时代周刊:中美贸易战进入新阶段(2)

In essence, the battle for the future has been joined.

从本质上讲，未来之战已经打响。

Trump¹ has been trying to strike a delicate balance in U.S. relations with China, and until now has blown hot and cold on trade.

特朗普一直想让美中关系达到一种微妙的平衡，而且，到目前为止，他还在贸易问题上一直都表现得摇摆不定。

He adopted the tough stance he promised voters

一方面，他采取了他曾承诺选民的强硬立场，

while blaming the $375 billion goods trade deficit² on former U.S. Presidents rather than on Beijing.

另一方面，他将3750亿美元的贸易逆差的责任推到了前任总统们身上而非北京方面。

Trump would love to have warmer relations with China, just as he would with Russia.

特朗普乐意与中国修好，就像他希望能与俄罗斯修好一样。

Trump has praised Xi just as he’s repeatedly saluted³ Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

他也像反复致敬普京一样赞扬了习。

Yet, as with Russia, a variety of actors in Washington have made it tough for Trump to build the China ties he wants.

然而，和俄罗斯的情形一样，华盛顿的多股势力阻碍了特朗普建设他想要的对华关系。

Trump pledged to save ZTE, a large Chinese telecom-equipment maker⁴ banned from purchasing U.S. technology for violating sanctions,

特朗普承诺对因违反制裁被禁止购买美国技术的中国大型电信设备制造商中兴网开一面，

as an apparent favor to Xi, but was attacked by lawmakers of both parties.

此举显然是为了向习示好，因此遭到了两党议员的一致攻击。

Many fear that Trump fails to see the threat that Chinese tech companies like ZTE and Huawei pose to U.S. national security.

许多人担心，特朗普没有看到中兴和华为等中国科技公司对美国国家安全构成的威胁。

Meanwhile, some American companies fear that U.S. trade action will make it tougher for them to do business in China.

与此同时，一些美国企业也担心，美国的贸易举措会妨碍他们在中国开展业务。

Trump’s own advisers⁵ are divided on how to proceed.

接下来要怎么走，特朗普的顾问们没有达成一致意见。

Now the voices preaching confrontation⁶ with China appear to have won out.

就目前来看，鼓吹与中国对抗的声音似乎略胜一筹。

Neither side wants a full-blown trade war, but each believes it has a strong negotiating position.

双方都不希望爆发全面的贸易战，但都认为自己在谈判中站优势。

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will travel to Beijing for talks on June 2,

商务部长威尔伯·罗斯将于6月2日前往北京进行会谈，

but it’s hard to see how Trump can claim victory without Chinese concessions⁷ on tech issues,

但如果中国在技术问题上拒绝让步，很难想象特朗普靠什么宣称获胜，

and it’s nearly impossible that Xi will offer him anything of value.

而习几乎不可能给他提供任何有价值的让步。

This is where the risk of real conflict is most dangerous.

而这正是最容易激起实际冲突的症结所在。

1 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。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

6 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。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。