蘋果年內將在華新設研發中心
Apple plans to open its first research and development centre in China later this year, the latest in a series of steps to bolster its presence in a vital region amid a slowdown in sales.
蘋果(Apple)計劃今年晚些時候在中國設立其首家亞太研發中心。在銷售放緩的背景下，蘋果採取了一系列措施來支撐它在這個關鍵地區的業務，設立研發中心之舉是其中的最新舉措。
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, revealed the plans to increase its investment in local R&D during a meeting with China’s executive vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, this week. The move comes after Apple reported revenues fell by a third in the last quarter in Greater China, where Apple faces growing competition from local smartphone makers such as Huawei and Oppo, as well as tougher economic conditions.
本週在與中國國務院負責常務工作的副總理張高麗會晤時，蘋果首席執行官蒂姆•庫克(Tim Cook)披露了在華增加研發投資的計劃。蘋果財報顯示，上季度該公司在大中華區的營收減少了三分之一。在大中華區，蘋果面臨華爲(Huawei)和Oppo等本土智能手機生產商構成的日益激烈的競爭，當地的經濟形勢也更加嚴峻。
The new R&D centre will be made up of both new and existing staff. Apple already has around 9,000 staff in China, around half of which work in its 42 retail stores there. In the last four years, Apple has doubled the number of corporate offices in China to 45, reports Tim Bradshaw in San Francisco.
這家新研發中心所需的人手將來自新招募的員工和現有員工。目前，蘋果在華已擁有約9000名員工，其中約一半在蘋果的42家零售店工作。過去四年裏，蘋果中國辦事處的數量將近翻了一番，達到45個。
“We look forward to expanding our operations in China with a new research and development center as we continue to grow our talented team here,” an Apple spokesman said, without specifying the scale of its staffing or financial investment in the effort.
“我們期待通過一家新的研發中心擴大在華業務，我們會繼續發展我們在中國的人才隊伍，”蘋果一名發言人表示。該發言人未說明這項努力所牽扯到的人員和資金投入的規模。
“The centre will open later this year, bringing together our engineering and operations teams in China as we develop advanced technologies and services for our products, both for our customers in China and around the world,” Apple added.
“這家中心將在今年晚些時候設立，把我們在中國的工程團隊和運營團隊匯聚到一起，我們在爲我們的產品開發先進的技術與服務——既是爲了中國客戶，也是爲了全球客戶，”蘋果補充道。
Even as revenues slide, Apple is hiking its investment in future products and international expansion. Last month, Apple revealed a 26 per cent increase in its quarterly R&D spend to $2.6bn, a record 6 per cent of revenues. Its annual R&D spending is now approaching $10bn.
儘管營收呈現下滑，蘋果仍在增加對未來產品和國際擴張的投資。上月，蘋果披露稱，其季度研發支出增加了26%，達到26億美元，相當於營收的6%——這一水平創下了紀錄。目前，蘋果的年研發支出接近100億美元。
In May, Apple made a $1bn investment in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese driver-hailing service – an unusual move for a company that has typically favoured much smaller deals. As well as providing a strategic partnership as a secretive Apple team works on developing its own car, the deal was widely seen as an attempt to build goodwill with the Chinese government after a series of setbacks in the region.
今年5月，蘋果對中國的一款叫車服務“滴滴出行”(Didi Chuxing)投資了10億美元——對於一家通常喜歡規模小得多的交易的公司而言，這是一次非同尋常的舉動。人們普遍認爲，此舉除了是爲了在一個祕密的蘋果團隊努力研發蘋果汽車之際打造一種戰略合作關係，還是爲了在蘋果於該地區遭遇一系列挫折之後與中國政府建立友好關係。
Earlier this year, Apple’s iTunes movies and iBooks services were blocked in China as part of a wider crackdown on foreign content. Apple also lost a patent case in Beijing that threatened to block sales of the iPhone 6.
今年早些時候，隨着中國對外國出版物展開大範圍的打壓，蘋果的iTunes影片和iBooks服務在中國遭到屏蔽。蘋果還在北京輸掉了一場專利官司，可能會導致iPhone6在北京市場被禁售。
“The new center is also aimed at strengthening relationships with local partners and universities as we work to support talent development across the country,” Apple said.
“新的研發中心也是爲了在我們努力支持中國各地人才發展的同時，鞏固我們與中國當地合作伙伴以及大學之間的關係，”蘋果表示。
In last month’s earnings call, Mr Cook stressed the “long-term opportunity” in China, where sales grew 55 per cent to $40bn during the first three quarters of Apple’s fiscal year.
在上月的財報電話會議中，庫克強調了中國的“長期機遇”。在本財政年度的頭三個季度，蘋果在大中華區的銷售額增長了55%，達到400億美元。
Revenues from its books and movies stores in China were “less than $1m” before they were blocked, he added.
庫克補充道，蘋果的圖書和影片遭屏蔽前，這兩項內容在中國的營收“不足100萬美元”。
