美国国家公共电台 NPR--Decoupling reliance on China has been a difficult to sell to U.S. business leaders

Decoupling reliance on China has been a difficult to sell to U.S. business leaders

Transcript¹

U.S.-China relations continue to sour. NPR's A Martinez talks to Yale University senior fellow Stephen Roach, who outlines a roadmap for relations with China in his book: Accidental Conflict.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Relations between the United States and China, the world's biggest economies, are at their worst in decades, but reducing American reliance on China has been a tough sell with some U.S. business leaders. During a visit to Shanghai this week, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk² said the interests of the two countries are, quote, "intertwined like conjoined twins." We turn now to Yale University's Stephen Roach. He outlines a new roadmap for this relationship in his book, "Accidental Conflict: America, China, And The Clash Of False Narratives³."

Stephen, I was looking at the art of the cover of your book, five pairs of red and blue arms intertwined. It kind of reminded me of Musk's quote, "intertwined like conjoined twins." Do you see any way for the U.S. to break its dependency on China economically?

STEPHEN ROACH: No, I don't. Without a trade war, a tech war and now a cold war possibly getting even hotter, I think that what's really missing here is an architecture for engagement, how we talk to the Chinese, how we deal with issues like trade, economics, innovation, human rights, climate, cyber, global health. We don't have an existing framework of engagement. And we need a new one, and I just wrote an article about that over the weekend.

MART?NEZ: If self-reliance then, Stephen, is a fantasy, how about less reliance on China?

ROACH: Well, we're trying to be cute here. We have given a new word to what pure self-reliance or decoupling would mean. We call it de-risking. But that's like your previous presenter⁴ just said, they renamed UFOs UAPs. It's the same concept. When you take a component⁵ that you used to get from China and you get it from Vietnam, that has decoupled that supply chain linkage⁶. Don't kid yourself and try to call it de-risking.

MART?NEZ: Does this go back to Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972? I mean, it thawed⁷ relations. It opened up China to U.S. trade, but is that where all this kind of got its start?

ROACH: Well, that visit in 1972, Nixon and Kissinger, is the sort of the dawn of creation of the modern relationship. But ever since then, the relationship has been managed on a very personal basis between leaders. And that reflects, I think, a delicate interplay between personalities⁸, egos⁹, and domestic politics. We need a deeper, more institutionalized relationship, and my proposal tries to achieve that.

MART?NEZ: How much does China rely economically on the U.S. 'cause it seems like it's kind of on par¹⁰ with how much the U.S. relies on China?

ROACH: It's a two-way dependency or a codependency. China relies on us for our large and deep market of consumer demand. They're an export-led economy, and they need that. But we rely on them for the cheap goods they give us to make ends meet for consumers. They're a huge buyer of our treasuries¹¹, and they're the third-largest and most rapidly growing U.S. export market. So we both need each other.

MART?NEZ: So considering we both need each other, as you say, Stephen, could that serve as a, say, deterrent¹² for aggression¹³ either way?

ROACH: Well, it has historically. Economics and trade has long been the anchor of the U.S.-China relationship that has served the purpose of limiting confrontation¹⁴ in other areas. But now both countries and their leaders are more focused on security rather than economic and trade, and that is, you know, more of a worrisome, confrontational¹⁵ structure to their relationship.

MART?NEZ: You know, I mentioned Elon Musk's visit earlier. He's a high-profile name, so that visit was going to get a lot of attention. But when, say, high-profile brands such as the NBA - when the NBA invests billions of dollars in the Chinese market, does that give us more of a clue of how tough the U.S. can really get in opposing policies from China?

ROACH: Over the years, U.S. businesses have really recognized the dual¹⁶ benefits of investing in China. They get more efficient production, offshore¹⁷ production solutions from their offshoring, and they also get the opportunity to tap the world's richest and deepest market. But those advantages are now slipping away as we focus on security.

MART?NEZ: Stephen Roach is a senior fellow at Yale's Law School's China Center. Stephen, thanks.

ROACH: Thank you.

1 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。

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

4 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

5 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

6 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。

7 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

9 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

10 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

11 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

12 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

13 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

14 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

15 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

16 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

17 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。