壇已決定解散。他在電話會議上宣讀了該聲明，供大家表決。

When it came to a vote, all but two of the members agreed with the plan to dissolve the forum, according to people who were on the call. Some members had said they would quit if the others tried to continue.

與會人士表示，在投票時，除兩人之外，其他所有成員都贊同解散論壇的計劃。有些成員還表示，如果其他人想繼續(xù)干下去的話，他們將會退出。

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, later sent a note to employees explaining why he supported the decision.

摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)CEO杰米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)之后給員工發(fā)了一份通知，解釋了他支持該決定的原因。

“I strongly disagree with President Trump’s reaction to the events that took place in Charlottesville,” he wrote. “There is no room for equivocation here.”

“我強烈反對特朗普總統(tǒng)對夏洛茨威爾所發(fā)生事件的反應(yīng)，”他寫道，“這里完全沒有含糊其辭的余地。”

Mr Schwarzman rang the White House to tell the president the group was disbanding, and shortly afterwards Mr Trump tweeted: “Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both.”

蘇世民致電白宮，告訴總統(tǒng)該論壇要解散，不久特朗普發(fā)出推文：“我沒有對制造業(yè)委員會以及策略和政策論壇的商界人士們施壓，而是終止這兩個團體。”

The strategy forum issued a statement saying, as a courtesy to Mr Trump, that “the president and we are disbanding the forum”. In reality, the decision was taken by its members alone.

策略論壇發(fā)表了一份聲明，出于對特朗普的客氣，表示“總統(tǒng)和我們將解散該論壇”。實情是，解散的決定是由論壇成員單方面做出的。

The manufacturing council, meanwhile, had already been falling apart, with eight members announcing they were stepping down by the time Mr Trump tweeted. Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric, had not yet said he was quitting, but had already decided to go, the company said.

另一方面，制造業(yè)委員會本已是分崩離析的狀態(tài)，到特朗普發(fā)表推文的時候，已有8名成員宣布辭職。通用電氣(GE)表示，董事長杰夫•伊梅爾特(Jeff Immelt)尚未表示他將退出，但已經(jīng)決定要離開。

John Flannery, GE’s new chief executive who took over from Mr Immelt at the beginning of August, explained in a note to staff: “Following the President’s deeply troubling statements yesterday [Tuesday], we decided that GE needed to leave the committee on American manufacturing.

“ 8月初接替伊梅爾特的GE新CEO約翰•弗蘭納里(John Flannery)在一份通知中向員工解釋稱：“在總統(tǒng)昨日(周二)發(fā)出極度令人不安的聲明后，我們決定，GE必須退出這個與美國制造業(yè)有關(guān)的委員會。”

With the advisory groups gone, US businesses will need to find other ways to make their points to Mr Trump. With the tax reform debate in Congress looming, the lack of a clear channel of communication is worrying for some.

由于這兩個顧問團的解散，美國企業(yè)界將需要找到其他途徑來向特朗普表明自己的觀點。在稅制改革辯論即將在國會啟動之際，缺少一條暢通的溝通渠道令有些人很擔憂。

The position staked out by the president, however, made it impossible for the framework of advisory groups to survive.

然而，特朗普擺明的立場，使顧問團這種組織的運行也變得不可能。

Additional reporting by Stephen Foley, Anna Nicolaou and Richard Waters

史蒂芬•福利(Stephen Foley)、安娜•尼科拉烏(Anna Nicolaou)和理查德•沃特斯(Richard Waters)補充報道