Pirelli’s Italian CEO Seeks to Curb China’s Grip on Tiremaker


意大利轮胎制造商倍耐力的首席执行官希望意大利政府帮助限制中国国有投资者中化集团对该公司的影响力，并警告说该公司的独立性受到威胁。


倍耐力首席执行官通过其麾下的投资公司控制着倍耐力14%的股份。

意大利轮胎制造商倍耐力(Pirelli)的首席执行官希望意大利政府帮助限制一个中国国有投资者对该公司的影响力，并警告说该公司的独立性受到威胁。 6park.com
Pirelli’s chief executive wants the Italian government to help him sideline a Chinese state-owned investor in the Italian tiremaker, warning that the company’s independence is at stake. 6park.com
 
   
据知情人士称，倍耐力首席执行官Marco Tronchetti Provera周二在与意大利政府举行的闭门会议上表示，罗马方面必须采取行动，阻止中国政府控股的中化集团(Sinochem Group)夺取权力。Tronchetti Provera曾安排了中方最初收购倍耐力大量股份的交易。 6park.com
Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, who previously arranged the initial Chinese purchase of a large stake in the company, told a closed-door meeting with the Italian government on Tuesday that Rome must take action to block a power grab by Beijing-controlled Sinochem, according to a person familiar with the talks. 6park.com
    
据知情人士称，执掌倍耐力30多年的Tronchetti Provera与这家中国企业集团之间的关系近几个月来已经破裂。Tronchetti Provera告诉意大利政府官员，中化集团正试图以入股倍耐力时达成的协议所禁止的方式干预这家意大利公司的管理。 6park.com
Relations between Tronchetti Provera, who has run Pirelli for more than 30 years, and the Chinese conglomerate have broken down in recent months, according to a person familiar with the relationship. Tronchetti Provera told Rome officials that the Chinese company is trying to interfere with Pirelli’s management in ways forbidden by an agreement reached when it bought its stake. 6park.com
   
当接到中化集团关于倍耐力股东之间的协议将续签的通知时，意大利政府启动了一项审查，此次Tronchetti Provera与官员的会面就是这项审查的一部分。 6park.com
Tronchetti Provera’s meeting with the officials is part of a government review initiated when Sinochem informed Rome that a pact between Pirelli’s shareholders would be renewed. 6park.com
   
中化集团暂未回应置评请求。 6park.com
Sinochem didn’t respond to a request for comment. 6park.com
   
围绕谁控制倍耐力而出现的冲突是中西方经济紧张关系加剧的一个体现，西方国家的企业高管和政界人士一度欢迎中国的投资，但现在日益心生警惕。近年来，随着地缘政治紧张局势的升温，中西方之间的商业和经济关系已经降温，许多欧洲国家越来越将中国视为战略对手，同时也是重要的贸易伙伴。在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，中国没有与俄罗斯切割，西方与中国之间的关系进一步冷却。 6park.com
The conflict over who controls Pirelli is an example of the rising economic tensions between China and Western countries, where executives and politicians once welcomed Chinese investments but have become increasingly wary. Business and economic relations between the two sides have cooled in recent years as geopolitical tensions have flared, with many European countries increasingly viewing China as a strategic rival as well as an important trading partner. China’s alignment with Russia during the latter’s invasion of Ukraine has further cooled the relationship.


倍耐力已将其重点转向包括一级方程式轮胎在内的高端产品。

意大利政府已表示，将在未来一个月内决定是否行使所谓的黄金权力，阻止被认为对国家具有战略意义的公司的重大决策。 6park.com
The Italian government has said it would decide in the coming month whether to wield the so-called golden power that allows it to block major decisions at companies considered to be of strategic importance to the country. 6park.com
    
若动用这一权力，意大利政府将能够否决董事任命或中化集团最终增加对倍耐力持股的提议。目前中化集团持有倍耐力37%的股份，Tronchetti Provera通过麾下投资公司持股14%。 6park.com
Invoking that power would allow Rome to block board appointments or an eventual bid by Sinochem to increase its 37% stake in Pirelli. Tronchetti Provera controls 14% of the company through his investment company. 6park.com
   
据知情人士称，意大利官员正在调查中化集团近几个月是否未能遵守2015年的原始协议，该协议禁止这家中国公司试图影响倍耐力的战略决策。 6park.com
Italian officials are investigating whether Sinochem in recent months failed to respect the original agreement from 2015 that forbids the Chinese company from trying to influence strategic decisions at Pirelli, according to the person familiar with the discussions. 6park.com
    
还有一个问题是倍耐力董事会的构成。据另一位知情人士称，依据中化集团与Tronchetti Provera最近达成的一项协议，中化集团可以增加其对倍耐力董事的任命数量，但目前Tronchetti Provera正设法阻止这一动作。 6park.com
Also at issue is the composition of Pirelli’s board. A recent agreement between Sinochem and Tronchetti Provera said the Chinese could increase their board representation, but Tronchetti Provera is now pushing to stop that, according to another person familiar with the matter. 6park.com
    6park.com
Tronchetti Provera和中化集团在今年5月续签了股东协议。但知情人士称，围绕由谁真正控制倍耐力而出现的紧张局面已导致双方关系出现裂痕。 6park.com
Tronchetti Provera and Sinochem renewed their shareholders’ pact in May. But the relationship was already fraying, triggered by tensions over who really controls Pirelli, according to the person familiar with the relationship. 6park.com
    
自2019年当时的意大利政府签署协议加入中国“一带一路”倡议以来，意中关系就受到了美国和其他西方国家的密切审视。这份“一带一路”合作谅解备忘录被认为是中国的一次重要胜利，但给许多欧洲国家政府和美国政府带来焦虑，不过对中意双边投资或贸易几乎没有影响。 6park.com
Italy’s relationship with China has been under scrutiny from the U.S. and other Western countries since 2019, when the then-government in Rome signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The memorandum of understanding was considered an important victory for China and brought angst to many European capitals and Washington, but has had little impact on bilateral investments or trade. 6park.com
   
意大利总理梅洛尼(Giorgia Meloni)领导的右翼政府正考虑取消这份备忘录，但有人担心中国政府可能对意大利企业进行反制。 6park.com
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is considering canceling the memorandum, but there are fears Beijing could retaliate against Italian businesses. 6park.com
   
后来与中化集团合并的中国化工集团公司(China National Chemical Co.)最初在2015年入股倍耐力，当时中国大型国有企业正大举收购欧洲公司。在同一时期，中国政府控制的另一些实体入股了多家意大利公司，包括石油公司埃尼(Eni)和汽车制造商菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车(Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, FCAU)，菲亚特克莱斯勒后来成为Stellantis的一部分。 6park.com
Chinese company ChemChina, which later became a part of Sinochem, bought an initial stake in Pirelli in 2015, when large state-owned Chinese firms were scooping up European companies. In the same period, other Chinese government-controlled entities bought stakes in Italian companies including oil company Eni and carmaker Fiat Chrysler, which has since become part of Stellantis. 6park.com
   
自那以来，欧洲多国政府对来自中国的投资设置了障碍。德拉吉(Mario Draghi)领导的上届意大利政府曾多次动用黄金权力，包括在中国企业寻求收购一家意大利半导体制造商和一家电信公司时。 6park.com
European governments have since put up barriers against Chinese investments. The Italian government of Mario Draghi, which preceded the current administration, invoked the golden power several times, including when Chinese firms sought to buy an Italian semiconductor maker and a telecommunications company. 6park.com
   
意大利政府只能对被认为具有战略重要性的公司启用黄金权力。过去几年，黄金权力的定义已大大扩展。几年前像倍耐力这样的轮胎制造商是否符合条件还存在一些疑问，但据政府官员称，现在这已不再被认为是一个问题。 6park.com
Rome can invoke the golden power only for companies considered strategically important. How that is defined has been greatly expanded in the past few years. While a few years ago there was some question about whether a tiremaker such as Pirelli would qualify, that is no longer considered an issue, according to government officials. 6park.com
   
总部设在米兰的倍耐力拥有150年的历史，是该国国际知名工业品牌之一，被许多意大利人视为国家的骄傲。 6park.com
Milan-based Pirelli, founded 150 years ago, is a source of pride for many Italians, one of the country’s internationally famous industrial brands. 6park.com
   
近年来，倍耐力已从生产常规轮胎转向侧重利润率更高的高端产品，并且在意大利等成本较高的西方国家生产仍可实现盈利。该公司提供用于一级方程式赛车的轮胎。 6park.com
In recent years, Pirelli has shifted away from making commodity tires to concentrate on high-end products that have higher margins and can still be produced profitably in higher-cost Western countries such as Italy. The company provides the tires used in Formula One races. 6park.com
   
根据中方与Tronchetti Provera签订的最初协议，至少在表面上意大利保持对倍耐力的控制权。根据协议，该公司总部和研发业务会留在米兰，这已得到遵守。总部搬迁或将知识产权转让给其他公司需获得代表倍耐力90%股份的投资者批准。 6park.com
The original agreement between the Chinese and Tronchetti Provera had provisions to maintain at least the appearance of continued Italian control of the company. The corporate headquarters and research and development activities were to stay in Milan, an accord that has been respected. Investors representing 90% of Pirelli’s shares would have to approve any move of the company’s headquarters or the transfer of intellectual property to other companies.