AS IT IS 2015-09-17 Xi's Visit to Come Amid Tensions in US-China Relations

AS IT IS 2015-09-17 Xi's Visit to Come Amid Tensions in US-China Relations

U.S. and Chinese officials have been meeting to discuss difficult issues in preparation for the first official state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington next week.

Cyber-hacking¹, activities in the South China Sea, and climate change are among the issues between the two countries.

The state visit comes at a time of growing global concern about China’s economic growth and its effects on the world economy. China’s investment in the U.S. has risen sharply to $9.5 billion dollars in 2014. However, that is much less than top foreign investors² in the U.S. like Japan and Britain.

President Xi’s visit to Washington will follow a visit to the Pacific coast city of Seattle. The Chinese leader is expected to meet with business leaders in the U.S. technology industry.

“Frank and open exchange about cyber issues”

Chinese and U.S. officials completed four days of meetings on cyber security issues last week. A statement from the Obama administration said U.S. national security adviser³ Susan Rice had a “frank and open exchange about cyber issues.”

The Chinese delegation⁴ also met with Federal Bureau of Investigation⁵ Director James Comey and representatives of the Justice, State and Treasury⁶ departments and the intelligence community.

The Obama administration is considering targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber-attacks against U.S. commercial targets. Chinese hackers⁷ also have been accused of hacking the U.S. government’s personnel office this year.

Climate change meeting before state visit

Goals related to global climate change are a topic both nations have been discussing for years. China and the United States are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gasses. Those gasses are linked to warming global temperatures and blamed for damaging weather patterns.

Mayors, governors and other leaders from both countries are meeting at the U.S.-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles. At that meeting, officials discussed plans to reduce carbon emissions⁸ that warm the atmosphere.

The summit builds from the Climate Change Working Group established in 2013 and a joint⁹ announcement on climate change made by Presidents Obama and Xi in Beijing last November.

The United States has announced a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025. China has set a national goal of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030. However, the Obama administration says the cities of Beijing and Guangzhou have promised to reach their peak emissions by 2020.

South China Sea tensions continue

Developments in the South China Sea also are expected to be among the points of discussion. Pictures taken for the Center for Strategic and International Studies show a new 3000-meter landing area for aircraft on Mischief¹⁰ Reef. The reef is an artificial island built by China in the Spratly Islands group.

Security experts say the airstrip is big enough to be used by military aircraft. It would be the third airstrip China has placed in the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia also have built airstrips on islands in the disputed waters. However, China’s land reclamation¹¹ projects in the sea are much larger.

A spokesman for the U.S. Defense¹² Department, Commander Bill Urban, did not comment on the new pictures. But he said the U.S. repeatedly has called for a halt to land reclamation, construction and militarization of the South China Sea. It is estimated that more than $5 trillion in trade passes through the body of water each year.

Rights groups also want President Obama to make human rights an important point of discussion. Nine human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International signed a joint letter. They expressed deep concern about “the significant erosions to rights during President Xi’s tenure¹³.”

These difficult issues in U.S.-China relations have led to critical comments from Republican candidates for U.S. president. Leading Republican candidate Donald Trump¹⁴ said he would give President Xi “a McDonald’s hamburger” instead of a state dinner. Scott Walker, another candidate, said President Obama “needs to cancel the state visit” altogether.

Words in This Story

state visit –n. a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country at the invitation by that country’s head of state

topic –n. someone or something people talk about

emit –v. to send out

peak –n. the highest level or degree of something

sanctions –n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international law by limiting or stopping trade

personnel –n. people who work for a company or organization

reclamation –n. to make available for use by changing (a things) condition

1 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

11 reclamation   

n.开垦；改造；（废料等的）回收

参考例句：

• We should encourage reclamation and recycling.我们应当鼓励废物的回收和利用。
• The area is needed for a land reclamation project.一个土地开垦项目要在这一地区进行。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

14 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。