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The two-acre site at 421 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is nothing more than concrete rubble and rusted steel rods – remnants of a property project gone bust.
在美国纽约市布鲁克林区威廉斯堡街区肯特大道421号那块方圆两英亩的工地上，全是些碎石混凝土和生锈的钢筋，这是一个房地产项目倒闭后的遗留物。
But if Xinyuan Real Estate has its way, a gleaming upmarket condominium building with 216 units will soon take its place.
但如果中国房地产开发商鑫苑置业自有办法，一栋熠熠生辉、拥有216个单元的高档公寓楼即将在这里建成。
This would make developer Xinyuan one of the first US-listed Chinese companies to build a significant residential development in the US, according to Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, the property analysts.
Real Capital Analytics董事总经理、房产分析师丹??法苏洛(Dan Fasulo)指出，这栋公寓楼完工后，开发商鑫苑置业将成为在美上市中资企业里首家在美国建设大型居住开发项目的企业。
Following on the heels of wealthy Chinese people, who have been pouring money into US real estate, and state-owned Chinese banks, which have sharply increased lending to US commercial properties, it is now the turn of Chinese property developers to try their luck in the US.
中国富人一直向美国房市倾注资金，中国国有银行也大幅提高了针对美国商业地产项目的放贷。如今，中国房地产开发商也紧随二者之后，到美国试试运气。
With Beijing redoubling its efforts to rein in house prices – it unveiled plans for a tougher real estate capital gains tax in March – the pressure is on for China’s property developers to seek openings overseas. Xinyuan is among the companies leading the charge.
中国政府加大房价调控力度，3月份推出了更加严苛的房地产资本利得税，因此中国房地产开发商的压力骤增，被迫转向海外寻找机会。鑫苑置业就是带头发起海外攻势的企业之一。
The company, which counts ??billionaire Sam Zell among its early backers, made news last September when it snapped up the Kent Avenue site for $54.2m. John Liang, its US head, says the company plans to spend another $150m on the development.
这家企业的早期支持者包括亿万富翁山姆??泽尔(Sam Zell)。去年9月份，鑫苑置业以5420万美元价格买下前述地块，成为轰动性新闻。鑫苑置业美国公司总经理John Liang表示，公司计划拿出1.50亿美元开发这块地。
“We are just going where our customers are going,” says Mr Liang.
Liang表示：“我们只是跟着客户走而已。”
It is a telling statement given the rise in capital outflows from China last year. The country recorded a capital account deficit in 2012 of $117bn, its first deficit since 1998. Much of this came from rich Chinese shifting their assets abroad.
考虑到去年中国资本外流抬头，这一说法颇有说服力。2012年，中国资本账户赤字达到1170亿美元，这是中国自1998年以来首次出现资本账户赤字，主要原因是富人向海外转移资产。
Much of the money makes its way to places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, but also to the US, where the glut of Chinese money is driving up property prices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
多数资金流向了香港和新加坡，不过也有一部分流入美国。中国的海量资金推高了纽约、洛杉矶和旧金山的房价。
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows buyers from mainland China and Hong Kong are now the second-largest group of foreign investors in US residential real estate after Canadians, spending $9bn in the period from March 2011 to March 2012.
全美房地产经纪人协会(National Association of Realtors)的数据显示，中国大陆和香港的买家如今成为继加拿大人之后，第二大外国投资者群体，从2011年3月到2012年3月期间，购房金额达90亿美元。
“We are constantly getting calls from our existing customers in China asking us to build in the US,” says Mr Liang. “The desire among them to invest in US real estate is very strong.” Xinyuan is not alone in wanting to tap into this pent-up demand.
Liang表示：“我们不断接到中国现有客户的电话，要求我们在美国盖房子。他们投资美房市的愿望非常强烈。”鑫苑置业不是唯一一家打算挖掘这一潜在需求的开发商。
In February, Vanke, China’s largest property developer by market value, teamed up with Tishman Speyer Properties, the US developer, to build two high-rise condominium towers in San Francisco. Financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed, but the deal to develop the 655 units will be Vanke’s first project in the US.
今年2月，中国市值最大的房地产开发商万科(Vanke)与美国开发商铁狮门房地产公司(Tishman Speyer Properties)宣布组建合资企业，共同在旧金山建设两栋高层公寓楼。合资企业的财务条款尚未对外披露，但两栋共655个单元的公寓楼将是万科在美国开发的第一个项目。
Then last month, Zarsion Holdings, a Beijing real estate investment group, agreed to help fund an undisclosed chunk of a $1.5bn project to transform 65 acres of Oakland’s industrial waterfront into a residential neighbourhood.
上个月，北京一家房地产投资集团泽信控股(Zarsion Holdings)达成协议，为一项价值15亿美元的工程提供一大笔未予披露数目的资金，旨在把奥克兰65英亩的工业码头改建成一处居宅区。
Others, such as Vantone Real Estate, are thought to be on the prowl for US residential property deals.
人们认为，万通地产(Vantone Real Estate)等其他房地产开发商也积极在美国寻找住宅地产开发项目。
Chinese buyers have varying reasons for purchasing US property, say people that have dealt with them. Some are buying because they want to emigrate or they have children who will go to school in the US.
与中国买家打过交道的人士表示，他们购买美国房产的理由多种多样。有些人在美买房是想移民，或者家有子女将赴美国求学。
“People who made a lot of money in the last 10-12 years in China are looking to cash out,” says Mr Liang. “The era of quick profit is over in China.”
Liang表示：“过去10至12年间在中国赚了大钱的人正在向国外转移资金。在中国，一夜暴富的时代已经结束了。”
Others buy because the numbers add up. The renminbi has repeatedly set new highs against the dollar in recent months.
其他人在美国购买房产是因为很划算。最近几个月，人民币兑美元汇率屡创新高。
With the renminbi up 4 per cent against the dollar since last July, US house prices are still viewed as a bargain compared with Australia, Canada and China.
自去年7月至今，人民币兑美元已累计上涨4%，因此与澳大利亚、加拿大以及中国相比，美国房价被认为物超所值。
Then, there is China’s continuing crackdown on corruption.
此外，还有中国持续打击腐败的因素。
In Williamsburg, although Xinyuan says that there is more than enough local demand in New York’s sought-after property market to carry its Kent Avenue development through, it does expect plenty of Chinese interest.
在威廉斯堡，尽管鑫苑置业表示，在纽约炙手可热的房市，当地需求已经足以推动肯特大道的开发项目，但预计还有大量中国人对此感兴趣。
It is designing some of the units, which will range from $700,000 to $3m, with two kitchens – a Chinese wok kitchen and a western-style kitchen that can be separated by a sliding wall, as well as a large pantry that can double as a nanny’s quarters, if zoning rules allow for it.
鑫苑置业正在设计的部分公寓售价从70万美元到300万美元不等，配有两间厨房，一间是中式厨房，一间是西式厨房，中间可由一扇滑动门隔开，还有一大间食品储藏室，能兼做保姆间——如果分区规则允许的话。
The company is also offering help with financing and immigration referral services for potential Chinese buyers.
该公司还向潜在的中国买家提供融资以及移民推荐服务等帮助。
For now, foreign projects are still a fraction of the overall portfolio of Chinese developers.
目前，在中国房地产开发商的总体业务中，国外项目仍只是一小部分。
“The US will not replace China as our bread-and-butter business,” says Mr Liang, adding that even after the Williamsburg project hits the market in 2015, the US will account for less than 10 per cent of group sales. “It’s more about diversification and having a hedge against our domestic business.”
Liang表示：“美国不会代替中国成为我们赖以为生的主要业务。这么做更多是出于业务多元化以及防范国内业务风险的考虑。”他补充道，即便威廉斯堡项目到2015年上市，美国销量也只占集团总销量的不到10%。
Additional reporting by Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing
欧阳德(Simon Rabinovitch)北京补充报道
