美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. warns China not to supply lethal aid to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine

U.S. warns China not to supply lethal¹ aid to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Robert Daly of the Wilson Center about the Russia-China relationship, and the possibility that China could supply weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

China's top diplomat³ went to Russia this week. Wang Yi was in Moscow, and his visit illustrated⁴ a reality - China remains⁵ one of Russia's very few powerful friends in the world. Though Chinese diplomats⁶ talk often about sovereignty and have even said that Ukraine's sovereignty should be respected, China has not abandoned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Now the United States is warning China not to support Russia's invasion more actively⁷. Robert Daly joins us next. He's director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. Good morning, sir.

ROBERT DALY: Good to be back with you.

INSKEEP: Yeah. It's good to talk with you. How is China helping⁸ Russia right now?

DALY: Well, China is helping Russia through providing an awful lot of dual-use technology - things like semiconductors⁹, drones, chemical precursors¹⁰ that can be used in weapons. And it's also helping Russia by buying a lot of its hydrocarbons¹¹ and by sticking up for Russia rhetorically. It's repeating on global stages and in front of anybody who asks that it is really the fault of the United States and NATO that Russia and Ukraine are at war. They are pushing the Russian line that it was NATO's expansion eastward¹² that truly threatened Russian sovereignty and that justified¹³ the violence.

INSKEEP: OK. So buying Russian oil and gas, which sends them money, sending them technology and other materials. But then the question becomes, is there something more that China seems likely to do?

DALY: Well, clearly, the United States has specific intelligence indicating that China is thinking about - not that it's done it - but is thinking about directly providing lethal aid. And Secretary of State Blinken warned the Chinese foreign minister last week in Munich that China must not take this step or there will be serious repercussions¹⁴, meaning more sanctions. And the United States is also sharing this intelligence with allies. So the NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has also warned China that he sees evidence that it is considering providing lethal aid. And so NATO and the United States are warning China against taking this step.

INSKEEP: I'm trying to think of what China might have that Russia could use in this situation. We know that Russia has a lot of weapons. We also know that they've used a lot of ammunition¹⁵. They may be running low. They've needed to get drones from Iran. Are there specific military - pieces of military hardware that the Chinese may have that the Russians could use?

DALY: Well, ammunition, artillery¹⁶, armed drones would all be in the mix. The great difficulty for China is that anything that it provided along these lines would be discovered on the battlefield in Ukraine. China is not going to be able to do this secretly, and it surely knows that. So to provide lethal aid would be to cast its lot wholly with Putin in a way that it's been hesitant to do to date.

INSKEEP: OK. Well, that gets to the next question. Russia has, as famously said a year ago, a no-limits partnership¹⁷ with China. But are there, in fact, limits?

DALY: There have been limits so far. China has not criticized Russia, and it's provided all sorts of aid, as we've said. It claims to have a neutral position, but the West doesn't buy that. China has clearly been working closely with Russia in many ways and it had been before the invasion of Ukraine. So the question now is, does China see a real risk that Russia could lose or that Putin could be defeated in a way that would leave China without its major ally in a confrontation¹⁸ with the United States? It is fear of that that would be behind any Chinese decision to provide lethal aid. It hasn't wanted to take that step. The posture¹⁹ of peacemaker is very important for Xi Jinping, both before the world and before his own people. But he also sees himself in an existential competition with the United States for which he needs Russia. So any decision to provide lethal aid would reflect a Chinese fear that Putin was losing.

INSKEEP: Oh, I'm glad that you said the word peacemaker, because China is widely expected to unveil some kind of peace plan for Ukraine. Can you imagine anything practical coming of that?

DALY: No. On Friday, China is going to unveil something. But China, of course, is, from a slightly different angle, trapped in the same problem that all other potential peacemakers are, which is that Putin cannot be rewarded for his aggression²⁰, but nor can he be utterly²¹ defeated and humiliated²². He has to be given something if a peace is going to hold. And so China generally hides behind broad statements. And one that it issued two days ago - things like, only security based on morality and correct ideas can have a solid foundation. So they talk about sovereignty and noninterference in affairs, but we've seen nothing specific.

INSKEEP: OK. Just the idea of correct ideas. OK. That's all they've got.

DALY: Yes.

INSKEEP: Robert, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much.

DALY: Good to talk with you. Thanks.

INSKEEP: Robert Daly is director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

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 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

5 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。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

10 precursors   

n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 )；先行者；先兆；初期形式

参考例句：

• Phenyl (or polyphenyl) substituted epoxides serve as excellent precursors to phenyl (or diphenyl) carbenes. 某些苯代（或多苯）环氧乙烷是制取带苯环（或二苯）碳烯的极好原料。 来自辞典例句
• Note the presence of megakaryocytes, erythroid islands, and granulocytic precursors. 可见巨核细胞，红细胞岛和粒细胞前体细胞。 来自互联网

11 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句

12 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

13 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

14 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

16 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

17 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。

18 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

19 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

20 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

21 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

22 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。