美国国家公共电台 NPR--Germany's chancellor is visiting President Biden at the White House

Germany's chancellor¹ is visiting President Biden at the White House

Transcript²

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is traveling without press and the two leaders do not plan to have a news conference. His visit may focus on the tense rhetoric³ between the U.S. and China.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, President Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Judging by the outward signs, the meeting is a little unusual. It's not exactly secret. Here we are talking about it. But the two leaders are not calling much attention to their agenda. Analysts⁴ think the two leaders may be talking through their concerns about China, a country they see differently.

INSKEEP: NPR Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz is covering this. Hey there, Rob.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁵: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: In what way are Biden and Scholz keeping this low-key?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, it's a little odd. The press will not be traveling with Chancellor Scholz on this trip. There's no press conference on the agenda. And the German chancellery is not sharing any details of what'll be discussed. According to German media, Chancellor Scholz is planning to give an exclusive interview to CNN. But that apparently⁶ won't be broadcast until Sunday. So there's this aura of mystery around this visit. I spoke⁷ to Rachel Tausendfreund about this. She's a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. And she thinks Chancellor Scholz is making this trip to try and persuade President Biden to tamp⁸ down what has become an escalating⁹ rhetoric on China's involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine. Here's what she said.

RACHEL TAUSENDFREUND: People in Germany and in the chancellery look at this kind of escalating rhetoric in Washington of an unavoidable escalation¹⁰ of conflict with China and view that with some concern and think that an escalation is still avoidable. And so that's going to be the difficult part for Olaf Scholz and German politics in general, if tensions continue to rise with China.

INSKEEP: I guess we should remind people of one specific point of tension. Of course, there's this war in Ukraine. Russia has invaded Ukraine. Germany is defending Ukraine. China is an ally of Russia. And Washington has been warning that China might be planning to send weapons to help Russia.

SCHMITZ: Right. And, you know, China's been responding to an increased sort of rhetoric from Washington with tough rhetoric of its own, saying that U.S. should not be dictating¹¹ what China should do. In just this week, China welcomed Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, with a 21-gun salute¹² in Beijing. So it is clear that tensions between China and the West are on the rise because of all of this.

INSKEEP: And the United States wants allies in confronting China because the country is so big, so powerful. It would like to have allies like Germany on the same page. Why would Scholz instead be the one to try to calm things down?

SCHMITZ: A few reasons. Germany's relationship with China, while it's been more tense in recent years, is still pretty cordial when compared to the U.S. relationship with China. Part of the reason for that is that Germany depends greatly on trade with China. Germany's auto¹³ industry, chemical industry, industry in general in Germany needs the China market to generate revenue in what is now a recession in Germany. Secondly¹⁴, it's clear that Chancellor Scholz is concerned about what could happen should China enter into this conflict by supplying Russia with weapons. This could have big consequences on the outcome of the war.

INSKEEP: Such as?

SCHMITZ: Well, due to Germany's proximity¹⁵ to Ukraine, this could mean more refugees from Ukraine arriving in Germany. This could also result in a more emboldened¹⁶ Vladimir Putin, who may not stop with Ukraine. Ever since the war began, Scholz has been very careful - his critics say too careful - to avoid being involved in any escalation with Russia. And now China's potential role in this conflict is even more of a headache for him. So it's clear this will be a big part of his discussions with President Biden later today.

INSKEEP: NPR's Rob Schmitz, thanks so much.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

9 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

10 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

11 dictating   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• The manager was dictating a letter to the secretary. 经理在向秘书口授信稿。 来自辞典例句
• Her face is impassive as she listens to Miller dictating the warrant for her arrest. 她毫无表情地在听米勒口述拘留她的证书。 来自辞典例句

12 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

13 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

14 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

15 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

16 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》