美国国家公共电台 NPR Amid Trade War With U.S., There Are Signs Of Dissent Among China's Economists

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump¹ meets China's leader, Xi Jinping, at the G-20 summit in Argentina tomorrow. The two will, obviously, have a lot to discuss - in particular, the trade war that doesn't seem to have an end in sight. As NPR's Rob Schmitz reports, pressure inside China is mounting over Xi's response and how he has managed relations with the U.S.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE²: On the day he became leader, Xi Jinping gave a speech about his dream for China.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT XI JINPING: (Speaking Chinese).

SCHMITZ: "To achieve this dream," he said, "we must take a Chinese path - a path forged by decades of communist rule and thousands of years of Chinese civilization." A path, says economist³ Sheng Hong, which has led China into a trade war with the United States.

HONG SHENG: (Through interpreter) This trade war is not between China and the U.S. It's a war between China's most powerful political interest group on one side while the U.S. and the people of China are on the other. If China yields to the U.S. request for fair trade, this will be good for all Chinese.

SCHMITZ: Sheng heads the Unirule Institute of Economics in Beijing. He says China seems to have abandoned the decades-old policy of reforming its markets and opening up trade in favor of a new so-called China model of state capitalism⁴ dominated by China's state-owned enterprises - a model, he says, that's incompatible⁵ with fair trade and is damaging China's economy.

SHENG: (Through interpreter) The China model assumes economic growth is due to government control. This is not in line with the facts. One hundred percent of Chinese companies were owned by the state in 1978, and our economy was terrible. As the state gave up market control to the private sector⁶, our economy grew. We must keep doing that.

SCHMITZ: That's why Sheng and other prominent intellectuals in China have sacrificed their careers to publicly criticize their government's handling of trade negotiations⁷ with President Trump. They argue that what Trump is asking for - opening China's markets to the private sector and eliminating unfair competition from state-run companies - will not only be good for U.S. companies but also for Chinese people because China's private sector employs three times more people than its state-run sector. And it accounts for most of China's economic growth. But Xi Jinping has dug in his heels. China's economy continues to outpace much of the world. And he has continued to promote the state-heavy China model.

ARTHUR KROEBER: Xi has kind of painted himself into a corner.

SCHMITZ: Arthur Kroeber is author of "China's Economy: What Everyone Needs To Know."

KROEBER: He's sort of, like, said, OK. We have this China model. It's doing its own thing. China needs to become this great power. He can't back down from that.

SCHMITZ: Kroeber says this style of leadership is a departure from former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, whose credo of dealing⁸ with the outside world was hide your strength and bide⁹ your time.

KROEBER: The genius of the Deng Xiaoping hide and bide strategy is that it gives you a lot of freedom of movement. You have not committed yourself to anything specific that it would be difficult to back down from.

SCHMITZ: Kroeber says the problem with Xi Jinping's assertive¹⁰ style is that when he's challenged, as he is now by Trump, he has to stand his ground. And that can become costly¹¹. Sheng Hong says this stance also leads to an inability to listen to criticism, like his. Last month, Sheng was about to get on a plane to Boston where he was going to give a talk at Harvard.

SHENG: (Through interpreter) Police stopped me at the airport. They said if I left China, it would threaten state security. I was shocked.

SCHMITZ: A week after I spoke¹² to Sheng, authorities shut down his economic institute. He says Beijing's inability to listen to criticism from within is like riding in a car with a filthy¹³ windshield, speeding ahead without seeing the road while enjoying the beautiful views out the side windows. At some point, says Sheng, you're bound to crash. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Beijing.

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 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。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

5 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

10 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 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。

13 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。