中國離圓珠筆的成功更近了
BBC News – It has sent rockets into space, produced millions of the world's smartphones and built high-speed trains. But until now, one bit of manufacturing had perhaps unexpectedly eluded China: the ballpoint pen.
BBC資訊 – 它把火箭送入太空，生產出了世界上成千上百萬部智能手機，造出了高鐵。但到目前為止，制造業一個不起眼的部分或許出乎意料地難倒了中國：圓珠筆。
A year ago Premier Li Keqiang went on national television and bemoaned the failure of his country to produce a good quality version of this seemingly-simple implement. Locally-made versions felt "rough" compared to those from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, Mr Li complained.
一年前，李克強總理在國家電視臺發表講話，慨嘆中國無法制造出高質量的這種看似簡單的用具。國產圓珠筆與德國、瑞士和日本產圓珠筆相比顯得“粗糙”，李克強抱怨說。
The problem was not the body of the pen, but the tip - the tiny ball that dispenses ink as you write. It might be something we take for granted, but making them requires high-precision machinery and very hard, ultra-thin steel plates.
問題不在筆身，而在筆尖 – 書寫時出墨水的細小圓珠。這可能是我們不當回事的東西，但制造圓珠需要高精度機械設備和硬度非常高的超薄鋼板。
Without that ability, China's 3,000 penmakers have had to import this crucial component from abroad, costing the industry a reported 120m yuan ($17.3m) a year.
沒有那個能力的話，中國3千家圓珠筆制造商不得不從國外進口這種關鍵部件，據報道每年耗費該行業1.2億元（合1730萬美元）。
But according to People's Daily, the state-owned Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co thinks it has cracked the problem, after five years of research. The first batch of 2.3-millimetre ballpoint pen tips has recently rolled off its production lines, the paper says.
但根據《人民日報》，國營太原鋼鐵公司經過5年研究已經攻克了這個難題。第一批2.3毫米的圓珠筆尖最近已經下了生產線，該報說。
And once lab tests are completed, it's expected China could phase out pen tip imports completely within two years.
而一旦完成實驗室測試，中國有望在兩年內逐步徹底結束圓珠筆尖進口。
BBC News – It has sent rockets into space, produced millions of the world's smartphones and built high-speed trains. But until now, one bit of manufacturing had perhaps unexpectedly eluded China: the ballpoint pen.
BBC資訊 – 它把火箭送入太空，生產出了世界上成千上百萬部智能手機，造出了高鐵。但到目前為止，制造業一個不起眼的部分或許出乎意料地難倒了中國：圓珠筆。
A year ago Premier Li Keqiang went on national television and bemoaned the failure of his country to produce a good quality version of this seemingly-simple implement. Locally-made versions felt "rough" compared to those from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, Mr Li complained.
一年前，李克強總理在國家電視臺發表講話，慨嘆中國無法制造出高質量的這種看似簡單的用具。國產圓珠筆與德國、瑞士和日本產圓珠筆相比顯得“粗糙”，李克強抱怨說。
The problem was not the body of the pen, but the tip - the tiny ball that dispenses ink as you write. It might be something we take for granted, but making them requires high-precision machinery and very hard, ultra-thin steel plates.
問題不在筆身，而在筆尖 – 書寫時出墨水的細小圓珠。這可能是我們不當回事的東西，但制造圓珠需要高精度機械設備和硬度非常高的超薄鋼板。
Without that ability, China's 3,000 penmakers have had to import this crucial component from abroad, costing the industry a reported 120m yuan ($17.3m) a year.
沒有那個能力的話，中國3千家圓珠筆制造商不得不從國外進口這種關鍵部件，據報道每年耗費該行業1.2億元（合1730萬美元）。
But according to People's Daily, the state-owned Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co thinks it has cracked the problem, after five years of research. The first batch of 2.3-millimetre ballpoint pen tips has recently rolled off its production lines, the paper says.
但根據《人民日報》，國營太原鋼鐵公司經過5年研究已經攻克了這個難題。第一批2.3毫米的圓珠筆尖最近已經下了生產線，該報說。
And once lab tests are completed, it's expected China could phase out pen tip imports completely within two years.
而一旦完成實驗室測試，中國有望在兩年內逐步徹底結束圓珠筆尖進口。
