美国总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump) 1月初在Twitter上发贴称，中国“在朝鲜问题上不愿帮忙”。中国政府对这样的指控一向很不满。

　　On Wednesday China’s foreign minister used a colourful metaphor to describe his government’s position on the crisis-prone Korean peninsula, likening Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington to “runaway trains” that Beijing was doing its best to stop.

　　周三，中国外交部长王毅用生动的比喻形容了中国政府对危机四伏的朝鲜半岛的立场，将朝鲜、韩国和美国比作“不断加速的列车”，而中国正在竭尽全力让它们停下来。

　　The press conference by Wang Yi also marked the first time that a senior Chinese government official has commented substantively on the Korean crisis since last month’s assassination in Kuala Lumpur of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, and a series of missile tests by the reclusive nation.

　　王毅举行的这次记者会，也是自金正男(Kim Jong Nam)遇刺和朝鲜这个封闭国家进行一连串导弹试射以来，中国政府高级别官员首次就朝鲜半岛危机作出实质性评论。金正男是朝鲜统治者金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的同父异母兄长，上月在吉隆坡遇刺。

　　Speaking at a briefing at the annual session of China’s parliament, Mr Wang criticised North Korea for pursuing its nuclear programme “in violation of UN Security Council resolutions”, but also censured Seoul and Washington for “conducting military exercises of enormous scale and ramping up military pressure on [North Korea]”.

　　在中国全国人大年会记者会上发表讲话时，王毅批评朝鲜推进核计划“违反联合国安理会(UN Security Council)决议”，但他同时也谴责美韩“进行超大规模的军事演习，持续加大对朝鲜的军事压力”。

　　“The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way,” Mr Wang said. “The question is are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority is to flash the red light and apply brakes on both trains.”

　　王毅表示：“就像两组不断加速的列车，互不相让，难道双方都做好了迎头相撞的准备吗？当务之急要做的就是亮起红灯、同时刹车。”

　　While Mr Trump believes that China lacks the will to rein in North Korea, Chinese officials argue that they do not have the power to do so because the problem is not theirs to solve.

　　特朗普认为中国缺乏约束朝鲜的意愿，中国官员则辩称他们无权这么做，因为这不是该由他们解决的问题。

　　“North Korea is a rusty lock but China does not have the key,” says one Chinese official. “North Korea wants security but the threat doesn’t come from China.”

　　一名中国官员表示：“朝鲜是一把生锈的锁，但钥匙不在中国手里。朝鲜想要的是安全，但威胁不来自中方。”

　　Mr Wang acknowledged that as “a next-door neighbour with a lips-and-teeth relationship with the Korean peninsula, of course China is indispensable to the resolution of the nuclear issue”.

　　王毅承认，“作为半岛唇齿相依的近邻，中国当然也是解决半岛核问题不可或缺的重要一方”。

　　But he also insisted that “the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is mainly between [North Korea] and other states”, namely South Korea and the US. Instead of refusing to negotiate with Pyongyang until Kim Jong Un abandons his nuclear programme, Beijing advocates a “dual-track” approach.

　　但他也坚称，“半岛核问题的主要当事方是朝美两家”。中国政府提倡“双轨并进”思路，而不是金正恩不放弃核计划就拒绝与朝鲜谈判。

　　“To defuse the looming crisis on the peninsula, China proposes as a first step [that North Korea] suspends its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt of the large-scale US-[South Korean military] exercises,” Mr Wang said. “This suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table. Then we can follow the dual-track approach of denuclearising the peninsula on the one hand and establishing a peace mechanism on the other.

　　王毅表示：“为应对半岛的危机，中方的建议是，作为第一步，朝鲜暂停核导活动，美韩也暂停大规模军演，通过‘双暂停’摆脱目前的安全困境，并且使各方重新回到谈判桌前。之后，按照‘双轨并进’思路，将实现半岛无核化和建立半岛和平机制结合起来。”

　　“Nuclear weapons will not bring security and the use of force is no solution,” he added. “Talks deserve another chance. Peace is still within our grasp.”

　　他还说：“拥核不会安全，动武不是出路，复谈还有机会，和平仍有希望。”