美国国家公共电台 NPR 亚太15国共同签署世界最大自由贸易协定RCEP（在线收听）

China and 14 other Asian and Pacific countries have signed one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP — RCEP, they say. The United States is not part of this giant free trade deal. NPR's Southeast Asia correspondent Julie McCarthy is covering it. Hi there, Julie.

中国和其他14个亚太国家签署了世界上最大的自由贸易协定之一。这项协定名为区域全面经济伙伴关系（简称RCEP）美国并未参与这项庞大的自由贸易协定。NPR新闻驻东南亚记者朱莉·麦卡锡将带来详细报道。你好，朱莉。

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi there.

朱莉·麦卡锡连线：你好。

INSKEEP: OK. Apart from China, who's in?

因斯基普：好。除了中国，还有哪些国家？

MCCARTHY: Well, there's these 10 Southeast Asian countries, like Vietnam, Indonesia, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. This group accounts for almost a third of global gross domestic product and covers nearly a third of the world's population. It's big.

麦卡锡：有10个东南亚国家，比如越南、印度尼西亚，还有中国、日本、韩国、澳大利亚和新西兰。这些国家的国内生产总值几乎占全球总额的三分之一，人口占世界总人口的近三分之一。规模相当大。

INSKEEP: And I should note, it seems to include a number of U.S. allies — South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. What's the deal do?

因斯基普：我要指出的是，这份协定似乎包括了许多美国盟友——韩国、日本、澳大利亚、新西兰。该协定目的为何？

MCCARTHY: Well, it's largely an exercise in lowering tariffs between these 15 economies. And member states say the deal encompasses 90% of goods between them, with a very long time frame to get to zero tariffs. But the breakthrough is that the region will effectively harmonize into a more unified trading system, rather than the dozens it has now.

麦卡锡：主要目的是降低这15个经济体之间的关税。各成员国表示，这项协议覆盖各国90%的商品，而且实现零关税的时限非常长。但突破之处在于，该地区将有效地协调成一个更加统一的贸易体系，而不是现在的数十个体系。

MCCARTHY: And what this deal doesn't do, Steve, is set standards for labor or the environment. Still, it does potentially deepen economic integration within Asia.

麦卡锡：史蒂夫，这份协议并没有为劳动力或环境设定标准。不过，其确实有可能深化亚洲内部的经济一体化。

INSKEEP: Does it also sideline the United States?

因斯基普：该协议是否也在排挤美国？

MCCARTHY: Well, the U.S. withdrew itself from the Asian trade game when President Trump rejected the rival pact to this one just signed, which was the Trans-Pacific Partnership. So the United States is languishing on the sidelines of two major trade deals. China hailed this latest free trade agreement as a triumph of multilateralism.

麦卡锡：特朗普总统拒绝了这项协定的竞争协定——刚刚签署的跨太平洋伙伴关系协定（简称TTP），这标志着美国退出了亚洲贸易博弈。因此，美国现在在两个主要的贸易协定之外苦苦挣扎。中国称赞这项最新的自由贸易协定是多边主义的胜利。

INSKEEP: And that last part, rules-making, is key. The question of who gets to make the rules for the world is a huge one because the United States has been the rule-maker up to now. Can the United States get back in the game?

因斯基普：最后一部分，规则制定，这是关键。谁来为世界制定规则是一个巨大的问题，因为到目前为止，美国一直是规则的制定者。美国能重回这场博弈吗？

MCCARTHY: Well, President-elect Joe Biden will be under pressure to engage more on trade with Asia. You know, but getting back into another version, say, of a TPP would require a lot of his political capital. The fact is big free trade agreements are not popular where Biden won the presidency, in swing states, where labor tends to reject these trade deals.

麦卡锡：当选总统乔·拜登将面临压力，会有人要求他更多地参与亚洲贸易。但要回到另一项协定TPP，将需要他大量的政治资本。事实上，在帮助拜登赢得总统宝座的摇摆州，大型自由贸易协定并不受欢迎，这些州的劳动力倾向于拒绝这些贸易协定。

But maybe trade takes another shape. Michael Green, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies says, look; the world's changing. It's technology — 5G and digital trade. He says that is more important to the future of economic and geopolitical competition. So Green says the United States is not out of the game yet.

但也许贸易会有另一种形式。战略与国际研究中心的迈克尔·格林表示，看，世界在变化。现在是技术、5G和数字贸易在主导。他表示，这对未来的经济和地缘政治竞争更为重要。因此格林说，美国还没有退出博弈。

INSKEEP: NPR Southeast Asia correspondent Julie McCarthy, always a pleasure talking with you.

因斯基普：以上是NPR新闻驻共产党南亚记者朱莉·麦卡锡带来的报道，很高兴和你连线。

MCCARTHY: Same.

麦卡锡：我也很高兴。