美国国家公共电台 NPR China Is Better Able To Withstand A Trade War Than In The Past

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Beijing says it will retaliate¹ if President Trump² goes ahead with plans to impose tariffs³ on more Chinese products. The U.S. and China are locked in what could become a full-on trade war. And China's economy is better positioned than it once was to survive. NPR's Jim Zarroli has the story.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁴: President Trump holds a view of China that a lot of Americans have. He says, for too long, it's been able to flood U.S. markets with cheap imports. And as a result, it's amassed⁵ lots of money, which has helped turn it into an economic superpower.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: China made - anywhere, depending on the way you count - from $375 billion, we built China.

ZARROLI: It's true that China has sold a lot of products to the U.S. over the years, and it still does. The U.S. remains⁶ China's most important single market, buying $500 billion in goods last year. David Dollar, who worked on trade negotiations⁷ with China in the Obama Treasury⁸ Department, says losing access to that market would take a bite out of China's economy.

DAVID DOLLAR: For any economy to go down by 2 or 3 percentage points, that's a serious issue.

ZARROLI: And the impact would be especially serious right now because China's economy is already slowing. At the same time, Dollar says, the pain wouldn't be as bad as it once might have been.

DOLLAR: The U.S. market is very important to China, but it's less important than it was 10 years ago.

ZARROLI: For one thing, the Chinese economy has become a lot bigger and more diversified⁹ than it once was and less dependent on trade. And China now has leverage¹⁰ of its own against the U.S. Companies such as Apple and Boeing make big money in China. And Boston College political science professor Robert Ross says the Chinese bureaucracy can make life difficult for them if it wants.

ROBERT ROSS: All these various industries can develop problems in China. There can be health hazards at a McDonald's. Starbucks could all of a sudden come under investigation¹¹ for profit issues and tax issues.

ZARROLI: China can even discourage its consumers from buying American products. Whether it would go that far is still an open question. But Ross says, if worse comes to worst, China may be better able to survive a trade war than the U.S.

ROSS: The question less is whether we can do harm to them than which one can endure the pain the better? And there are some reasons to believe that, over the short term, the Chinese are better positioned to manage this.

ZARROLI: It can do that partly because of its top-down economy. If its growth suffers, Beijing can take steps like cutting taxes or stimulating¹² spending without having to run it by Congress. No one has to worry about midterms. Economist¹³ Linda Lim at the University of Michigan says many of China's most important companies are government subsidized, and they don't have shareholders¹⁴ breathing down their necks.

LINDA LIM: If you don't have to make money, that's a huge competitive advantage. So they can absorb the costs.

ZARROLI: Lim points out that China has been gradually trying to become a more independent economy, to strengthen its tech and defense¹⁵ industries. Ironically, she says, a trade war would accelerate the process, even if China has to suffer through some pain to get there. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 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。

4 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。

5 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 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。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

13 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

14 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。