Manufacturing data from around Asia on Tuesday showed the long-awaited pickup in exports to the West still isn't happening.

周二亚洲各地公布的制造业数据显示，外界期待已久的亚洲对西方出口增加的情况仍未发生。

Stronger U.S. growth and Europe's emergence from recession have raised hopes that Asia's export-dependent economies also will get a boost. But exports until now haven't grown strongly, raising fears of sluggish growth for the future.

美国经济进一步增长和欧洲摆脱经济衰退令外界预计亚洲出口依赖型经济体也将受到提振。但直到现在，亚洲出口都没有强劲增长，从而加剧了有关未来经济增长疲弱的担忧。

Purchasing managers' indexes from across Asia for March deepened these concerns. Data from China to South Korea and India showed business conditions are still fragile. Many index levels remain around the statistical line that separates expansion from contraction. Headline readings in a few countries declined, while none rose strongly.

亚洲各地的3月份采购经理人指数(PMI)则加剧了这种担忧。中国、韩国、印度等经济体的数据均显示，商业状况依然脆弱。很多指数仍处于区别扩张与萎缩的分水岭附近。一些国家的整体指数下降，没有一个指数大幅上升。

'The bottom line is the manufacturing sector in Asia is still fairly sluggish,' said Frederic Neumann, HSBC's co-head of Asia research. 'The region is not benefiting from stronger demand in the U.S. and Europe.'

汇丰控股(HSBC)亚洲研究部门联席主管诺伊曼(Frederic Neumann)表示，总之就是亚洲制造业仍相对疲软，并没有从美国和欧洲需求改善中受益。

China's slowing economic growth has unnerved markets. A slew of poor data on retail sales, production and trade for January and February heightened concerns of a hard landing in China as the government attempts to reduce over-investment and pare debt.

中国经济增长放缓令市场紧张不安。1月和2月零售额、工业增加值和贸易数据表现疲软，加剧了针对中国经济在政府试图减少过度投资、降低债务水平之际出现硬着陆的担忧。

Data released Tuesday did little to alleviate those concerns. China's official government PMI came in at 50.3 for March, higher than February's 50.2 but still barely above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. A separate gauge from HSBC and Markit Economics, which focuses more on small and medium-sized enterprises, declined to 48.0 in March from 48.5 a month earlier.

周二公布的数据也无助于缓解这种担忧。中国3月份官方PMI为50.3，高于2月份的50.2，但仍然仅仅是略高于50这一荣枯分水岭。汇丰控股和Markit Economics联合编制的另一项更关注中小企业的指标从2月的48.5降至48.0。

Other East Asian economies also have failed to pick up strongly. China plays an important part in the region's supply chain, accounting for about a quarter of its exports, with many of those goods getting re-exported to industrialized nations.

其它东亚经济体也未能恢复强劲增长势头。中国在该地区供应链中扮演重要角色，占该地区出口额的四分之一左右，其中很多商品被转口到工业化国家。

But demand in the U.S. and Europe for East Asia's exports of electronics and other goods has not picked up as expected.

但美国和欧洲对东亚电子产品和其他商品的需求并没有像预期般升温。

HSBC's PMI for Taiwan--a bellwether of global demand for electronics--fell to 52.7 in March from February's 54.7. The key subindex on export orders also dropped sharply. In South Korea, another electronics exporter, the PMI barely rose to expansionary territory, rising to 50.4 in March from 49.8 the previous month. Exports started to pick up modestly, growing 5.2% on-year in March.

全球电子产品需求风向标汇丰台湾PMI从2月份的54.7下滑至3月份的52.7，主要的出口订单分类指数也大幅下滑。在另外一个电子产品出口国韩国，PMI从2月份的49.8上升至3月份的50.4，勉强升至荣枯线以上。出口开始小幅回升，3月份同比增长5.2%。

'None of this reflects a very determined or forceful recovery at this juncture,' Mizuho Corporate Bank economist Vishnu Varathan said. But he added: 'The fears that Asia is falling off a cliff are overdone. We may be stuck in limbo for a while.'

瑞穗实业银行(Mizuho Corporate Bank)经济学家维拉德翰(Vishnu Varathan)称，从这些数据来看，目前并没有出现非常明确或有力的复苏势头。但他表示，投资者对于亚洲掉下悬崖的忧虑过度，经济可能只是暂时处在不定状态。

The moribund data has raised the question of whether Asia no longer benefits from foreign demand as in the past.

疲弱的数据令人怀疑亚洲是否不再像过去那样得益于外部需求。

Analysts cite several features of the U.S. recovery that have damped imports from Asia. One is that U.S. demand appears to be driven more by shale gas and housing, sectors that don't require heavy input from Asia. American consumers--the drivers of past booms--continue to pay down debt rather than rack up new purchases.

分析人士指出了美国经济复苏的几个特点，这些特点抑制了美国从亚洲的进口。一个特点是，美国的需求似乎更多地由页岩气革命和房地产市场推动，这些行业不需要从亚洲大量进口。美国的消费者（他们过去曾是经济快速增长的推动者）要继续还债，而不是增加新的消费。

In addition, a shifting competitive landscape, as production costs rise in China and other parts of emerging Asia, is encouraging American manufacturers to move some production back to the U.S.

另外，随着中国和亚洲其他新兴经济体的生产成本上升，竞争力格局发生转变，这促使美国制造企业将部分生产活动移回美国。

Optimists point to a growing portion of exports that remain within the region, reducing dependence on rich nations. Exports to the developed world have fallen as a portion of gross domestic product for virtually every Asian country in the past decade, in some cases by as much as half, according to Goldman Sachs.

乐观人士指出，亚洲区域内的出口贸易所占比重提高，降低了对富裕国家的依赖。高盛(Goldman Sachs)称，过去10年，每个亚洲国家对发达经济体的出口占国内生产总值(GDP)的比重均有所下降，有些国家这个比例甚至下降一半。

Still, many of the goods exported to China are intermediary products that will be assembled and re-exported to the West.

不过，很多出口至中国的产品都是半成品，在中国组装后再出口至西方国家。

Tuesday's data did contain some silver linings. For the first time in four months, both China PMIs showed a pickup in new export orders. HSBC's PMI for Vietnam, whose economy is performing strongly due to a wave of recent investment, rose to 51.3 in March from 51.0 in February.

周二的数据也确实带来一线希望。汇丰中国PMI和官方PMI均显示新出口订单增加，为四个月以来首次。3月份汇丰越南PMI从2月份的51.0升至51.3，最近一系列投资使越南经济表现强劲。

In Indonesia, data Tuesday showed the trade balance swung to a surplus in February as imports contracted sharply. The central bank has been raising rates to slow the nation's economy and reduce its dependence on foreign financing.

印度尼西亚周二公布的数据显示，由于进口大幅萎缩，2月份出现贸易顺差。印尼央行一直在通过加息减缓经济增速并降低对外部融资的依赖。

But other data was dispiriting. Indonesia's March HSBC PMI fell to a seven-month low at 50.1. India's PMI also fell, to 51.3 in March from February's 52.5.

但其他数据令人失望。印尼3月份汇丰PMI降至七个月低点50.1。印度3月份PMI也从2月份的52.5降至51.3。

The pickup has been predicted for so long now that when--or whether--it happens is anyone's guess.

鉴于外界对亚洲经济好转已经期待得太久，现在大家都不确定亚洲经济何时、是否会好转。

'I think the clouds will only part over the summer, and the second half will be a bit stronger,' HSBC's Mr. Neumann said. 'For now, this is as good as it gets.'

汇丰控股的诺伊曼表示，他认为今年夏天亚洲经济阴云将开始消散，下半年情况将略有好转。他说，就目前而言，情况已算不错了。