默多克與中國的愛恨情仇

????上周四，傳媒大亨魯珀特?默多克旗下的21世紀?？怂辜瘓F（21st Century Fox Group）宣布，將所持有的星空傳媒（Star China TV）股份全部出售，后者旗下運營著數個華語普通話頻道。至此，默多克在中國市場上長達20年的投資宣告結束。

????默多克此舉并不出人意料。雖然人人都知道中國市場潛力巨大，但縱使默多克苦心經營多年，卻始終未能在這個全球第二大經濟體中打開局面。而默多克出售星空傳媒的時機也頗為尷尬，媒體紛紛猜測此舉和他與其華裔妻子鄧文迪的離婚有關。

????盡管Quartz雜志的標題有所暗示，但默多克與中國的愛恨糾纏卻與其婚姻生活毫無瓜葛。不過，這篇刊登在Quartz雜志上的文章卻道出了默多克撤出中國的真實原因。2005年，默多克曾表示，由于中國政府收緊了對試圖在華擴張的外國傳媒企業的限制，因而導致他在中國的業務“碰壁”。五年之后，21世紀?？怂辜瘓F便將手頭所持有的星空傳媒大部分股份出售給了中國華人文化產業投資基金（China Media Capital）。

????今年年初，魯珀特?默多克的兒子、21世紀?？怂辜瘓F負責海外業務的首席執行官詹姆斯?默多克在接受《財富》雜志高級編輯亞當?拉辛斯基采訪時直言，在中國做生意越來越難：“對于我們這樣處于意識形態領域的企業來說，在中國的處境一直都很困難，這種困境顯而易見，而且很多人都有著同樣的遭遇?！?/p>

????默多克顯然不是第一個出口抱怨的企業高管。2010年，《金融時報》（Financial Times）曾經報道，通用電氣（GE）首席執行官杰夫?伊梅爾特認為中國對跨國公司非?！安挥焉啤?。他直言：“我很擔心在中國的生意，我到現在也不清楚中國政府能不能容忍我們在中國市場上取得競爭優勢?！?/p>

????誰也不清楚伊梅爾特現在怎么想，但默多克的舉動則表明，跨國公司想要從高速發展的中國經濟中“分一杯羹”并不是件容易的事。

????中國本土企業的境遇也好不到哪兒去。世界銀行每年發布的《營商環境》報告（Doing Business report）會根據一系列衡量標準來評估全球經濟體的營商環境。據最新一期報告，中國在全球189個國家中排名第96，雖然名次較去年上升三位，但仍然墊底，排在俄羅斯、塞爾維亞、牙買加和馬爾代夫之后。雖然中國政府在解決企業貸款以及破產倒閉等問題上已經取得了一些進步，但在保護投資者、減少創業的成本和時間方面依然有很大的提升空間。

????普華永道（PwC）在2013年所做的一項調查顯示，對美國的首席執行官們來說，中國依然是最重要的市場。雖然他們對中國市場的投資熱情正在減少，而且開始將目光轉向德國、加拿大墨西哥等其他市場，但在所調查的167位首席執行官中，有41%的人認為，中國市場對于其公司在未來一年的總體增長來說仍然非常重要。有鑒于此，人們不禁要問，默多克們的下一個目標將會是哪兒？（財富中文網）

????譯者：唐昕昕?????

????Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's 20-year pursuit of the Chinese market came to an end on Thursday after his film and television business, 21st Century Fox Group, announced that it would sell its remaining stake in Star China TV, which operates Mandarin language channels.

????This isn't much of a surprise. Despite all we hear about the potential of China's growing market, doing business in the world's second-largest economy has turned off Murdoch for many years now. The media has focused on the timing of his move, awkwardly connecting it to his recent divorce from his Chinese-born wife Wendi Deng.

????However, it's clear that Murdoch's love-hate relationship with China has little, if anything, to do with his marital problems, despite what a headline from Quartz may suggest. The piece, however, offers a helpful explainer on why Murdoch pulled out of China. In 2005, Murdoch said his business in China "hit a brick wall" after the government tightened restrictions on foreign media companies looking to expand there. And five years later, 21st Century Fox (FOX) sold its controlling stake in Star China to China Media Capital.

????In an interview earlier this year with Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, Rupert Murdoch's son, James Murdoch, who is chairman and chief executive of international operations at 21st Century Fox, said it has become harder to do business in China: "It's always been hard for us in the business of ideas to do business in China. That's clear and a lot of people have those issues."

????Murdoch certainly isn't the first executive to complain. In 2010, the Financial Times reported that GE (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt said that China was hostile to multinational companies, saying "I really worry about China. In the end I am not sure they want us to win, or to be successful."

????Who knows how Immelt feels now, but the Murdochs' move signals that cashing in on China's unprecedented growth hasn't gotten much easier.

????And it hasn't gotten that much better for domestic companies in China, either, according to the World Bank's latest annual Doing Business report, which ranks economies on the ease of doing business based on various measures, such as the time it takes to start a business. China climbed three spots to 96 out of 189 nations, but it's still at the bottom rung, just below Russia, Serbia, Jamaica, and the Maldives. China has made it easier for businesses to get credit and resolve insolvency, but the country has not made improvements on other measures, such as protecting investors and reducing the cost and time to start a business.

????Nonetheless, China is the most important economy to U.S. CEOs, according to a 2013 PwC survey. Of the 167 CEOs surveyed, 41% said China was critical to their companies' overall growth prospects over the next 12 months, although interest has waned as executives pay increased attention to the German, Canadian, and Mexican markets.

????All this raises the question: Where will the Murdochs look next?????