2018-12-02 15:28:57 英语口语
美中两国元首在阿根廷达成共识，美方暂缓向中国商品加征更高关税，中国将购买巨额美国产品、缩小对美顺差，双方还将在3个月内谈判解决一些最棘手的经贸问题。
美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)已同意暂缓明年对中国输美商品加征更高关税。此前，他与中国国家主席习近平达成共识，以阻止困扰两国关系并让金融市场陷入动荡的贸易战继续升级。
Donald Trump, the US president, has agreed to hold off on imposing higher tariffs on Chinese imports next year after reaching a deal with Xi Jinping, China’s president, to stall the trade war afflicting both countries and rattling financial markets.
周六的20国集团(G20)领导人峰会结束后，两国元首以及他们的高级顾问在阿根廷共进工作晚餐，随后双方达成临时“停火”共识。
The temporary ceasefire was reached after a working dinner involving the two presidents and their top advisers in Argentina, following the end of the G20 world leaders summit on Saturday.
根据白宫发布的声明，美国将不会像原计划那样从明年1月起把对逾2000亿美元中国输美商品加征的关税从10%上调至25%。
According to the terms of the deal outlined by the White House, the US will not ratchet up tariffs on more than $200bn of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent in January, as had been planned.
与此同时，为了缩小对美贸易顺差，中国将购买“非常大”数额的农产品、能源和工业品，尽管具体数额并未说明。美方还表示，两国将开始通过谈判解决双边经济关系中一些最棘手的问题，如美方指称的盗窃知识产权和强制转让技术等行为。他们为此轮谈判设定了3个月的期限，谈判失败将导致关税战再次升级。
Meanwhile, China would move to purchase a “very substantial” amount of farm, energy and industrial goods, though the amount was not specified, in order to reduce the trade gap with the US. The US also said the two countries would begin negotiations to resolve some of the thorniest issues in their economic relationship, like alleged intellectual property theft and the forced transfer of technology. They set a deadline of three months for those talks, with failure resulting in a new escalation of tariffs.
在美国总统下榻的柏悦酒店(Park Hyatt)，特朗普和习近平以乐观的基调开启了这场至关重要的峰会，这表示两国间的贸易紧张即将休止。
Mr Trump and Mr Xi entered the critical summit at the Park Hyatt hotel — where the US president was based — on an upbeat tone, suggesting a truce in trade tensions between the two countries was within striking distance.
在G20峰会结束、前往出席这场备受期待的工作晚餐时，特朗普表示：“我们将讨论贸易问题，我认为，在某种程度上，我们最终将做一些对中美两国都有利的事情。”
“We’ll be discussing trade and I think at some point we’re going to end up doing something that’s great for China and great for the United States,” the US president said heading into a highly anticipated working dinner at the end of a G20 world leaders summit.
习近平表示，很高兴与特朗普会晤。他说：“中美作为两个大国，在促进世界和平与繁荣方面共同肩负的责任越来越重大，合作是双方最好的选择。”
Mr Xi said it was a “great pleasure” to see Mr Trump. “A lot of things have taken place in the world,” he said. “Only with co-operation between us can we serve the interest of both peace and prosperity.”
中国官媒《环球时报》(Global Times)援引中国外长王毅在一场G20记者会上的话称：“中方愿意根据国内市场和人民的需要扩大进口……双方同意相互开放市场，在中国推进新一轮改革开放进程中使美方的合理关切得到逐步解决。”
China’s state-run Global Times quoted Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, as telling a G20 press conference: “China is willing to expand imports on the basis of its own needs, agrees to open its market and satisfy the legitimate concerns of the United States as part of the process of reform and opening up.”
双方代表团分坐一张长方形长桌两侧，长桌上方悬挂一座水晶吊灯，桌子中间摆放着一排花。主菜是烤西冷牛排配紫洋葱、山羊乳酪和椰枣，配马尔贝克红葡萄酒。晚餐持续了两个多小时，比白宫预期的要长。
The delegations were arranged around a long rectangular table, with a crystal chandelier hung above it and a row of flowers down the middle. The main course was grilled Sirloin with red onions, goat ricotta, and dates. The wine was a Malbec. The dinner lasted more than two hours, longer than expected by the White House.
此番共识中止了一场贸易冲突，这场冲突已经显示出对美中两国经济都造成严重损害的迹象，削弱了全球增长预期，并导致金融市场动荡和波动。但是，不存在什么使“停火”能够持续下去的保证——因此，在达成更坚实的解决方案之前，华盛顿和北京方面很可能仍面临新一轮升级的可能性。
The agreement pauses a trade conflict that was already showing signs of inflicting serious damage to the economies of both the US and China, denting global growth forecasts and causing turmoil and volatility in financial markets. But there are no guarantees that the ceasefire will last — so the possibility of a new escalation is likely to hang over Washington and Beijing until there is a more solid resolution.
在贸易问题上，特朗普根据自己的冲动和当下的政治优先事项在恫吓与妥协之间不断切换。在不到两个月的时间里，他就与欧盟和日本达成了缓解贸易紧张的协议，并与加拿大和墨西哥签订了新版北美自贸协定。
Mr Trump has shifted between bluster and compromise on trade depending on his impulse and the political priorities of the moment. Within the space of two months he struck agreements to ease trade tensions with the EU and Japan and revamp the North American Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
然而，中国一直被认为是一个更难搞定的对象。在贸易问题上与中国针锋相对，是2016年特朗普取得成功的总统竞选活动的核心内容之一，也成为特朗普在任期间的一个主题。在特朗普上任后的头几个月，其与习近平对话的努力进展不顺以后，今年美中贸易问题更成为特朗普政府的重中之重。
China was always considered a much tougher challenge, however. Confronting Beijing on trade was a centrepiece of his successful presidential campaign in 2016 and became a leitmotif of his time in office. This has been particularly true this year after his efforts at dialogue with Mr Xi during his first few months at the White House faltered.
特朗普对中国采取日益强硬的路线，提高关税并威胁要加征更多关税。在这个过程中，他得到了自己政府内鹰派官员的支持，尤其是白宫贸易顾问彼得•纳瓦罗(Peter Navarro)，以及有影响力的美国贸易代表罗伯特•莱特希泽(Robert Lighthizer)。然而，处于美国政府内部分歧另一端的美国财政部长史蒂文•姆努钦(Steven Mnuchin)和美国国家经济委员会(National Economic Council)主席拉里•库德洛(Larry Kudlow)，则更愿意考虑与中国达成协议。上述四人都在布宜诺斯艾利斯参与了与中国官员的谈判。
As Mr Trump took an increasingly tough line against China, ratcheting up tariffs and the threats of more tariffs, he was encouraged by hawks within his own administration, particularly Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, and Robert Lighthizer, the influential US trade representative. On the other side of the internal divide, however, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, have been more willing to consider a deal. All four were present at the negotiating table with Chinese officials in Buenos Aires.
特朗普本人的观点一向更难以捉摸，两方官员以及外部观察人士直到最后都得猜测他的想法。但特朗普曾声称自己与习近平建立了良好的个人关系，乐观人士常常主张这是一个可能带来突破的因素。在周六的会晤开始之际，特朗普称自己与习近平的关系“非常好”。
Mr Trump’s own views have always been more difficult to pinpoint, leaving officials from both sides, as well as outside observers, guessing until the end. But Mr Trump had claimed to have a strong personal relationship with Mr Xi, which optimists had often cited as a factor that might lead to a breakthrough. As he entered Saturday’s meeting, Mr Trump described a “wonderful ” relationship with Mr Xi.
在10月份股市大跌以后，特朗普在一通电话中向习近平伸出了橄榄枝。在漫长的停滞以后，双方通过这次通话安排谈判重启。之后，特朗普指示美国官员考察是否有可能在布宜诺斯艾利斯G20峰会上达成某种形式的协议，或者至少达成一个框架协议，解决导致美中关系紧张的一些源头。
After a sharp drop in equity markets in October, Mr Trump made an overture to Mr Xi in a phone call that relaunched talks after a lengthy hiatus. He then instructed staff to see if it might be possible to reach some form of deal at the G20 in Buenos Aires, or at least a framework to resolve some of the sources of tension with Beijing.
然而，直到上周，中国官员都没有向特朗普提出多少有意义的让步，这导致白宫方面降低了对达成协议的预期，甚至威胁要在不久后加征一系列新关税。然而，就在美国代表团抵达布宜诺斯艾利斯以后，美方的论调变得更为积极，特朗普还声称，他看到了谈判的“好兆头”。
However, until the last week, Chinese officials had offered few meaningful concessions to Mr Trump, leading the White House to dampen expectations of an agreement and even threaten a burst of new levies in the near future. Just as the American delegation landed in Buenos Aires, however, the tone from the US side became more positive, with Mr Trump claiming that he was seeing “good signs” in the talks.
这次共识或许只能让贸易冲突暂时缓解——如果下一轮谈判无法产生更具体的结果，特朗普政府内的强硬派很可能变得不耐烦。
The agreement may only offer a reprieve in the trade conflict — and hardliners within the administration are likely to grow impatient if the next round of talks does not yield more concrete results.
