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Can This Country Show Europe How to Compete Again?
这个国家能否向欧洲展示如何再次参与竞争？
Sweden’s economy has, in many ways, suffered from the same tribulations as the rest of Europe: recent bouts of crushing inflation and recession, and now the prospect of meager growth in a world split by geopolitical and economic conflict.
在很多方面，瑞典的经济都遭受了与欧洲其他国家相同的磨难：前不久几轮严重的通胀和经济衰退，以及在一个因地缘政治和经济冲突而四分五裂的世界里所面临的增长乏力的前景。
Nevertheless, the Nordic country has a roster of high-tech entrepreneurs that is the envy of its neighbors.
然而，这个北欧国家拥有一批令邻国羡慕的高科技创业者。
Spotify and Skype are globally recognized brand names.
Spotify和Skype是有全球知名度的品牌。
Klarna, a financial tech firm, and King Digital Entertainment, the maker of the video game juggernaut Candy Crush, are other examples of homegrown tech powerhouses.
金融科技公司Klarna和超热门视频游戏“糖果传奇”的开发商“国王数码娱乐”也是瑞典本土科技巨头的其他例子。
That entrepreneurial track record has been attracting renewed attention at a time when anxieties are mounting about Europe’s ability to compete with American and Chinese advancements in high technology.
在人们越来越担心欧洲是否有能力与美国和中国的高科技进展竞争之际，瑞典的这种创业成绩再次引起了人们的关注。
The United States has turned out a generation of companies like Google, Meta and Amazon, while China’s tech scene flourished with firms like Alibaba, Huawei and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok.
美国诞生了一代高科技公司，比如谷歌、Meta和亚马逊，中国的科技行业也因阿里巴巴、华为和字节跳动（TikTok的所有者）等公司而蓬勃发展。
Europe, of course, has its own star tech giants like the Netherlands’ ASML, a global leader in the semiconductor sector.
当然，欧洲也有自己的明星科技巨头，比如全球半导体行业领先者：荷兰的ASML公司。
But as a whole, the continent is seen more as a bystander than an innovator, known more for its aggressive regulation of foreign tech firms than building businesses of its own.
但作为一个整体，欧洲大陆更多地被视为是旁观者，而不是创新者，更多地以对外国科技公司的严苛监管而闻名，而不是以建立自己的企业而闻名。
The economic impact of falling behind is substantial, but it also has important social implications.
在科技上落后的经济影响是巨大的，但也产生了重要的社会影响。
European policymakers worry about the long-term effect of relying on foreign corporations for communication, social media, shopping and entertainment rather than on companies with what is widely referred to as “European values.”
欧洲政策制定者担心，在通信、社交媒体、购物和娱乐方面依赖外国公司，而不是依赖有统称的“欧洲价值观”的公司，可能会产生长期影响。
Those values include a stronger appreciation for protecting privacy, preventing the dissemination of hateful speech and maintaining strong labor protections and a better work-life balance.
欧洲价值观包括更重视保护隐私、防止仇恨言论的传播，以及保持强有力的劳工保护和更好的工作与生活平衡。
Critics of European tech policies complain about less access to venture capital and a cultural aversion to risk-taking.
欧洲科技政策的批评者抱怨，在欧洲获得风险投资的机会较少，以及欧洲文化厌恶风险。
Europe’s tech workers have often moved to the United States rather than build companies at home.
欧洲的科技工作者经常搬去美国，而不是在国内建立公司。
But Sweden has had a different experience.
但瑞典却有不同的经历。
It has produced more tech unicorns — start-ups valued at more than $1 billion — per capita than any other country in Europe after tiny Estonia, according to a report on European tech by Atomico, an investment firm.
根据投资公司Atomico发布的一份关于欧洲科技行业的报告，瑞典人均产生的科技独角兽--估值超过10亿美元的初创企业--比欧洲其他任何国家都多，仅次于小国爱沙尼亚。
And it ranked fourth in the number of unicorns, after Britain, Germany and France, countries whose populations are six to nine times as large.
而且瑞典在独角兽数量上排名第四，仅次于英国、德国和法国，这三个国家的人口是瑞典的六到九倍。
In interviews, a dozen entrepreneurs, investors and economists agreed that an ingredient of Sweden’s success were initiatives in the 1990s that gave a wide swath of the public access to personal computers and broadband.
在采访中，十几名创业者、投资者和经济学家一致认为，瑞典成功的一个因素是20世纪90年代瑞典让广大公众能够使用个人电脑和宽带。
At the time, most people were just getting used to the screeching woof of dial-up modems.
那个时候，大多数人才刚刚习惯了拨号上网发出的刺耳声音。
Analysts also point to a tradition in Sweden of public and private investment in research and development, which currently amounts to 3.4 percent of total output, one of the highest percentages in Europe.
分析师们还指出，瑞典有公共和私人投资研发的传统，研发投资目前占总产出的3.4%，是欧洲比例最高的国家之一。
There was also a deep pool of assets from family foundations like Wallenberg and Ikea as well as a government-controlled pension system that served as local sources of early venture capital in the small nation.
瓦伦堡家族和宜家等家族基金会，以及政府控制的养老金体系也拥有大量资产，这些体系是这个小国家的早期风险投资的国内资金来源。
Swedish businesses have always been pushed to search for customers outside the country, which has a population of only 10 million, said Asa Zetterberg, the managing director of TechSverige, a trade organization.
贸易组织TechSverige的董事总经理阿萨·泽特伯格表示，瑞典企业一直不得不在国外寻找客户，因为该国人口只有1000万。
That has forced start-ups and industry, she said, to “be competitive in the global economy.”
她说，这迫使瑞典的初创企业和行业“在全球经济中都具有竞争力”。
Half of the country’s gross domestic product comes from exports, and the tech sector accounted for 11 percent of total exports in 2022.
瑞典GDP的一半来自出口，而2022年科技行业的出口占出口总额的11%。
