Is Volvo Car a Chinese company, following its purchase by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.? Or is it a foreign company since it's still incorporated in Sweden?

　　沃尔沃(Volvo)被中国浙江吉利控股集团收购后，是否成了一家中国公司？抑或，它是一家外国公司，因为它的注册地仍在瑞典？

　　That appears to be a question China's central government is grappling with, according to Chinese auto industry insiders, as its ministries and agencies weigh applications from Volvo to build manufacturing plants in China and run them independently, without a local Chinese partner.

　　Bloomberg六月，上海，沃尔沃中国区负责人沈晖站在沃尔沃XC60车旁。据中国汽车业内人士说，这看来是中国中央政府正忙于应对的一个问题，目前中国有关部门正在审批沃尔沃的申请──它申请在没有中国当地合作伙伴的情况下，在中国建立并独立运营制造厂。

　　That issue has become a potential headache for Geely Holding, which last year bought the Swedish brand from Ford Motor Co. It raises a question about how quickly Volvo is going to be able to build vehicle manufacturing plants in China as it tries to significantly increase sales in the world's biggest auto market.

　　这个问题已经成了一个可能令吉利头疼的难题。吉利去年从福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)手中买下了瑞典品牌沃尔沃。此举提出了一个问题，即沃尔沃努力大幅增加在全球最大的汽车市场中国的销量之际，它在中国建立汽车制造厂的速度能有多快。

　　Under China's current regulations and policies, foreign auto makers can produce cars in China only when their operations are jointly owned and run with Chinese concerns. Volvo wants approval to build factories in the southwestern city of Chengdu and the northeastern oil-field city of Daqing.

　　根据中国现行法规和政策，外国汽车厂商只有在与中国公司合资或合营业务的情况下，才能在中国生产汽车。沃尔沃希望获得批准，在中国西南城市成都和东北油田城市大庆建厂。

　　The plan is an important part of Volvo's strategy, announced earlier this year, to more than double Volvo's global sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020. Volvo and Geely expect half of that desired total--slightly more than 400,000 cars--would come from sales in China, where it sold just 30,500 cars in China last year. Manufacturing cars in China is essential to make that happen.

　　该计划是沃尔沃战略的一个重要部分；沃尔沃今年早些时候宣布，到2020年前将把沃尔沃全球销量增加一倍以上，至80万辆。沃尔沃和吉利预计其中一半的销量，即略超过40万辆，将可能来自中国的销售。去年，沃尔沃在华销量仅为30,500辆。在中国制造汽车对实现这一战略至关重要。

　　If the government allows Volvo to produce cars in China on its own, it might risk complaints from other foreign auto makers, many of whom would rather manufacture and market cars in China without joint-venture partners, says one auto industry executive in China.

　　据在华的一位汽车业高管说，如果政府允许沃尔沃在中国自行制造汽车，可能会引发其他外国汽车厂商的不满，其中很多厂商可能更愿意在没有合资伙伴的情况下在华制造和销售汽车。

　　If the government opts against them, Volvo could set up a joint venture with Geely, but some Geely executives believe mixing the Volvo and Geely brands could harm Volvo's premium positioning in China and elsewhere in the world.

　　如果政府驳回沃尔沃的申请，沃尔沃可能会与吉利成立一个合资企业，不过，一些吉利的高管认为，将沃尔沃和吉利品牌混在一起可能有损沃尔沃在中国和其他地方的优质品牌地位。

　　Since China began opening up its auto market for participation by foreign producers in the 1990s, it has made no exception to the local-partner requirement for setting up manufacturing operations in the country. General Motors Co., for instance, which started its first joint venture in China in 1991, now runs 11 final assembly plants in China, alls with local partners.

　　自上世纪90年代中国开放汽车市场、允许外国生产商参与其中以来，中国一直要求外国生产商必须与中国当地厂商合作才能在华建立制造业务，从未破过例。举例来讲，通用汽车(General Motors Co.) 1991年建立了自己在华的首个合资企业，目前在中国运营着11个总装厂，全部是与当地厂商合作的。

　　Michael Ning, a Volvo spokesman in China, acknowledges that if Volvo were allowed to set up wholly owned manufacturing factories within China as a Swedish-registered company, "it would definitely be the first time" the government has made such a move. But then, he points out, Geely's acquisition of Volvo was also unprecedented: never before has a major foreign automaker been owned entirely by a Chinese company. Volvo's argument is that the Chinese ownership makes it Chinese.

　　沃尔沃驻华发言人Michael Ning承认，如果沃尔沃获准以一家瑞典注册公司的身份在中国建立全资制造厂，这无疑将是政府首次批准这类项目。不过，他指出，吉利收购沃尔沃也是前所未有的：过去从来没有一家主要外国汽车厂商由一家中国公司全盘所有。沃尔沃的说法是，中国的所有权使之成为了一家中国公司。

　　Geely and Volvo are hoping the Chinese government would agree with them, Mr. Ning says. Still, "whether Volvo will be considered ultimately as a China brand or a foreign brand, it's up to the government. We are working with relevant agencies... We have no idea when the government is going to approve our applications. It's up to them," he says.

　　Ning说，吉利和沃尔沃希望中国政府会赞成他们的看法。不过，无论沃尔沃最终被视为一家中国品牌还是一家外国品牌，都是由政府说了算。他说，我们正在与有关部门合作……我们不清楚政府何时会批准我们的申请。在这件事上，政府说了算。