美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden's launch of a trade pact is overshadowed by a Taiwan-China question

Biden's launch of a trade pact¹ is overshadowed by a Taiwan-China question

Transcript²

Biden was launching a trade pact in Tokyo with countries from the Indo-Pacific region. It was overshadowed by his response to a question about whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China invaded.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Today President Biden answered a question the U.S. normally avoids answering. The question - whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan. A reporter asked if the U.S. would get involved militarily if mainland China invades. Biden said, yes. That would be a big policy change. Though Biden also said U.S. policy has not changed. He also warned China against trying to take the self-governed area which China claims.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: They're already flirting³ with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvers⁴ that are undertaken. But the United States is committed. We've made a commitment. We support the "One China" policy. We support all that we've done in the past. But that does not mean - it does not mean that China has the ability, has the - excuse me - the jurisdiction⁵ to go in and use force to take over Taiwan.

FADEL: NPR's Asma Khalid is traveling with Biden on his first official trip to Asia as president. I asked her whether the president has changed his stance.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁶: Officially, no. The president himself publicly said there is no change in U.S. policy. The thing is that, for decades, U.S. policy has been one of strategic ambiguity⁷. Presidents have been particularly careful to not explicitly⁸ say that the U.S. would militarily get involved in Taiwan out of concerns that that might escalate⁹ tensions with China. But at a news conference, Biden was explicitly asked that, given he did not want to get involved in Ukraine militarily, would he get involved militarily in Taiwan? And the president unequivocally said yes.

FADEL: Yeah.

KHALID: You know, the reaction from Beijing, as expected, was swift. China's foreign minister said that it deplored¹⁰ Biden's comments and said the U.S. should not defend Taiwan's independence. The White House tried to walk this back quickly. An official sent me a text message saying that nothing about U.S. foreign policy here has changed. Though I will say, Leila, this all definitely took attention away from what the White House wanted to focus on today, which was this new trade pact.

FADEL: So let's talk about that trade pact. What's it all about?

KHALID: It's called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and it's really about competition with China. You know, it's not a traditional free trade agreement with incentives¹¹ to lower tariffs¹². Biden officials say that this is by design. They realized there was not political appetite in the country for something like the Trans-Pacific Partnership¹³, which you probably recall was this cornerstone of the Obama economic strategy in the region. But environmental and labor¹⁴ groups opposed it, and President Obama could not get that deal through Congress.

FADEL: Right.

KHALID: So this new pact is about setting standards, common rules of the road - sort of, you know, around key issues that do include trade, but also things like infrastructure¹⁵, supply chains, clean energy and taxes.

FADEL: So who's signed on to this deal? How will it work?

KHALID: There are 13 countries, including the U.S., that are signing up. You know, it includes a range of countries, from large economies like Japan and Australia to emerging markets like Thailand and Vietnam. I will say that what exactly all these countries are signing up for is unclear. There are no binding¹⁶ commitments yet. And, you know, essentially¹⁷, this is a pact to cooperate. I will say, one major challenge for Biden is to prove that this deal is more than a framework. And some allies in the region certainly want more. In fact, earlier today, as President Biden stood next to Japan's prime minister, Japan's prime minister publicly said that he hopes the U.S. comes back to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though that is not necessarily likely to happen in the foreseeable future.

FADEL: NPR's Asma Khalid, thank you so much for your reporting.

KHALID: Good talking to you.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

4 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

5 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

6 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。

7 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

8 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

10 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

11 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

13 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。

14 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。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

17 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。