美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S., Canadian Executives Privately 'Spooked' About Traveling To China

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This is a tense time to travel between North America and China. A Chinese executive was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. She is accused of fraud. Her company allegedly got banks to help it do business in Iran, despite U.S. sanctions. China then detained two Canadian citizens inside China. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports the arrests have made other executives tense.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE¹: American executives have long known the risks of traveling to China with cell phones and laptops. Theft of intellectual property and cyberattacks underlie² trade tensions between the two countries. But Amy Celico says recent events have executives more skittish³ than usual.

AMY CELICO: Certainly, Canadian and American business executives are a bit spooked about traveling to China right now.

NOGUCHI: Celico advises multinational⁴ companies operating in China for Albright Stonebridge. She says suspicions run high between both countries. But neither side wants to hurt their economic interests by provoking their business partners and publicly changing their travel policies.

CELICO: Because it could lead to increased tensions between the United States and China.

NOGUCHI: Last week, U.S. tech giant Cisco Systems inadvertently waded⁵ into the fray⁶. It sent an email to employees saying it would curtail⁷ nonessential travel to China. Cisco later said the email went out in error, and it had not changed its policy. Craig Allen is president of the US-China Business Council. He says, privately⁸, American diplomats⁹ and business executives see China's detention¹⁰ of the two Canadians as a retaliatory¹¹ response to Meng's arrest.

CRAIG ALLEN: If we don't recognize that as a possible signal to American interests and to American businesses, then we would be willfully blind.

NOGUCHI: It's highly unusual for an individual's criminal indictment¹² to have any bearing on a trade dispute between countries. But Meng's father founded Huawei, one of the world's largest tech firms and one the U.S. has long regarded as a security threat. Her arrest comes at a time when the bilateral¹³ relationship has already soured on many fronts. The U.S. has tightened¹⁴ national security reviews of Chinese business activity from investments to technology purchases. Add to that fresh allegations of state-sponsored cyberattacks, most recently involving Marriott's guest database, and Allen says the grievances¹⁵ between the countries have become confusingly intertwined.

ALLEN: More and more, security is overshadowing the trade debate. The more it overshadows the trade debate, the more difficult it becomes to resolve the trade issues. And the more it overshadows, the less bilateral trust we have.

NOGUCHI: Brendan O'Reilly is Asia analyst¹⁶ for WorldAware, a company that monitors travel risks. He notes the Chinese government says it detained one of the Canadians because the nonprofit he works for is not registered in China. O'Reilly tells U.S. and Canadian clients to make sure they're compliant¹⁷ with Chinese regulations before traveling.

BRENDAN O'REILLY: The most important thing that they should do is to not give the Chinese authorities any excuse to crack down on them.

NOGUCHI: In the meantime, U.S. companies hope tensions will ease. Business consultant¹⁸ Amy Celico says much will depend on how President Trump¹⁹ and President Xi Jinping react. She argues de-escalation will require the leaders to keep their country's criminal matters separate from politics and trade. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAST LUNGS' "33")

1 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。

2 underlie   

v.位于...之下，成为...的基础

参考例句：

• Technology improvements underlie these trends.科技进步将成为此发展趋势的基础。
• Many facts underlie my decision.我的决定是以许多事实为依据的。

3 skittish   

adj.易激动的，轻佻的

参考例句：

• She gets very skittish when her boy-friend is around.她男朋友在场时，她就显得格外轻佻。
• I won't have my son associating with skittish girls.我不准我的儿子与轻佻的女孩交往。

4 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

5 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

6 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

7 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

11 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

12 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

13 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

14 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

15 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 compliant   

adj.服从的，顺从的

参考例句：

• I don't respect people who are too compliant.我看不起那种唯命是从，唯唯诺诺的人。
• For years I had tried to be a compliant and dutiful wife.几年来，我努力做一名顺从和尽职尽职的妻子。

18 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

19 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。