Alibaba v.Tencent:The Battle for Supremacy in China

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Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent have built tech titans that dominate China’s digital economy.Is the world big enough for both of them?阿里巴巴的馬云和騰訊的馬化騰各自打造出了主宰中國數(shù)字經濟的科技巨頭公司。天下之大，是否足以供二馬共同馳騁？

Alibaba and Tencent,the two heavyweights of the Chinese Internet industry,both have market capitalizations that hover around half a trillion U.S.dollars.Both command sectors of the rapidly growing Chinese digital landscape: Tencent owns the leading gaming and messaging platform,while Alibaba rules e-commerce.Both are aggressive investors inside and outside China.Each is the pride of their notquite-first-tier hometowns: Alibaba of the ancient city of Hangzhou and Tencent of shiny-new Shenzhen.Finally,both touch an astounding percentage of the world’s most populous country:Alibaba’s various online marketplaces count 552 million active customers;Tencent’s WeChat messaging service recently surpassed 1 billion accounts.

阿里巴巴和騰訊是中國互聯(lián)網業(yè)兩大重量級企業(yè)，市值都在5000億美元左右。在迅猛增長的中國數(shù)字經濟中，這兩家企業(yè)均為行業(yè)龍頭：騰訊擁有首要的網絡游戲和即時通信平臺，阿里巴巴則掌控電子商務。兩家都是從算不上一線的城市起家，成為了當?shù)氐尿湴粒喊⒗锇桶驮O在古城杭州，騰訊位于耀眼的新興城市深圳。最后，兩者都在世界上人口最多的國家中國國內占有比例驚人的市場份額：阿里巴巴旗下各種網上市場擁有5.52億活躍顧客，而騰訊的微信即時通信服務用戶最近已超過10億。

[2]For all these similarities,Tencent and Alibaba are sharply distinct companies,as different in culture,style,and approach1approach（待人接物或思考問題的）方式，方法，態(tài)度。as Apple is from Google.The duo sprang from the same era,the late 1990s,when China was discovering the Internet,and for years they built giant businesses more or less out of each other’s way.Yet as they’ve grown,each inevitably has begun to encroach2encroach侵入。on the other’s turf.Tencent,for instance,is investing in retail and financial services,sectors that are Alibaba’s strength.Alibabka in turn sees an opening3opening突破口；新發(fā)展；良機。in Tencent’s domain,particularly by offering mobile-messaging tools to its vast network of small-business partners.

[2]騰訊與阿里巴巴雖有種種相似之處，但卻是兩家截然不同的企業(yè)，在文化、風格和經營思路上各異，有如蘋果與谷歌之別。二者崛起于同一時代，即20世紀90年代末，當時中國人初識互聯(lián)網。經過多年努力，它們發(fā)展成為幾乎互不相擾的龐大企業(yè)。但隨著成長壯大，二者不可避免地開始侵入對方地盤。例如，騰訊正投資于零售業(yè)和金融服務業(yè)，這是阿里巴巴的強項。阿里巴巴則看到騰訊勢力范圍中的一個空白，比如給其龐大的小商業(yè)合作伙伴網絡提供移動即時通信工具。

[3]There’s one last unavoidable comparison between the two combatants.Their top leaders share a surname,though Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma aren’t related.As the Chinese character for Ma signifies a horse,the contest between the two stallions4stallion牡馬；種馬。of the Chinese Internet literally is a two-horse race.And the trophy they’re racing for is nothing less than the No.1 position in a digital economy that’s growing faster and evolving more dynamically than any other nation’s.Alibaba and Tencent attack the market differently,in ways that have often allowed them to grow without butting heads.Alibaba’s is largely a strategy of buying controlling stakes5stake股份。in businesses that are a fit with its commerce platform;Tencent takes hundreds of minority stakes in an array of businesses to win over partners and gain access to their technology.

[3]這兩大競爭對手之間總讓人禁不住比較的一點，就是其掌門人都姓馬，盡管阿里巴巴馬云與騰訊馬化騰并無親緣關系。中國互聯(lián)網業(yè)這兩匹“駿馬”之間的競爭從字面意義上說就是“二馬之爭”，爭奪的錦標不是別的，正是全球發(fā)展最迅猛、最活躍的中國數(shù)字經濟的頭號霸主地位。阿里巴巴和騰訊以不同方式攻克市場，往往能在不硬碰硬的情況下各自發(fā)展壯大。阿里巴巴的策略主要是收購能與其商務平臺整合的企業(yè)的控股權；騰訊則通過收購數(shù)百家各類企業(yè)的少數(shù)股權來贏得合作伙伴并獲得其技術。

[4]Even if the world is big enough for both of them,Tencent and Alibaba increasingly are in conflict.“Until recently,everyone played in their own sandbox,” says Deborah Weinswig,New York-based CEO of the Chinafocused retail consultancy Coresight Research.“Now the sand is starting to spill over.”

[4]即便世界大得足以容下雙方，可騰訊與阿里巴巴之間的沖突卻不斷加劇?！安痪弥?，雙方還在自家沙池中各玩各的，”專門研究中國市場的零售咨詢公司Coresight Research駐紐約首席執(zhí)行官德博拉·魏因斯維格說，“但現(xiàn)在沙子開始外溢了?！?/p>

[5]Hangzhou is famous for its bucolic6bucolic田園的。West Lake,and for being the terminus of a canal from Beijing that a millennium ago made it one of the richest cities in China.Today,it is best known as the place where Jack Ma and 17 friends started Alibaba in the drab7drab單調的，乏味的。Hupan apartment complex in 1999.

[5]杭州以富于山水田園之美的西湖而著稱，也因是京杭大運河的終點而聞名，大運河起自北京，千年前就使杭州成為中國最富庶的城市之一。如今令杭州聲名遠揚的卻是，1999年在杭州湖畔花園不起眼的公寓樓內，馬云與17位好友攜手創(chuàng)辦了阿里巴巴。

[6]Alibaba maintains the Hupan site in its original state,and uses it as a history-steeped new-business incubator.A short drive from Alibaba’s massive headquarters,a campus of steel-andglass buildings that wouldn’t be out of place in Silicon Valley,the Hupan apartment is stuck in China’s pre-glamorous phase.Up a short flight of stairs,40-some engineers are crammed into a four-bedroom apartment,where photos of the founding Alibaba team adorn the walls.A whiteboard bears a famous quote from late paramount8paramount最高的，至高無上的。leader Deng Xiaoping.“Development is the absolute principle,” it states,scribbled9scribble潦草書寫。there by another paramount leader,Jack Ma himself.

[6]阿里巴巴將湖畔花園舊址原樣保留下來，當作具有歷史紀念意義的新企業(yè)孵化器使用。宏偉的阿里巴巴總部是一個由多座鋼結構玻璃幕墻建筑組成的園區(qū)，即使在硅谷也不會格格不入。從阿里巴巴總部驅車不遠，就是湖畔花園公寓，還保留著中國走向繁榮前時期的原貌。走上一段不長的樓梯，步入一套四居室公寓，可以看到40多名工程師擠在里面工作。墻上掛著阿里巴巴創(chuàng)始團隊的照片，一塊白板上寫著已故最高領袖鄧小平的名言“發(fā)展才是硬道理”，是身為阿里巴巴最高領導的馬云親筆手書。

[7]Two years ago,Alibaba started pursuing a “new retail” concept of providing technology and services to traditional retailers,including grocers,department stores,and even momand-pop bodegas10bodega小雜貨鋪。.

[7]兩年前，阿里巴巴開始探索“新零售”概念，為雜貨店、百貨商場甚至夫妻雜貨店等傳統(tǒng)零售商提供技術和服務。

[8]Now Alipay is part of Ant Financial,which recently raised $14 billion,thought to be the largest venture capital investment ever.Alibaba co-opted “Singles Day,” an unofficial holiday that celebrated unmarried adults,creating what Americans would call a “Hallmark holiday11Hallmark holiday指商業(yè)性購物節(jié)。Hallmark這一名稱源自制造和銷售節(jié)日賀卡的賀曼卡（Hallmark Cards）公司?！?by turning it into a nationwide orgy12orgy狂歡會。of ecommerce.Singles Day in 2017 rang up13ring up把……記入收銀機，達到……銷售額。total sales of $25.3 billion—that’s almost $6 billion more than Americans spent online over the entire five day Thanksgiving weekend shopping period.Alibaba also stitched together an alliance of shipping companies to form a China-wide delivery giant called Cainiao,in which Alibaba has steadily increased its ownership stake.Its goal,as dictated by Jack Ma,is to be able to deliver merchandise anywhere in China within 24 hours,and globally in 72 hours.

[8]支付寶現(xiàn)為螞蟻金服旗下業(yè)務板塊。螞蟻金服最近融資140億美元，被認為是有史以來最大的一筆風險投資?！半p11光棍節(jié)”本是單身一族自娛自樂的非正式節(jié)日，阿里巴巴借勢將其轉化為全國性的電商狂歡會，打造出一個類似美國“賀曼節(jié)”的購物節(jié)。2017年雙11購物節(jié)總銷售額達到253億美元，相比美國人在整整五天的感恩節(jié)周末小長假的網購支出，幾乎多出了60億。阿里巴巴還牽頭組建了一個貨運企業(yè)聯(lián)盟，成立了一家名為“菜鳥”的全國性物流巨頭，并穩(wěn)步增持其股份。馬云給菜鳥聯(lián)盟設定的目標是，國內24小時送達，全球72小時送達。

[9]If Hangzhou is one of China’s oldest big cities,Shenzhen,the home of Tencent,is one of its newest.Once a small town on the way from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (formerly Canton14Canton是在國外被廣泛使用的廣州英文名，廣州地標廣州塔的官方英文名即據(jù)此定為Canton Tower。),its fortunes changed in 1980,when central planners declared Shenzhen one of China’s first special economic zones.Factories flooded in,then “makers” who tinkered15tinker（馬虎將就地）修理，擺弄。on the world’s next-generation gadgets,and finally global technology companies including drone star DJI and smartphone maker ZTE.Today,Shenzhen is a massive city with broad,tree-lined boulevards and scores of skyscrapers.

[9]如果說杭州是中國一大古城，那么騰訊總部所在地深圳就是中國一大新城。深圳昔日是香港前往廣州（英文舊稱Canton）途中的一個小鎮(zhèn)，1980年中央決策者將深圳定為中國首批經濟特區(qū)之一后，其命運發(fā)生巨變。潮水般涌現(xiàn)的先是工廠，然后是加工制造世界上新一代電子小器件的“制造商”，最后是無人機明星企業(yè)大疆和智能手機制造商中興等全球化科技企業(yè)。如今深圳已是大都市，林蔭大道交織，摩天大樓林立。

[10]Tencent occupies several Shenzhen skyscrapers,including its justopened headquarters that join two towers in a single lobby.Facial-recognition sensors grant workers access to elevators.A running track and swimming pool high in the sky are among the many amenities.The vibe in Tencent’s lobby is cosmopolitan16cosmopolitan世界性的。and stylish,in pointed contrast to the suburban-nerd atmosphere at Alibaba’s campus.和泳池。大堂格調時尚而又國際化，與阿里巴巴園區(qū)低調的技術范兒形成鮮明對比。

[10]騰訊入駐了深圳數(shù)座摩天大樓，包括剛啟用的由兩座塔樓聯(lián)體組成、共用一個大堂的總部大樓。工作人員要通過面部識別傳感器刷臉后才能進入電梯。樓內有諸多配套設施，包括高入天際的健身跑道

[11]Tencent began life in 1998,and its first product,a messaging service for personal computers called QQ,was a copy of ICQ,the Israeli messaging service that also was the basis for AOL’s Instant Messenger.Tencent excelled at innovating on top of what it borrowed.QQ offered games,phone calls,and other Internet services embedded within the messaging platform,and Tencent made money by selling “virtual goods” within its games,like adding “energy” to make a game last longer.When the era of the smartphone hit,Tencent proved adept at competing against itself: A contest among several internal teams begat WeChat—and the group responsible for QQ did not win.

[11]騰訊誕生于1998年，首個產品是名為QQ的個人電腦用即時通信服務軟件，是以色列即時通信服務軟件ICQ的仿制品（美國在線的AIM即時通也是基于ICQ開發(fā)的）。騰訊擅長在借鑒的基礎上創(chuàng)新。QQ提供嵌入即時通訊平臺的游戲、語音通話和其他互聯(lián)網服務，通過出售游戲“虛擬商品”牟利，比如補充“能量”以延長游戲時間。事實證明，當智能手機時代來臨時，騰訊善于自相競爭：內部幾個團隊之間的一場比拼催生出了微信，而勝出的并非QQ團隊。

[12]It is difficult for those outside China to appreciate the ubiquitous17ubiquitous無所不在的。power of WeChat.Tencent ingeniously appropriated18appropriate挪用。an older technology,the two-dimensional QR code19QR code即Quick Response code,二維碼。,in empowering WeChat to utilize a smartphone’s camera to scan all manner of information.QR codes are how people in China exchange their contacts or download coupons.Once Tencent added WeChat Pay in 2013,the codes became a convenient way to exchange money too.Says Pony Ma: “We have transformed WeChat from people-to-people connections to people-to-service connections.”

[12]國外的人很難理解微信無所不在的威力。騰訊巧妙借用二維碼這項舊技術，賦予微信用手機攝像頭掃描各類信息的功能。在中國，人們可以通過二維碼交換聯(lián)系方式或下載優(yōu)惠券。騰訊2013年新增微信支付功能后，二維碼旋即成了使用方便的收付款方式。馬化騰表示：“我們將微信從人際聯(lián)系工具轉型為連通人與服務的工具?！?/p>

[13]Indeed,with WeChat recently having surpassed 1 billion accounts,the service is becoming something akin to a digital operating system for the entire economy.In 2014,WeChat offered a digital product called a “red envelope”that mimicked the centuries-old custom of giving gifts of money at the Chinese New Year.The feature went viral,and by the end of last year,800 million users had linked WeChat to their bank accounts.“Now everywhere in China,in parking lots,farmers’ markets,even at temples,and beggars on the streets,they all accept WeChat Pay with a simple scan,” boasts Pony Ma.

[13]事實上，隨著微信用戶最近超過10億，微信服務正在嬗變?yōu)檎麄€經濟的數(shù)字操作系統(tǒng)。2014年，微信推出名為“紅包”的數(shù)字產品，仿效古老的春節(jié)發(fā)紅包習俗。這一功能迅速走紅，截至去年年底，已有8億用戶將微信綁定到其銀行賬戶?！艾F(xiàn)今在中國，不論是停車場還是農貿市場，甚至寺廟道觀和街頭乞丐，無處不接受微信支付，信手一掃即可付款?！瘪R化騰自豪地說。

[14]The shrewd adoption of technology to cultural norms shows how both Tencent and Alibaba have moved well past copycat status.“Their success is due to their ability to be culturally innovative,” says Tricia Wang,a New Yorkbased sociologist turned consultant who studies social digital behavior in China.“They got to where they are by hijacking the culture,” she says,citing Tencent’s red envelope success as well as Alibaba’s Singles Day stratagem20stratagem（為取勝或迷惑對手的）計策。.“They did a culture graft21graft嫁接。in the same way horticulturists22horticulturist園藝師。perform grafts on plants.”

[14]巧妙地將科技運用于文化習俗領域，表明騰訊和阿里巴巴都已遠遠超越模仿階段?！八鼈兊某晒w功于其文化創(chuàng)新能力。它們擁有今天的成就，靠的是文化劫持?！奔~約專門研究中國社會數(shù)字化行為的顧問王圣捷說，她以前是一名社會學家。她談到騰訊紅包的成功和阿里巴巴的雙11購物節(jié)策略，指出：“它們嫁接文化，如同園藝師嫁接植物?！?/p>

[15]Tencent calls its efforts “smart retail,” compared with Alibaba’s “new retail,” and Tencent’s offerings are centered around two features unique to WeChat.One is the “official account,”a kind of template for brands and other businesses to reach consumers through WeChat.The other is the “mini-app,” a lightweight application inside WeChat that requires less development effort than a built-from-scratch app and doesn’t require consumers to download anything.

[15]與阿里巴巴的“新零售”相比，騰訊則致力于發(fā)展其所稱的“智慧零售”。騰訊提供的服務集中在微信的兩大特有功能上。其一是“公眾號”，這是品牌和其他業(yè)務通過微信通達消費者的跳板。其二是“微信小程序”，這是微信平臺內的簡化應用程序，與從頭編制的應用程序相比，其開發(fā)工作量更小，而且不用用戶下載任何東西。

[16]THE AREA WHERE the Tencent-Alibaba battle is most obvious is in their respective investment strategies.The two have been such assiduous23assiduous勤奮的。dealmakers that the astute24astute敏銳的，精明的。Hong Kongbased Bernstein analyst Bhavtosh Vajpayee counted 280 Tencent deals over the past three years and 174 for Alibaba.Their home country accounts for the lion’s share of overall revenue for both companies.But both have set their sights on Southeast Asia.Tencent owns a 34% stake in the publicly traded Singapore gaming and Internet company Sea and has reportedly been considering other large investments.Alibaba,given to grand strategic goals,has said it wants to serve 2 billion customers and will make Southeast Asia its first major expansion area.■

[16]騰訊與阿里巴巴之爭最明顯地體現(xiàn)在各自的投資戰(zhàn)略上。兩者都頻繁進行并購交易，據(jù)觀察敏銳的伯恩斯坦公司駐香港分析師巴夫托什·瓦杰帕伊統(tǒng)計，在過去3年里，騰訊完成了280宗交易，阿里巴巴完成了174宗交易。雖然兩家公司的國內營收都在各自總營收中占絕大比例，但它們都把目光投向了東南亞。騰訊持有新加坡上市游戲和互聯(lián)網公司Sea的34%股份，據(jù)說也一直在考慮其他大手筆投資。阿里巴巴則定下宏偉的戰(zhàn)略目標，表示希望為20億客戶服務，并將把東南亞作為首要的擴張地區(qū)?！?/p>

（譯者曾獲第四屆“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽優(yōu)秀獎）