Coca-Cola now sees the US as a less friendly business environment than China, its chief executive has revealed, citing political gridlock and an antiquated tax structure as reasons its home market has become less competitive.

　　可口可樂公司(Coca-Cola)首席執行官表示，美國目前的營商環境不如中國，而該公司本土市場競爭力下降的原因包括政治僵局和稅收結構過時。

　　“It’s like a well managed company, China,” Muhtar Kent, Coke’s chief executive, told the Financial Times. “You have a one-stop shop in terms of the Chinese foreign investment agency and local governments are fighting for investment with each other.”

　　“中國就像一家管理有方的公司，”可口可樂首席執行官穆泰康(Muhtar Kent)對英國《金融時報》表示。“你只需與中國的外資管理機構這樣的一站式機構打交道，地方政府爭著招商引資。”

　　Mr Kent also pointed to Brazil as an example of an emerging economy that is making itself attractive to investment in ways that the US once did. “They’re learning very fast, these countries,” he said. “In the West, we’re forgetting what really worked 20 years ago. In China and other markets around the world, you see the kind of attention to detail about how business works and how business creates employment.”

　　穆泰康同時指出，巴西也是一個實例，表明新興經濟體正效仿美國曾經的做法，努力提高自己對投資的吸引力。“這些國家學得很快，”他表示。“在西方，我們正在忘記20年前真正管用的東西。在中國以及世界各地的其它市場，你會看到那種對細節的關注：商業如何運轉，企業如何創造就業。”

　　Mr Kent argued that US states did not compete enough with each other to attract businesses while Chinese provinces were clamouring to draw investment from international companies.

　　穆泰康提出，美國各州在招商引資方面相互競爭不夠，而中國各省競相吸引國際公司前來投資。

　　Meanwhile, he said, China’s budget discipline and rapid economic growth made it an appealing place for businesses.

　　他表示，與此同時，中國的預算紀律和快速經濟增長，也使其成為對企業有吸引力的營商地點。

　　China now accounts for 7 percent of Coke’s global sales volume and in the first half of this year Coke sold more than 1bn cases of its products in China, twice the rate of five years ago.

　　中國目前占可口可樂全球銷售量的7%，今年上半年，可口可樂在中國銷售了逾10億箱產品，比5年前高出一倍。

　　China represents about 6 percent of Coke’s annual operating profits, according to analysts at Bernstein Research. The US, meanwhile, accounts for 41 percent of annual revenue and 19 percent of its operating income.

　　根據伯恩斯坦研究公司(Bernstein Research)分析師的計算，中國占可口可樂年度運營利潤的大約6%，而美國占該公司年度營收的41%，運營利潤的19%。

　　Mr Kent’s remarks came a month after Coke announced a $4bn investment in China over the next three years, while on Monday it said it would invest $3bn in Russia in the next five years. Coke continues to spend at home, however, with a $1.3bn investment in capital assets in North America this year.

　　穆泰康發表上述言論的一個月前，可口可樂宣布未來三年將在中國投資40億美元，而該公司周一宣布，未來五年將在俄羅斯投資30億美元。不過，可口可樂在本土市場也在繼續投資，今年對北美資本資產的投資達到13億美元。