中美贸易战争

周姗姗学号:31314007 政经翻译Text AU.S. vs. China: The trade battlesBy Chris Isidore@CNNMoney March 13, 2012: 4:03 PM ET∙∙Tweet∙∙Email PrintChina's limits on exports of rare earths minerals Tuesday became the latest trade dispute between China and the United States.NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- China and the United States are the world's largest economies and, by some measures, each other's most important trading partners. But it's a rocky marriage.A dispute over rare earth minerals came into the spotlight Tuesday, as President Obama announced that the United States, Japan and Western European countries would file a trade complaint against China.∙∙∙∙Print∙CommentBut it's only the latest in a series of pending trade disputes between the United States and China that experts say won't be resolved any time soon. Any one of the disputes could damage the economies of both countries as well as the relationship between them.Here's a rundown of the most important trade disputes.Rare earthsThe United States and other Western economies charge that China is putting unfair restrictions on the exports of rare earths, elements crucial to the making of numerous high-tech products, to give its own manufacturers an edge. Rare earths are also critical to national defense -- used in products from tanks and ships to radar systems and night vision goggles -- as well as green-energy products such as wind turbines and batteries for electric vehicles.Rare earth suit is as much about national security as it is businessChina produces about 97% of all rare earths, although one U.S. company, Molycorp (MCP), is starting production in the United States. But even when Molycorp reaches full production later this year, it will be producing only a small fraction of the output from China."We want our companies building those products right here in America," said Obama on Tuesday. "But to do that, American manufacturers need to have access to rare earth materials -- which China supplies." He said China's rare earth restrictions go against the World Trade Organization①rules that China has agreed to.China denies the charges, saying its rules are defensible on grounds of environmental and economic sustainability④, and suggests there would be consequences if the United States presses the case."Past experiences have shown that policymakers in Washington should treat such issues with more prudence, because maintaining sound China-U.S. trade relations is in the fundamental interests of both sides," said China's state news agency Xinhua in a commentary Tuesday.Currency valuationNothing gets more attention from U.S. politicians and other critics of China's trade policies than the value of the yuan, also known as the renminbi.China is accused of manipulating currency markets to keep the yuan undervalued, thus making goods produced in China cheaper and more competitive on the world market. Critics say this is a major reason for the record $295.5 billion trade gap with China last year.After years of having the yuan basically pegged to the value of the dollar, China allowed the yuan to start to rise in June 2010. But critics argue the increase has been slower than is justified, up only about 8% since then. Critics charge it is still undervalued by more than 20%.In October, the Senate passed a bill that would have allowed steep penalties, known as tariffs, on goods from countries that manipulate their currencies, widely seen as being aimed at China.But despite earlier support for similar measures, the bill did not get a vote in the HouseOther trade disputesBeyond the currency and rare earths issues, there are numerous additional trade disputes between the United States and China. In November, the Commerce Department announced it was investigating charges that Chinese solar cell manufacturers are illegally "dumping" their products on the American market at excessively cheap prices.The United States is also fighting tariffs China has on U.S. chicken exports.President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address②that hewould set up a "Trade Enforcement Unit" to investigate unfair trade practices -- specifically in countries like China.A coalition of union and trade activists joined together in January to urge action against Chinese auto parts exports in order to avoid overwhelming an industry that produces more jobs than the automakers themselves.China has also complained about some U.S. policies, such as government subsidies of the auto industry. It used that government support as justification for imposing new tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles.But the restrictions are unlikely to have much impact on U.S. automakers, such as General Motors ⑤(GM, Fortune 500③), which is No. 1 inChinese sales, since virtually all the cars sold in China are built there as well. Less than 1% of GM's Chinese sales are from vehicles built in the United States.Intellectual property and technologyA few years ago, intellectual property disputes with China were typically over movie or software piracy. While that remains an issue, it only scratches the surface of the bigger dispute today: China's "indigenous innovation" rules.U.S. manufacturers who have been eager to set up operations in China to produce goods for that market say the rules unfairly require them to transfer their technology to their Chinese partners.And while U.S. businesses in a wide variety of industry sectors, from autos to technology to financial services, are unusually vocal in complaining about this set of Chinese rules, they haven't been challenged at the WTO."To me, that's actually the biggest issue, more even than currency valuation," said David Joy, chief market strategist for AmeripriseFinancial. "Being forced to give up technology for access to the market is essentially blackmail."First Published: March 13, 2012: 3:42 PM ET/2012/03/13/news/international/china-t rade/glossary：（1）Rocky ['rɒkɪ] adj. 摇晃的liable to rock；weak, shaky, or unstable（2）Spotlight['spɒtlaɪt] n. 公众注意的中心；聚光灯 a focus of public attention；used to focus attention of a stage performer（3）Pend[pend] vi.悬而未决to await judgment or settlement（4）Rundown['rʌndaʊn] n. 裁减；纲要Compendium, skeleton（5）Charge[tʃɑːdʒ] vt. 指责；使承担When the police charge someone, they formally accuse them of having done something illegal（6）Crucial['kruːʃ(ə)l] adj. 重要的；决定性的If you describe something as crucial, you mean it is extremely important. Eg. important, considerable,material, critical, big（7）Edge [edʒ] n. 优势If someone or something has an edge, they have an advantage that makes them stronger or more likely to be successful thananother thing or person.（8）Goggle['gɒg(ə)l] n. 护目镜，风镜Goggles are large glasses that fit closely to your face around your eyes to protect them from such things as water, wind,or dust.（9）Turbine['tɜːbaɪn; -ɪn]n. 涡轮机A turbine is a machine or engine which uses a stream of air, gas, water, or steam to turn a wheel and produce power.（10）Fraction['frækʃ(ə)n] n. 小部分 A fraction of something is a tiny amount or proportion of it.（11）Sustainability[sə'steɪnəbɪlətɪ] n. 持续性the property of being sustainable（12）Consequence['kɒnsɪkw(ə)ns] n. 结果；重要性having important effects or influence（13）Sound[saʊnd] adj.健康的；合理的；有效彻底的in good condition; free from defect or damage or decay（14）Prudence['pruːd(ə)ns] n. 谨慎Prudence is care and good sense that someone shows when making a decision or taking action.（15）Commentary['kɒmənt(ə)rɪ] n. 评论；评注a written explanation or criticism or illustration that is added to a book or other textual material（16）Undervalue[ʌndə'væljuː] vt.低估…之价值If you undervalue something or someone, you fail to recognize how valuable or important theyare.（17）Peg to [peg] 紧盯eg. Compounding the supply problem are low interest rates stemming from the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the U.S. dollar.（18）Manipulate[mə'nɪpjʊleɪt] vt. 操纵control (others or oneself) or influence skillfully, usually to one's advantage（19）Dump [dʌmp] vt. 倾销If a firm or company dumps goods, it sells large quantities of them at prices far below their real value, usually in anothercountry, in order to gain a bigger market share or to keep prices high in thehome market.（20）Coalition[,kəʊə'lɪʃ(ə)n] n. 联合；结合the state of being combined into one body（21）Overwhelming[,ovɚ'wɛlmɪŋ] adj 压倒性的；势不可挡的so strong as to be irresistible（22）Subsidy['sʌbsɪdɪ] n.补贴；津贴a grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the public（23）Impose[ɪm'pəʊz] vt. 强加；征税If you impose something on people, you use your authority to force them to accept it.（24）Virtually['vɜːtjʊəlɪ] adv. 事实上；实质上in essence or effect but not in fact（25）Piracy['paɪrəsɪ] n. 剽窃；著作权侵害；非法翻印the act of plagiarizing;taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own（26）Indigenous[ɪn'dɪdʒɪnəs] adj. ；国产的；固有的Indigenous people or things belong to the country in which they are found, rather than coming thereor being brought there from another country.（27）Vocal['vəʊk(ə)l] adj. 声音的，有声的relating to or designed for or using the singing voice; given to expressing yourself freely or insistently （28）Blackmail['blækmeɪl] n. 敲诈extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting informationNotes:1. World Trade Organization:WTO is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalizeinternational trade. The organization officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT), which commenced in 1948. The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participant's adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.[Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round 1986-1994).The organization is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus on addressing the needs of developing countries. As of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain: the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is stillincomplete. The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of protectionism on farm subsidies to domestic agricultural sector(requested by developed countries) and the substantiation of the international liberalization of fair trade on agricultural products (requested by developing countries) remain the major obstacles. These points of contention have hindered any progress to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result of this impasse, there has been an increasing number of bilateral free trade agreements signed. As of July 2012, there were various negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate./wiki/World_Trade_Organization2. State of the Union address: it is the address presented by the President of the United Statesto a joint session of the United States Congress, typically delivered annually. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows presidents to outline their legislative agenda (for which they need the cooperation of Congress) and their national priorities./wiki/State_of_the_Union_address3. Fortune 500:Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine thatranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies incur. The list includes publicly and privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. The first Fortune 500 list was published in 1955.Walmart, then branded as Wal-Mart, was the largest company on the list in 2007 and 2008.ExxonMobil was in second place in 2007 and 2008, but overtook Walmart in 2009. Walmart once again regained the top spot in 2010. The revenue and profit numbers are for the year previous to the named year; therefore, the 2010 list ranks companies by 2009 revenues.Although the Fortune 500 list is the most familiar one, similar gross revenue lists of the top firms range from the highest ranking Fortune 100 including the top one hundred to the broader ranking Fortune 1000 that includes the top thousand firms. While the membership on the smaller lists are somewhat stable, the ranking on the lists may change over time depending upon revenues, and often because of mergers among firms already listed.The original Fortune 50 was restricted to companies whose revenues were derived from manufacturing, mining, or energy exploration. At the same time, Fortune published companion "Fortune 50" lists of the 50 largest commercial banks (ranked by assets), utilities (ranked by assets), life insurance companies (ranked by assets), retailers (ranked by gross revenues) and transportation companies (ranked by revenues). These have been consolidated into one single list, so the Fortune 500 as it exists today includes companies that in previous years would have been on one of the "Fortune 50" lists.The concept of the Fortune 500 was created by Edgar P. Smith, a Fortune editor./wiki/Fortune_5004. Economic Sustainability:Economic sustainability is the term used to identify variousstrategies that make it possible to use available resources to their best advantage. The idea is to promote the use of those resources in a way that is both efficient and responsible, and likely to provide long-term benefits. In the case of a business operation, it calls for using resources so that the business continues to function over a number of years, while consistently returning a profit.In most scenarios, the measure of economic sustainability is presented in monetary terms.The worth of assets and resources in dollar figures is common, as is identifying the amount of return generated by the efficient use of those resources. The idea is to aid in identifying areas of the operation in which resources are not being utilized in the most efficient manner, and take the steps to correct the situation. At the same time, the proposed changes to the operation are considered in terms of their overall effect on the production flow, making it possible to address any potential difficulties later in the process before the changes are actually implemented. Doing so means engaging in a strategy known as cross-sectoral coordination, which involves identifying what impact changes in one area of the operation will have on subsequent phases of the production process.True sustainability encourages the responsible use of resources. This involves not only making sure that the business is making a profit, but that the operation is not creating environmental concerns that could cause harm to the balance of the local ecology. By being mindful of the impact of the operation on the local community, the business is able to choose raw materials that are more environmentally friendly and design a waste disposal strategy that does not cause damage. In the long run, attention to these types of details has the potential to increase the community’s inves tment in the continued operation of the business, and improve its chances for remaining a viable operation for a longer period of time.While the concept of economic sustainability is straightforward, there are potential obstacles that may be found in different companies. Resistance to change can often lead to a less than efficient use of available resources. A failure to track expenses and justify expenditures will also have adverse effects on the long-term stability of the company and limit the potential for sustainability. For this reason, companies sometimes work with outside consultants who can evaluate the business operation with relatively little bias and point out what needs to be done to improve the sustainability of the operation.The goal is to establish profitability over the long term. A profitable business is much more likely to remain stable and continue to operate from one year to the next. From this perspective, this strategy can be seen as a tool to make sure the business does have a future and continues to contribute to the financial welfare of the owners, the employees, and to the community where it is located./what-is-economic-sustainability.htm5. General Motor:General Motors Company, LLC, commonly known as GM, is an Americanmultinational holding corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan that, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under fifteen brands, including Alpheon, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun, Holden, HSV, Jie Fang, Opel, Opel Performance Center(OPC), Vauxhall, VXR, UzDaewoo, and Wuling. As well as owning shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen. General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in 157 countries.General Motors is divided into five business segments: GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America (GMSA), and GM Financial.General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales.General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services.In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top 5 largest IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year./wiki/General_MotorsQuestions on Text A：Question 1：What caused rare earths issue between China and America?Question 2：Why China put restrictions on rare earths export?Question3：What was the major reason for the trade gap between China and America last year?Question 4：Why China manipulates currency markets to keep the yuan undervalued?Question 5：Why China impose new tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles?Question 6：What is the bigger one in Chinese intellectual property disputes?Question 7：What is the American businessman’s reaction for China’s "indigenous innovation"rules?译文：中美贸易战争中美是世界上最大的经济体，在一些领域还是重要的贸易伙伴。