Several European companies in China have been unable to remit dividends abroad following the introduction of new exchange controls, the first indication that Chinese attempts to curb capital outflows are causing problems for foreign businesses.

在中国政府引入新的外汇管制后，几家在华经营的欧洲公司无法将股息汇至国外，这是中国遏制资本外流的尝试给外资企业带来问题的第一个迹象。

The EU Chamber of Commerce in Beijing said the payment difficulties experienced by European companies were “disruptive to business operations”.

位于北京的中国欧盟商会(European Chamber of Commerce in China)表示，欧洲企业遭遇的支付困难“扰乱了业务运营”。

The measures, which included complex approval procedures for sending money out of the country, were introduced on November 28. They appear designed to shore up China’s foreign exchange reserves following a period of unprecedented outflows of capital that have sent the renminbi down almost 6 per cent against the US dollar this year, putting it on track for its worst year on record.

这些举措是在11月28号推出的，包括向国外汇款需要经过复杂的审批手续。这些举措的目的似乎是在中国经历一段空前的资本外流时期后支撑中国的外汇储备。此前的资本外流使今年以来人民币兑美元汇率下跌近6%，即将成为有记录以来人民币表现最差的一年。

China has sold dollars from its foreign exchange reserves to try to curb downward pressure on the renminbi, with reserves hitting $3.12tn at the end of October, the lowest level since March 2011.

中国已抛售外汇储备中的美元资产，试图遏制人民币的下行压力，这使中国的外储在10月底降至3.12万亿美元，这是自2011年3月以来的最低水平。

The EU Chamber in Beijing said that, as of Monday, one company based in Shanghai had a dividend payment of several hundred million renminbi “stuck”, while another in a southern Chinese city was told last week that a Rmb900m ($131m) payment needed more time for approval.

中国欧盟商会表示，截至周一，一家位于上海的欧洲公司数亿元人民币的股息支付“卡住”，一家位于中国南方某市的欧洲公司上周被告知，一笔9亿元人民币（合1.31亿美元）的支付需要更多时间才能批准。

Another company based in south-west China was asked to give a detailed payment plan for a divided payment of Rmb2bn, which the EU Chamber described as unusual. Such dividend payments would have been routine two weeks ago.

另一家位于中国西南的公司被要求为一笔20亿人民币股息提供详细支付方案。中国欧盟商会表示这不寻常。这样的股息支付在两周前还很平常。

The new difficulties follow a conference call last week in which a state regulator, the State Administration on Foreign Exchange (Safe) based in Shanghai, instructed about 20 foreign and domestic banks on new “window guidance” on foreign capital flows, to be implemented immediately.

新的困难出现之前，在上周一次电话会议上，国家外汇管理局(SAFE)上海分局针对有关外资流动的新“窗口指导”对约20家国内外银行进行了指示，要求它们立即执行相关措施。