Day 3

Tech firms in emerging markets

新兴市场中的科技巨头

Clash of the titans

泰坦的碰撞

①中美科技巨头在印度和东南亚等地展开正面交锋。

Chinese and American tech giants are at confrontation in India and Southeast Asia, etc. 

②TWO contests are under way in which titans holding billions in their thrall vie for global 

身价数亿的科技巨头在全球殖民竞争的两场竞赛悄然来临。

domination. One is unfolding on Russian football pitches and features the likes of 

一个是解释俄罗斯足球界对内马尔（Neymar）和哈里 凯恩（Harry Kane的偏爱这些特点

Neymar and Harry Kane. The other is playing out on the smartphone screens of consumers in India, Indonesia, Brazil and other emerging economies.There, American online superstars such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are pitted against a Chinese dream team led by Alibaba and Tencent. 

在那里，美国像谷歌，脸书，亚马逊这样的网络超级明星被以阿里巴巴和腾讯为首的中国梦之队攻击并受到损失。

③The geopolitics of business means that the world’s biggest tech firms have swelled to combined market capitalisations of over $4trn without really going head to head.

商业的区域政治表明，世界上最大的科技公司已经充胀到超过$4trn的组合市场资本，而并没有真正的进行正面交锋。

 China blocked Google et al with its Great Firewall, preventing American firms (Apple is an obvious exception) from taking on Chinese rivals on the mainland. Chinese giants have stayed out of America; Europe fell under the spell of Silicon Valley before Chinese tech had matured.

④Time, and capabilities, have changed.Chinese tech firms once simply mimicked Silicon Valley products, from search engines to e-commerce and social networks. 

中国的科技公司曾经只是模仿硅谷的产品，从搜索引擎到电子商务和社交网络。

Now the copycats have become pioneers. WeChat, a messaging app run by Tencent with endless bells and whistles, for example, rivals anything from California.

⑤No matter, so far as the tech firms are concerned. Winning the next billion users is seen as an investment worth making at almost any cost. Chinese tech giants must reckon with a dwindling number of new recruits to the internet at home; they also have the confidence, clout and capabilities to expand abroad. America’s titans might once have expected to face meek local rivals in emerging markets; now they have a fight on their hands.四年前，当足坛巨人们拼力争夺上一次世界殊荣之时，科技巨头们还无从想象将有此一战。

four years ago, when football titans struggled for last world privilege, tech titans have never thought there would be a war like that.