【时代周刊 09.11.16】中国和美国意见一致的五件事
本帖最后由 渔音谦谦 于 2009-12-11 18:53 编辑【中文标题】中国和美国意见一致的五件事
【原文标题】Five Things the U.S. and China Actually Agree On
【登载媒体】时代周刊
【原文链接】http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1939536,00.html
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Sept. 25, 2009
As U.S. President Barack Obama touched down in China on Sunday, his visit marked a pivotal moment in the two countries' relationship. While the U.S. and China once met to discuss topics of mutual importance, their talks are now occupied with issues of significance to the entire planet. From North Korea to Iran, global warming to global trade imbalances, Washington is increasingly dependent on Beijing's cooperation. The U.S. and China often find things to disagree about. As the world's most powerful democracy and the world's most powerful authoritarian state, they are bound to clash, even as their economic relationship draws them closer. But at a time when so much rests on their relationship, it's important also to consider where they are (mostly) in agreement. Here are five key areas:
Trade
Trade between the U.S. and China has been a heated subject in recent months. After Obama imposed tariffs in September of up to 35% on Chinese-made tires to protect U.S. jobs due to a surge in Chinese imports, China retaliated in October with new levies on nylon imports. This month, the U.S. slapped duties of up to 99% on some Chinese-made steel pipes. China announced soon after that it was looking into imports of U.S.-made cars from manufacturers that received government support. The trend has economists worried about a trade war. But U.S. officials dismiss that notion, arguing that the affected goods comprise a small part of the massive trade relationship that surpassed $400 billion last year. The global economic slump has no doubt exacerbated tensions, but the U.S. and China have matured in how they discuss their trade differences. "They're working through a lot of scattered issues, but they are working through the WTO," says James McGregor, the former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. "In the old days, every trade issue would become a very public and unstructured argument."
Green Technology
In an Oct. 23 speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Obama said the country that wins the race to develop renewable forms of energy "will be the nation that leads the global economy." That's something China's leadership heartily agrees with. China has become the world's leading producer of greenhouse gases, and many of its big cities choke on smog from cars and coal-fired power plants. But it is also a global pioneer in renewable energy. The government has mandated that by next year 3% of its power must come from renewable sources, excluding hydroelectricity, in which it is already among the world's top producers. That figure jumps to 8% for 2020. "The top leadership, they are all engineers," says Julian Wong, an analyst with the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. "They look at how the U.S. has grown by being a technological leader. China wants to do the same. They've seen the low-carbon sector as one way to do it."
North Korea
Nearly 60 years ago the U.S. and China went to war with each other on the Korean Peninsula. Now the two countries are closer than ever in their attitude toward the despotic regime. Both the U.S. and China desire an end to the North's nuclear-weapons program. Beijing has hosted the six-party talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, and last month it lobbied Pyongyang to return to the bargaining table. During a visit to Beijing, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said, "I have rarely seen better coordination between China and the United States in particular. There is a virtually unprecedented level of acceptance of basic goals and ambitions associated with the six-party talks and negotiations with North Korea." Of course, China's cooperation has limits. It remains the North's closest ally. While the U.S., especially under the Bush Administration, was willing to confront and isolate Kim Jong II, Beijing doesn't want to push the North to the point of collapse. It fears the repercussions of a failed North Korea as much as, or perhaps more than, it does a nuclear-armed dictator.
Mutual Uncertainty
In the 1950s, columnist Walter Winchell proposed calling the Russians "frenemies" of the U.S. Last year, comedian Stephen Colbert suggested frenemy as a term for China. In fact, Americans and Chinese agree that they aren't sure what to think of each other. According to a poll this month by Thompson Reuters/Ipsos, 34% of American respondents said China was the country with which the U.S. had the most important bilateral relationship, ahead of Britain and Canada. But 56% categorized China as an adversary and just 33% called it an ally. That ambivalence is reflected on the other side of the Pacific. While Obama is popular in China, his celebrity has done little to move public opinion about the U.S. overall, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project. The favorability rating of the U.S. among Chinese is just 47%, exactly what it was two years ago.
Education
While the U.S. and China aren't certain what to think of one another, each country has taken an interest in studying its counterpart. The U.S. has long been the destination of choice for Chinese college students, but China has not enjoyed the same prominence for young Americans. That's changing. More than 11,000 Americans studied abroad in China last year, a 25% increase over the previous year, making it the fifth most popular destination, according to the Institute of International Education. Students from China are already the second largest group of foreign students at U.S. universities, after those from India, but their numbers are increasing as well. Last year, 81,000 mainlanders studied in the U.S., a 20% increase from 2008. Growing educational exchanges can only help relations, says Zhu Feng, a professor of international studies at Peking University. "I think it will be an indispensable parallel to economic cooperation and political cooperation," he says. "It's the right time for both sides to take a more serious look at each other. Part of that is for ordinary people to understand what the U.S. is and what China is."
2009年9月25日，美国总统巴拉克奥巴马在宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡G-20峰会上与中国主席胡锦涛交谈。
美国总统巴拉克奥巴马星期天开始对中国的访问，他的到访标志着两国关系的一个重要的时刻。美国和中国曾经讨论过一些对双方重视的问题，他们的话题对整个世界都是至关重要的。从朝鲜到伊朗，从全球气候变暖到贸易失衡，华盛顿越来越依赖于北京的合作。美国和中国之间总是存在诸多的不同意见。作为世界上最强大的民主国家和最强大的专制国家，他们之间注定会发生观点的碰撞，尽管双方的经济关系越来越紧密。但是，鉴于目前如此多的问题要取决于他们双方的关系，我们来看看他们意见一致的地方也是很重要的。以下是最关键的5个方面：
贸易
中美贸易在近几个月是个炙手可热的话题。为了保护美国的就业免受汹涌而来的中国进口商品的影响，奥巴马在9月份把中国制造的轮胎关税提高到35％。在此之后，中国报复性地在10月份对进口尼龙产品加征新税。本月，美国又把中国制造的钢管关税提高到99％，中国随后立即宣布将寻求从得到政府支持的生产厂家进口美国汽车。经济学家们在担心这种趋势将会发展成一场贸易战争，但是美国官员打消了这种顾虑，他们说受影响的商品仅占双方去年高达4000亿美元贸易额的很小一部分。全球经济衰退无疑加重了紧张的局势，但是美国和中国在处理相互间的贸易纠纷事情上已经变得很成熟了。前中国美国商会主席James McGregor说：“他们要解决许多零散的问题，但是他们是在通过WTO解决问题。而在以前，每一个贸易争端都会变成公开的、无组织的争吵。”
绿色科技
10月23日，奥巴马在麻省理工学院的演讲中说，美国已经在开发可再生能源领域占得先机，美国“将成为领导全球经济命脉的国家”。这一点也是中国领导人强烈支持的。中国已经是世界上最大的温室气体排放国家，很多大城市都被淹没在汽车尾气和煤燃料工厂的排放物中。但它同时也是全球再生能源领域的先驱。政府已经下令，明年要有3％的电力工厂要使用可再生能源，这还不包括中国已经稳居世界第一的水力发电厂。到2020年，这个数字会提高到8％。一家民间智囊团“美国进步中心”的分析师王举联（音译）说“中国的最高领导层都是工程师出身，他们用技术专家的视角观察美国的成长模式，中国也照此行事。低碳减排是他们学习到的一件事情。”
朝鲜
60年前，中美在朝鲜半岛开战。而现在，两个国家对这个专制政权的态度从来没有这么相近过。美国和中国都希望朝鲜的核武器计划可以终止。北京主办了六方会谈，旨在寻求和平的解决方案，上个月它还在劝说平壤回到谈判桌。美国助理国务卿Kurt Campbell在访问北京时说：“我从没见过中国和美国之间有比这更好的合作关系，双方在对基本目标和寻求结果的态度，以及六方会谈和与朝鲜协商等方面，达成了史无前例的一致意见。”当然，中国的合作是有限度的，它仍然是朝鲜最亲密的伙伴。而美国，尤其是布什政府下的美国，采取了对抗和孤立金正日的政策，北京则不想把朝鲜挤压到崩溃的边缘。朝鲜失败所产生的后果，与其成为一个拥有核武器的独裁国家所产生的后果让北京同样担心，或许前者更甚。
相互猜疑
50年代，专栏作家Walter Winchell提出俄罗斯是美国的“友敌”这个概念。去年，喜剧演员Stephen Colbert把这个词用在了中国的身上。美国人和中国人都不大确定自己对对方的看法。根据汤普森路透社在这个月的民调分析，34％的美国人认为中国排在英国和加拿大之前，是与美国有最重要双边关系的国家。但是有56％的人把中国当作对手，只有33％的人认为中国是盟友。这种矛盾和摇摆的情绪在太平洋的另一边也同样存在。尽管奥巴马在中国很受欢迎，但是根据Pew全球观点项目的分析，他的名气没有改变公众对美国的任何看法。中国人喜爱美国的比率只有47％，和两年前没有任何变化。
教育
尽管美国和中国都不大确定自己对对方的看法，但是都饶有兴趣地向对方学习。长久以来美国就是中国高校学生留学的首要选择，但是中国一直没有在美国年轻人身上享受过同样的待遇。这种情况正在发生变化。去年有11000美国人来中国学习，比去年增加了25％。根据国际教育研究机构的调查数据，中国受欢迎的程度排名第五。在美国大学的海外学生中，来自中国的数量排名第二，仅次于印度，这个数字现在还在上升。去年有81000名大陆学生在美国，比2008年增长20％（译者注：此处原文有误）。北京大学从事国际研究的教授朱峰（音译）说，不断增长的教育交流有助于双方关系的巩固。“我认为，教育合作是一条与经济合作和政治合作不可缺少的平行线，这是一个让双方可以更严肃地审视对方的好时机。其部分效果就是可以让普通人了解美国或中国究竟是什么样子的。”
编译交流见板凳楼
这里楼主也弄错了。4 _6 X$
last year能不能理解为从去年这个时候到现在的一年?
求真务实 理性交流
zero9999 发表于 2009-12-11 15:46
在贸易与碳排放问题上，中美意见一致？尤其是后者，恰恰相反吧 去年有11000美国人来中国学习，比去年增加了25％。这里楼主也弄错了。
last year能不能理解为从去年这个时候到现在的一年? 这里楼主也弄错了。
last year能不能理解为从去年这个时候到现在的一年?
zero9999 发表于 2009-12-11 15:46 http://bbs.m4.cn/images/common/back.gif
应该是比前年。感谢提醒。
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