China displaced the US as the largest source of European Union imports last year, official figures showed yesterday.

中国出口商品的迅速增长，在欧洲已成为具有政治敏感性的话题，并引发了人们对于欧洲大陆工业竞争力的担忧。

The rapid growth in Chinese imports has become politically sensitive in Europe and raised fears about the continent's industrial competitiveness.

欧盟统计局(Eurostat)公布的数据显示，欧盟25个成员国去年从中国的进口额上升21%，达1915亿欧元（合2550亿美元）。相比之下，欧盟从美国的进口额上升8%，至1762亿欧元。

Last year, imports from China into the 25 countries comprising the EU rose by 21 per cent to €191.5bn ($255bn, ￡130bn), according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical¹ office. In contrast, imports from the US rose by 8 per cent to €176.2bn.

欧盟去年对华出口额也出现了强劲增长，至633亿欧元，增幅为23%。

The EU has also seen strong growth in its exports to China, which rose by 23 per cent last year to €63.3bn.

欧盟－中国之间这种贸易联系的重要性不断增强，说明了为何面临美国经济增长放缓的威胁，经济学家仍对欧洲经济前景持乐观看法。

The rising importance of such trade links explain why economists³ remain upbeat about Europe's economic prospects⁴, in spite of the threat of a US slowdown.

欧洲央行(ECB)执委会委员洛伦佐o比尼o斯马吉(Lorenzo Bini Smaghi)上周表示："就世界经济保持当前的增长势头而言，亚洲经济体的增长放缓，将至少与美国经济放缓同样令人担忧。"

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, executive board member of the European Central Bank, said last week that "for the continued sustained growth of the world economy, a slowdown of Asian economies would be as worrisome, if not more, than that of the US".

最新公布的贸易数据表明，欧元走强尚未对欧元区出口造成巨大冲击。德国经济复苏的最初动力正是来自于出口，而在法国，欧元走强引发了对出口竞争力的担忧。

The latest trade figures suggested that the strengthening euro had yet to cause significant damage to exports from the eurozone. Germany's economic recovery was initially⁵ powered by exports, and in France the euro's rise has raised alarm bells about export competitiveness.

1月份，经季节性因素调整后的欧元区出口额较去年12月下降0.4%，但欧元区13国连续第5个月实现了贸易顺差。

In January, seasonally⁶ adjusted eurozone exports were down 0.4 per cent compared with December but the 13-country region reported a trade surplus for the fifth consecutive⁷ month.

欧元兑美元汇率本周进一步上扬，但仍低于2004年底时1欧元兑逾1.36美元的峰值水平。以贸易加权汇率衡量，欧元汇率目前处于两年高位。

The euro has strengthened further against the dollar this week, although it remains⁸ below the peak of more than $1.36 hit at the end of 2004. On a trade-weighted basis, the euro is at a two-year high.

在去年6月之前，欧元区从中国的进口额便已超过其从美国的进口额。

For the eurozone, Chinese imports had overtaken imports from the US by the middle of last year.

巴克莱资本(Barclays Capital)经济学家朱利安o卡洛(Julian Callow)称，昨日公布的数据显示，英国仍是向欧元区出口最多的国家，但如果目前的趋势继续下去，中国将在2008年或2009年超越英国。

Yesterday's data show that the UK remained the largest source of eurozone imports last year but on current trends China would knock the UK from its top position in 2008 or 2009, according to Julian Callow, economist² at Barclays Capital.

中国对欧出口增长最快的领域是机电设备，卡洛补充说道。

The fastest growth in Chinese exports to Europe had been in mechanical and electrical machinery⁹, Mr Callow added.

卡洛表示："我们不应当欺骗自己说，增加的中国进口产品全都处于产业链低端的低附加值领域；中国的出口商品正在沿着'价值曲线'快速上升。"

"We should not delude¹⁰ ourselves that this increase is all at the lower value-added part of the chain; China is rapidly moving up the 'value curve' in its exports," he said.

与此同时，欧盟统计局的数据显示，欧盟去年从俄罗斯的进口额增幅超过了中国，达25%，总金额为1369亿欧元。

Meanwhile, the Eurostat data showed imports into the EU from Russia grew faster last year than those from China, rising by 25 per cent to €136.9bn.

这反映出能源出口的重要性。但俄罗斯也已成为欧洲企业日益重要的出口市场，尤其是德国企业集团。

That reflected the importance of energy imports. But Russia has also become an increasingly important export market for European companies, especially German groups.

欧盟去年对俄罗斯的出口额增长27%，至719亿美元。

EU exports to Russia rose 27 per cent last year to €71.9bn