VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-12 US and Chinese Presidents Meet in California

 

AS IT IS 2013-06-12 US and Chinese Presidents Meet in California

 

Welcome to As It Is, the daily magazine show from VOA Learning English. I’m Mario Ritter.

Today, we hear about some of the issues discussed in the recent talks between the leaders of China and the United States. Then, we learn more about the seven billion dollar offer from the Chinese meat producer Shuanghui International to buy Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest hog¹ farmer.

President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California last weekend for what was called an informal summit. It was the first meeting between the two men since Mr. Xi became China’s president in March.

The leaders of the world’s two largest economies met at the Sunnylands estate near Los Angeles, California. They discussed issues such as North Korea’s nuclear program and ways to protect computers against attack.

Chinese media have expressed satisfaction with the meeting. The state-operated newspaper reported that the two countries were “ready to open a new chapter” in their relationship.

After the talks, American National Security adviser² Tom Donilon spoke³ to reporters. He said there was no need for conflict between the two nations. He described the meeting as part of the Obama administration’s policy of increased attention on East Asia and Pacific nations.

Part of the effort to improve relations includes dealing⁴ with the issues of intellectual property rights and security on the Internet, or cyber-security. Mr. Donilon noted⁵ that the direct theft of American property rights continues to be a problem. He said President Obama spoke to the Chinese leader about the issue.

“He asked President Xi to continue to look seriously at the problem that we’ve raised here. Number one is to acknowledge this concern. And I think this concern is acknowledged at this point. Number two, to investigate specifically the types of activities that we have identified here, and the Chinese have agreed to look at this. And, third, to engage in a dialogue with the United States on norms and rules, that is, what is acceptable and what’s not acceptable in the realm of cyber.”

There appeared to be greater agreement on North Korea, however. Tom Donilon said China has sent a clear message to North Korea by taking steps against the country. He said both presidents agreed that a nuclear-armed North Korea was unacceptable and that they would cooperate to persuade the country to give up its nuclear weapons.

However, rights activists⁶ did not hear anything about their concerns. Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch expressed dissatisfaction that there was no statement about a jail sentence given to the brother-in-law of jailed Nobel Prize-winner Liu Xiaobo. Activists say the sentence is yet another way the Chinese government is punishing the well-known dissident. In recent months, anti-corruption activists have also been detained. Maya Wang says human rights are a long-term issue.

“Unfortunately, I think the relationship between [President] Obama and Xi Jinping has been one in which human rights have been brushed off and sidelined. So this kind of call for a more personal, closer, newer relationship seems to be rather short-sighted.” 

The news that a Chinese company plans to Smithfield Foods was surprising to some people and shocking to others. Many business observers say they understand why Shuanghui International wants to buy Smithfield Foods. They say the middle class in China is growing as its economy expands. And, that growing middle class is moving away from a diet of mostly rice and vegetables to one that includes more protein. Christopher Cruise has more on the story.

China is the world’s largest market for pork and other meat from pigs. Yet the country is struggling to produce enough meat to keep up with demand. Pig farms are small and pork-processing centers are not well-organized. Also, there have been several recent incidents concerning the safety of food in China. That is part of the reason they want to import it from us, says David Warner. He is a spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council, a trade group in Washington, DC.

What is not so clear is why Smithfield agreed to be bought out. Yes, there was a nice profit to be made. Shuanghui has offered to pay top dollar for the American company: $34 for each share of Smithfield stock. That was 31 percent more than each share was worth on the last trading day before the deal became public. 

When Smithfield Foods’ President and CEO Larry Pope announced the agreement, he said “it will be business as usual, only better.” 

Gary Hufbauer is with the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

“I know that sounds like hype from an executive and it is a bit of hype, but there’s a lot of truth to that because China is the biggest consumer of pork in the world and, no doubt, a growing market,  because Chinese meat consumption, per capita, is still pretty low and it’s going to go up as Chinese incomes improve and pork will be a big part of that, also of course beef and chickens. So it is a big growth area.”

Yet, was that all that there was to it? The answer was on the company’s website. Its announcement said, “With our shared expertise⁷ and leadership, we look forward to accelerating a global expansion strategy as part of Shuanghui.”

Smithfield Foods’ Larry Pope explained the comment to The Associated Press. In his words, “We’re in a mature market …and to continue to grow we have to look at opportunities outside the United States.” 

Bob Barnes worked at Smithfield Foods for about ten years before retiring. He told the AP the company needs to raise prices to pay for the increase in commodity costs. These include the corn it uses to feed pigs. But people who buy the company’s products do not want to pay more.

Smithfield risks cutting its earnings⁸ if buyers cut back on the amount they purchase or if they turn to less costly⁹ meats, such as chicken.  While the two companies are in agreement, the deal must still be approved by the American government. One issue is that Smithfield has deals to supply food sellers on or near American military bases. That could be a problem for the committee responsible for making sure such deals do not put America’s national security at risk.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

And finally, American jazz musician Chick Corea celebrates birthday number 72 on June 12th.

Thank you for listening today. And join us at the beginning of the hour Universal Time for the latest news.

1 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 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。