美国，澳大利亚领导人强调TPP谈判的重要性

 　　WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday stressed the importance of completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership¹ (TPP) negotiations².

　　The two leaders discussed the TPP and bilateral³ ties in their phone conversation, as Rudd returned to the premiership on Thursday following his victory in a ruling Labor⁴ Party caucus⁵ ballot⁶ the evening before, in which Rudd beat Julia Gillard,then head of the party and the prime minister.

　　"The two leaders also discussed the importance of completing the high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement," the White House said in a statement.

　　The TPP negotiations involve 11 nations on either side of the Pacific. If the talks conclude successfully as expected before the APEC summit begins in October, the largest free trade zone will be created in the world.

　　In his phone talks with Rudd, Obama also reiterated⁷ the " enduring strength" of the U.S.-Australia alliance and his confidence that the two countries will continue to work closely on "important global and regional issues," the White House said.

　　Obama made the call on Air Force One en route to Tanzania, his last stop in his current tour of Africa, which has taken him to Senegal and South Africa.

　　Rudd served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 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。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。