When Sinovel, the world’s second-largest producer of wind turbines, signed a series of multiyear supply contracts worth nearly $1bn with American Superconductor, a darling of the US clean energy sector, it seemed like a textbook case of how China’s clean energy push could create US jobs.

　　当全球第二大风力涡轮机制造商华锐风电(Sinovel)与美国超导公司(American Superconductor)签署总价值近10亿美元的一系列长期供应合同时，那仿佛就是证明中国发展清洁能源能为美国创造就业机会的经典案例。美国超导公司是美国清洁能源领域的佼佼者。

　　But just four years later, the two companies are locked in dispute. American Superconductor says the Chinese turbine maker – its biggest customer – has failed to pay for more than $50m of shipments received and has refused to accept further contracted shipments.

　　但仅仅四年之后，两家公司就卷入了纠纷。美国超导公司表示，华锐风电未能为其已收到的价值逾5000万美元的货物支付货款，并且拒绝继续接受按合同约定应发送的货物。华锐风电是美国超导公司最大的客户。

　　The soured business relationship underscores the cut-throat nature of a turbine manufacturing sector threatened by a looming global slowdown. China is now the world’s largest producer of turbines and solar panels, and Chinese companies are starting to compete with their western peers for deals on their home turf.

　　两家公司关系恶化突显出涡轮机制造业的激烈竞争——全球经济放缓的阴影正对该行业构成威胁。中国目前是世界最大的涡轮机和太阳能电板制造国，同时中国公司开始在本土与西方制造商竞争合同。

　　Beijing has heavily promoted the development of renewable energy as part of its strategy to lessen dependence on fossil fuels. This state support prompted the US trade representative to open an investigation into Chinese wind subsidies this year.

　　中国政府大力推动可再生能源的发展，以此作为降低对化石燃料依赖的战略的一部分。这样的政府支持促使美国贸易代表今年对中国的风电补贴展开调查。

　　Beijing has since stopped the subsidy fund that was the target of the probe.

　　之后，中国政府停止了曾是调查目标的补贴基金。

　　Another key factor in the success of turbine manufacturers like Sinovel has been their ability to absorb and adopt key technologies – just as Chinese companies “digested” technology from foreign counterparts in high-speed rail.

　　华锐风电等涡轮机制造商成功的另一个关键因素是它们吸收和接受关键技术的能力，就像中国公司在高铁领域“消化”外国同行的技术一样。

　　Although neither side will discuss details of their differences, the Sinovel-American Superconductor contract dispute appears to touch on such issues as technology access.

　　尽管美国超导公司和华锐风电都不愿讨论纠纷的细节，但两家公司的合同纠纷似乎涉及技术获得等问题。

　　Among the most technically advanced components that the US company supplied to Sinovel were high-powered frequency converters, which switch the power of a turning turbine into regulated electrical current.

　　美国超导公司向华锐风电供应了一些技术最先进的部件，其中包括高能变频器，它将涡轮机旋转产生的能量转化为稳定的电流。

　　But Sinovel has set up a subsidiary, Dalian Guotong Electronics, that makes frequency converters, according to filings to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the website of Guotong.

　　但是华锐风电成立了一家生产变频器的子公司——大连国通电气有限公司(GTE)，这可以从华锐风电提交给上海证券交易所(SSE)的文件和国通的网站上得到证明。

　　The aim of Guotong is to “replace imports” with its powerful frequency converters, according to a Dalian City website. Guotong declined to comment.

　　根据大连市门户网站的报道，国通的目标是用自己生产的高能变频器“替代进口”。国通拒绝置评。

　　Sinovel plans to purchase Rmb300m ($46m) of components from Guotong this year, mostly frequency converters, according to stock exchange filings. Guotong is 22.5 per cent owned by Sinovel and a further 32.5 per cent is owned by a Sinovel affiliate.

　　根据上海证交所的资料，华锐风电今年计划向国通购买价值3亿元人民币（合4600万美元）的部件，其中多数是变频器。华锐风电持有国通22.5%的股份，华锐风电另一家子公司还持有国通32.5%的股份。

　　But while Guotong enjoys growing orders from Sinovel, American Superconductor, which counted on Sinovel for 65 to 70 per cent of its revenues in the third quarter of last year, has found the absence of its biggest customer extremely painful.

　　但是在国通获得华锐风电越来越多订单的同时，美国超导公司却发现，最大客户的流失让自己痛苦不堪。去年第三季度，美国超导公司65%-70%的收入来自华锐风电。

　　The relationship is lopsided: last year Sinovel bought around $317m worth of components from American Superconductor, which represented 11 per cent of Sinovel’s component purchasing spending, according to Shanghai stock exchange filings and research from Citi.

　　这是一种不对称的关系：根据上海证交所的资料和花旗(Citi)的研究，去年华锐风电购买了美国超导公司价值约3.17亿美元的部件，相当于华锐风电组件购买支出的11%。

　　American Superconductor missed two deadlines for filing its 2010 annual earnings report to regulators as the company assesses the impact of the Sinovel dispute.

　　由于需要评估与华锐风电纠纷的影响，美国超导公司两次错过了向监管机构提交2010年年度业绩报告的最后期限。

　　But there are also doubts about whether Sinovel is capable of sourcing in China all the components it has been getting from its US supplier.

　　但人们也怀疑，华锐风电能否完全本土化采购它一直以来从美国供应商那里获得的部件。

　　Some analysts caution that Sinovel will not be able to replace American Superconductor immediately, given the Massachusetts-based company’s role in designing many of Sinovel’s turbines.

　　一些分析师提醒道，鉴于美国超导公司在华锐风电许多涡轮机的设计中所扮演的角色，华锐风电将无法立即替换这家总部位于马萨诸塞州的公司。

　　“American Superconductor indicates Sinovel will continue as a customer, but checks continue to indicate a move to design American Superconductor out of future (and current) designs as much as possible, but this can’t happen overnight given its former dependence on American Superconductor,” wrote Citi analyst Timothy Arcuri in a recent note. “The process has begun but it will take time,” he said by phone.

　　花旗分析师蒂莫西?阿库里(Timothy Arcuri)最近在一篇报告中表示：“美国超导公司暗示，华锐风电仍将是自己的客户，但账单继续表明，华锐风电正采取行动，尽可能将其排除在未来（及现在）的涡轮机设计之外，但鉴于华锐过去对美国超导的依赖，这不可能在一夜之间实现。”阿库里在接受电话采访时表示：“这一过程已经开始，但需要时间。”

　　While Chinese turbine makers moved into manufacturing by purchasing designs from western peers, the ambition of Sinovel and others is to become more self-sufficient.

　　中国涡轮机制造商最初是通过购买西方同行的设计来进军制造领域，但华锐风电及其它公司现在的抱负是，要变得更加自给自足。

　　“Otherwise we face the danger of becoming obsolete,” said Sinovel vice-president Tao Gang in a recent interview with state-run Xinhua news agency.

　　华锐风电高级副总裁陶刚最近在接受中国官方媒体新华社采访时表示：“否则（我们）就会面临被淘汰的风险。”

　　Starting in 2007, Sinovel signed a series of increasingly large contracts to buy electrical components from American Superconductor for Sinovel’s turbines, which the US company also had a hand in designing.

　　从2007年开始，华锐风电与美国超导公司签署了一系列购买涡轮机电气元件的合同，且金额不断增大。美国超导公司还参与了华锐风电涡轮机的设计工作。

　　The largest deals were multiyear parts supply contracts: these included a $470m order Sinovel placed in 2008 for parts supplies through to April 2011; a $445m extension of that set to begin in early 2011 and last for 30 months; and a 2009 order for $100m of components to be delivered through to the end of 2011.

　　最大的几笔合同是多年期的零部件供应合同：包括华锐风电在2008年签署的价值4.7亿美元的零部件供应订单，期限到2011年4月；该订单的延展合同，从2011年年初开始，为期30个月，总价值4.45亿美元的零部件供应订单；以及2009年签署的1亿美元的零部件订单，到2011年年底到期。

　　American Superconductor declined to specify which of these contracts are in dispute. “Our discussions with Sinovel are ongoing,” wrote Jason Fredette, spokesman for American Superconductor, in an e-mail. Sinovel and Guotong both declined to comment.

　　美国超导公司拒绝具体指出发生纠纷的是哪些合同。该公司发言人贾森?弗雷德特(Jason Fredette)在一封电子邮件中写道：“我们与华锐风电的谈判正在进行中。”华锐风电和国通均拒绝置评。