时事新闻:奥巴马:美中将"塑造21世纪"

【英文原文】

US seeks closer China ties

摘要：巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)昨日寻求重塑美中关系，他敦促中国这个亚洲日渐崛起的超级大国，加深与美国在经济、气候变化及核扩散方面的合作。

Barack Obama yesterday sought to recast the US's relationship with China, urging Asia's rising superpower to forge deeper ties with Washington on the economy, climate change and nuclear proliferation.

Speaking at the start of two days of top-level talks between the countries on the diplomatic and economic challenges confronting them, the US president predicted that Washington's relationship with Beijing would “shape the 21st century”.

Mr Obama depicted China as a force for progress that needed to co-operate with Washington, address global issues and respect human rights within its own borders.

But, acknowledging China's growing influence and in a sign of shifting US priorities, the president and senior US officials did not reiterate the public calls Washington has made in the past for Beijing to allow its currency to strengthen.

“Some in China think that America will try to contain China's ambitions; some in America think that there is something to fear in a rising China,” said Mr Obama. “I take a different view.”

The president set out a vision of the future in which the two countries would be “partners out of necessity, but also out of opportunity”.

The nature of the strategic and economic talks in Washington is the result of a push to give political focus to what had been a Treasury-dominated dialogue under Mr Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush.

Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, and Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary, together with China's vice-premier Wang Qishan and state councillor Dai Bingguo are participating in the talks.

Mr Dai said that the two countries were “in the same big boat that has been hit by fierce wind and huge waves, with our interests interconnected, sharing weal and woe”.

He concluded his speech by quoting Mr Obama's campaign cry of “Yes we can”.

In spite of the rhetoric, the relationship between the US and China remains in large part defined by China's status as the world's biggest holder of US Treasury bonds. This status heightens Beijing's influence over Washington and increases its exposure to the battered US economy.

Mr Obama said the countries' top priorities should be co-operation on the economy and climate change, and combating the threat of nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea.

He praised China for “lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty” and emphasised US calls for “the religion and culture of all peoples [to] be respected and protected”.

Washington responded cautiously to recent clashes involving China's Uighur minority in Xinjiang province. US diplomats are trying to balance a likely visit by Mr Obama to China later this year with a possible meeting between Mr Obama and the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.

Mr Geithner urged China to shift its economy towards domestic consumption, which he said would be a “huge contribution to more rapid, balanced and sustained global growth.”

He also said that the US would help China win greater representation at international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund.

【中文译文】

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)昨日寻求重塑美中关系，他敦促中国这个亚洲日渐崛起的超级大国，加深与美国在经济、气候变化及核扩散方面的合作。

美中两国在为期两天的高层对话中，将探讨双方所面临的外交和经济挑战。奥巴马在对话开幕式上致辞时表示，美中关系将“塑造21世纪”。

奥巴马把中国描述成一支进步的力量——一支需要与华盛顿合作的力量、解决全球性问题并尊重本国人权的力量。

美国总统和高级官员并未重申美国政府以往的公开呼吁，要求北京允许人民币升值。这不仅是因为他们认识到了中国不断增长的影响力，也表明了美国要务的转变。

奥巴马表示：“中国一些人认为，美国将设法遏制中国的雄心；而美国一些人认为，日渐崛起的中国存在令人担忧之处。我的看法不同。”

在奥巴马所构想的未来愿景中，两国的“伙伴关系不仅是需要使然，也是机遇使然”。

在小布什(George W. Bush)政府时期，美中对话一直由美国财政部主导。而本次在华盛顿召开的美中战略与经济对话，实际上受到了政治关注的推动。

参加对话的两国代表包括美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)和财长蒂姆•盖特纳(Tim Geithner)，以及中国国务院副总理王岐山和国务委员戴秉国。

戴秉国表示，两国是在同一艘遭狂风巨浪侵袭的大船上，双方利益相互依存，荣辱与共。

他在讲话结尾引用了奥巴马的竞选口号，“Yes we can”（是的，我们能够做到）。

尽管双方辞令动听，但在很大程度上，美中关系仍是由中国作为全球最大美国国债持有国的地位决定的。这一地位增强了中国对美国的影响力，也增加了其受遍体鳞伤的美国经济冲击的风险。

奥巴马表示，两国的当务之急应该是在经济和气候变化领域进行合作，同时防止伊朗和朝鲜核扩散的威胁。

奥巴马赞扬中国“使数亿民众脱离了贫困”，同时强调了美国的呼声，要求中国“尊重和保护各民族的宗教及文化”。

华盛顿谨慎地回应了近期发生在新疆的涉及维吾尔族的冲突。美国外交官正试图在奥巴马今年晚些时候可能访华，与奥巴马与西藏流亡领袖达赖喇嘛(Dalai Lama)可能会面之间取得平衡。

盖特纳敦促中国使其经济朝国内消费的方向转型，他表示，国内消费将是对“更快速、更平衡和更持续的全球增长的巨大贡献。”

他还表示，美国将帮助中国在国际货币基金组织(IMF)等国际组织中赢得更大的话语权。