On a brisk April morning in 2024, investigators raided two European offices of Nuctech, a Chinese security equipment company with a vast global footprint. The officials from the European Union seized laptops, confiscated employees’ mobile phones and sifted through documents.

2024年4月的一个清冷的早晨，调查人员突击搜查了同方威视在欧洲的两个办事处。同方威视是一家中国安检设备公司，业务遍布全球。欧盟官员查扣了笔记本电脑，没收了员工的手机，并审查了大量文件。

They were searching for evidence that the state-backed company, once led by the son of China’s former president Hu Jintao, had gained an unfair advantage while competing to install X-ray scanners and explosive detection systems at border checkpoints in more than two dozen European countries.

他们正在寻找证据，以便证明这家曾由前中国国家主席胡锦涛之子领导、具有国家背景的公司在竞标为超过二十几个欧洲国家的边境检查站安装X射线扫描仪和爆炸物探测系统时，获得了不公平的优势。

Nuctech’s footprint is wide. Its equipment has been installed at airports and seaports in more than 170 countries. The company is also no stranger to scrutiny. It has been implicated in corruption investigations in Namibia and the Philippines, flagged in Canada for data security concerns and placed on a U.S. national security blacklist.

同方威视的业务足迹十分广泛。其设备已安装在170多个国家的机场和海港。该公司对审查也并不陌生。它曾被卷入纳米比亚和菲律宾的腐败调查，在加拿大因数据安全隐患被标记，并被列入美国国家安全黑名单。

Today, frustration in Europe over the dominance of Chinese companies across many industries is growing, and Nuctech has become a lightning rod for politicians under pressure to protect local companies and jobs. Concern over industries with potential spying or hacking vulnerabilities is mounting, too.

如今，欧洲对中国公司在许多行业占据主导地位的挫败感日益增强，在面临保护本土企业和就业压力的政界人士当中，同方威视成了的众矢之的。此外，人们对具有潜在间谍或黑客漏洞的行业的担忧也在不断增加。

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is investigating whether government support has given Chinese companies an unfair advantage. It is using a new legal tool to scrutinize public bids by Nuctech and other Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会正在就政府支持是否赋予了中国公司不公平的优势展开调查。该委员会正使用一项新的法律工具来审查同方威视以及其他中国电动汽车、太阳能电池板和风力涡轮机制造商的公开投标。

At the same time, China has denounced the investigations as “illegal” and an “unjustified suppression of Chinese enterprises.” Since the 2024 raids, the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Nuctech that could lead to divestments and bans. For the first time, China’s Ministry of Justice responded by publicly ordering Nuctech not to cooperate.

与此同时，中国谴责这些调查“非法”，是“对中国企业的无理打压”。自2024年的突击搜查以来，欧盟委员会对同方威视展开了深入调查，这可能导致资产剥离和禁令。中国司法部首次做出回应，公开命令同方威视不要配合调查。

中国前国家主席胡锦涛之子胡海峰，摄于2019年，北京。

The European Commission had investigated Nuctech in 2009 after a complaint by its British rival, Smiths Detection, and imposed anti-dumping tariffs on the company. Beijing retaliated with its own investigation into Smiths, ultimately imposing anti-dumping duties.

2009年，在收到其英国竞争对手史密斯探测的投诉后，欧盟委员会曾对同方威视进行调查，并对该公司征收了反倾销关税。北京方面予以报复，对史密斯探测展开了调查，最终也对其征收了反倾销税。

What happens this time could shape the future of relations between China and the European Union, as each side embraces increasingly divergent visions of free trade.

随着双方对自由贸易的愿景日益走向分歧，这一次的事件可能会塑造中国与欧盟关系的未来。

Nuctech embodies China’s first generation of companies to go global: state-backed, well connected and deeply financed. Its rise over the past three decades reflects both the ambitions of China’s ruling Communist Party and its willingness to pursue them over the long term.

同方威视是中国第一代走向全球企业的典型代表：背靠国家支持、人脉广阔且资金雄厚。在过去30年里，它的崛起既反映了中国执政党共产党的雄心壮志，也反映了其长期追求这些目标的决心。

“The Chinese model is very different from the Western model when it comes to private-sector development,” said Heiwai Tang, director of the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong.

香港大学亚洲环球研究所所长邓希炜表示：“在私营部门发展方面，中国模式与西方模式截然不同。”

“State-owned enterprises went out first, laying the groundwork, building infrastructure and ensuring that the private-sector firms, when they go overseas, can share some of the resources,” he added.

“国有企业率先走出去，奠定基础，建设基础设施，并确保私营企业走向海外时能够分享一些资源，”他还说。

布鲁塞尔欧洲之星火车站的一台同方威视安检扫描仪，摄于2022年。

‘All of us will serve as your salesmen.’

“我们所有人都会做你们的推销员。”

As China’s economy opened to the world and shipping containers began piling up at its borders, the country needed technology to inspect cargo for contraband. The government brought together researchers from Tsinghua University, and in 1997 the group became known as Nuctech.

随着中国经济向世界开放，集装箱开始在边境堆积，中国需要技术来检查货物中的违禁品。政府召集了清华大学的研究人员，1997年，这个团队更名为同方威视。

The company was granted access to state research bodies such as the China Institute of Atomic Energy and instructed to work closely with customs authorities, according to a paper published in a Chinese journal that cited interviews with Nuctech executives.

根据一家中国期刊上发表的援引对同方威视高管采访的一篇论文，该公司获准进入中国原子能科学研究院等国家研究机构，并受命与海关当局密切合作。

By 2000, Beijing had started urging Chinese companies to expand overseas.

到2000年，北京已开始敦促中国企业向海外扩张。

Wu Yi, then one of China’s top leaders, visited Nuctech’s facilities and implored employees to “develop the international market.”

当时的中国最高领导人之一吴仪参观了同方威视的设施，并敦促员工“发展国际市场”。

She added, “All of us will serve as your salesmen.”

她还说：“我们所有人都会做你们的推销员。”

During its early overseas push into Nepal, Syria, Lebanon, Mauritius, Suriname and Ecuador, Nuctech had no competitors, according to Chinese government documents examined by The New York Times. China’s Ministry of Commerce arranged the deals through a foreign aid program that provided assistance to developing countries to cultivate diplomatic good will.

根据《纽约时报》查阅的中国政府文件显示，在同方威视早期进军尼泊尔、叙利亚、黎巴嫩、毛里求斯、苏里南和厄瓜多尔期间，该公司没有任何竞争对手。中国商务部通过一项对外援助计划安排了这些交易，该计划旨在向发展中国家提供援助，以培养外交善意。

The ministry also assisted Nuctech with commercial deals. Nuctech was viewed as an important instrument of China’s efforts to deepen its global influence through trade.

商务部还协助同方威视进行商业交易。同方威视被视为中国通过贸易深化其全球影响力的重要工具。

One document described a contract in Malta as being secured “under the strong support” of the Ministry of Commerce “through government matchmaking.” The 3-million-euro lease deal in 2007 between Nuctech and the Maltese government covered eight years and included a €291,000 grant from Beijing for projects agreed upon by both countries.

一份文件称，在商务部的“大力支持”下，“通过政府牵线搭桥”，该公司获得了一份马耳他的合同。2007年同方威视与马耳他政府之间达成的这项租赁协议价值300万欧元，为期八年，其中包括北京为两国商定的项目提供的29.1万欧元拨款。

Nuctech also won contracts through the Belt and Road Initiative, the signature infrastructure program of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, that has directed roughly $1 trillion in loans toward projects around the world.

同方威视还通过“一带一路”倡议赢得了合同。这是中国领导人习近平标志性的基础设施计划，该计划已向世界各地的项目提供了约1万亿美元的贷款。

As Nuctech expanded overseas, it was accused of bribery and corruption in Namibia and the Philippines — allegations the company denied.

随着同方威视向海外扩张，它在纳米比亚和菲律宾被指控犯有贿赂和腐败行为——该公司否认了这些指控。

From 2000 to 2024, Chinese state-owned lenders and aid agencies made 66 grant and loan commitments worth more than $1.2 billion to buy and install Nuctech scanners and customs inspection equipment worldwide, according to AidData, a research institute at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

根据位于弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡的威廉玛丽学院研究机构AidData的数据，从2000年到2024年，中国国有贷款机构和援助机构做出了66项拨款和贷款承诺，价值超过12亿美元，用于在世界各地采购和安装同方威视的扫描仪及海关检查设备。

“Foreign aid projects are of profound and far-reaching importance to Nuctech’s expansion,” Miao Qitian, senior vice president of Nuctech, said in a news release about a visit by an agency under China’s Ministry of Commerce. The company, he added, “is a bright and beautiful calling card for China’s foreign aid work.”

同方威视高级副总裁苗齐田在一份关于中国商务部下属机构来访的新闻稿中表示：“援外项目对同方威视的扩张具有深远而重大的意义。”他还说，该公司“是中国援外工作一张亮丽的名片”。

巴西圣保罗的一台同方威视设备，摄于2014年。

‘Using trade to weaponize dependency’

“利用贸易将依赖变成武器”

Nuctech has since captured a large share of the global market for border inspection equipment. It says it holds the leading position in Africa, more than half the market in the Americas and a more than 90 percent share in Europe.

此后，同方威视占据了全球边境检查设备市场的巨大份额。该公司表示，它在非洲处于领先地位，在美洲占据超过一半的市场份额，在欧洲占据超过90%的份额。

This dominance has raised concerns in Europe, where lawmakers question whether Chinese companies should have access to sensitive sectors that are potentially vulnerable to hacking and espionage.

这种主导地位引起了欧洲的担忧，那里的立法者质疑，是否应该允许中国公司进入可能容易受到黑客攻击和间谍活动威胁的敏感领域。

What’s more, Nuctech’s Western competitors have argued that they struggle to compete on price, citing auctions in which the Chinese company’s bids were up to 50 percent below their bidding price.

此外，同方威视的西方竞争对手表示，他们在价格上难以与其竞争。他们指出，在一些竞标中，这家中国公司的报价比他们的报价低了50%。

In an interview with The Times, Robert Bos, deputy general manager of InsTech Netherlands, one of Nuctech’s two European subsidiaries, rejected the criticism.

同方威视在欧洲的两个子公司之一——荷兰InsTech公司的副总经理罗伯特·博斯在接受《纽约时报》采访时驳斥了这一批评。

The company’s European entities “did not receive any subsidies from the Chinese government that would enable them to offer unfairly low bids in E.U. public tenders and distort competition,” he said.

他说，该公司的欧洲实体“没有接受任何中国政府的补贴，使它们能在欧盟公开招标中提供不公平的低价从而扭曲竞争”。

Mr. Bos added that winning government contracts did not always come down to price. “Sometimes we’re cheaper; sometimes we’re more expensive. In some cases, we also lose,” he said. Nuctech can offer lower prices because it manufactures equipment at a factory in Poland, he said.

博斯还说，赢得政府合同并不总是取决于价格。“有时候我们更便宜；有时候我们更贵。在某些情况下，我们也会竞标失败，”他说。他表示，同方威视能够提供较低的价格，是因为它在波兰的一家工厂制造设备。

Many of the European contracts won by Nuctech were recognized as the “most economic,” according to The Times’s review of European procurement records.

根据《纽约时报》对欧洲采购记录的审查，同方威视赢得的许多欧洲合同被评为“最经济的”。

“They are using foreign subsidies to nestle themselves into our critical infrastructure,” said Bart Groothuis, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and former cybersecurity director at the Dutch Ministry of Defense. “They are using trade to weaponize dependency.”

“他们利用外国补贴，把自己安插进我们的关键基础设施中，”欧洲议会荷兰籍议员、前荷兰国防部网络安全主管巴特·格鲁特休斯说。“他们正在利用贸易，将依赖变成武器。”

China heightened those concerns last year when it restricted exports of critical minerals that European manufacturers relied on. Nuctech could similarly gain leverage over security operations, Mr. Groothuis said.

去年中国限制了欧洲制造商所依赖的关键矿物的出口，从而加剧了这些担忧。格鲁特休斯表示，同方威视同样可以在安全行动方面获得影响力。

Mr. Bos defended Nuctech’s position, saying, “Nuctech has no leverage over either the Chinese government or European critical infrastructure.”

博斯为同方威视的立场进行辩护称：“同方威视既无法对中国政府施加影响力，也无法对欧洲关键基础设施施加影响力。”

Criticism is mounting beyond Europe, too.

在欧洲之外，批评之声也在不断增加。

In 2020, the Canadian government scuppered Nuctech’s $6.8 million deal to supply X-ray equipment in 170 embassies, and a parliamentary committee recommended barring state-backed Chinese companies from federal technology and security contracts over data security concerns.

2020年，加拿大政府取消了同方威视为170个大使馆供应X射线设备的680万美元交易，一个议会委员会还建议，出于对数据安全的担忧，应禁止有国家背景的中国公司参与联邦技术和安全合同。

Mr. Bos denied that Nuctech stored or processed customer data. “Most of our customers have their own I.T. structures, and data handling is not up to us,” he said.

博斯否认同方威视存储或处理了客户数据。“我们的大多数客户都有自己的IT架构，数据处理不由我们负责，”他说。

That same year, the United States added Nuctech to a blacklist, saying it had sold equipment that “impaired efforts to stop illicit international trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials.”

同年，美国将同方威视列入黑名单，称其出售的设备“损害了阻止核材料和放射性材料非法国际贩运的努力”。

As the European Union considers a tougher approach toward China, Nuctech has become a proving ground where both sides are seeking to draw lines.

随着欧盟考虑对中国采取更强硬的立场，同方威视已成为双方试图划定界限的试验场。

By instructing Nuctech employees not to cooperate with the European investigation, China is pushing the limits of what Europe is willing to do, said Tobias Gehrke, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

欧洲外交关系委员会高级研究员托比亚斯·盖尔克表示，中国指示同方威视员工不要配合欧洲的调查，以此试探欧洲行动的底线。

“China is using Nuctech as a test case for how much the Europeans will want to stick to their regulations and laws.”

“中国正在将同方威视作为一个测试案例，看看欧洲人究竟多想坚持他们的规章制度和法律。”