美国国家公共电台 NPR--An investment conference nicknamed Davos in the Desert is under way in Saudi Arabia

An investment conference nicknamed Davos in the Desert is under way in Saudi Arabia

Transcript¹

The world's top bank executives, along with billionaire investors³, are laying the groundwork for deals at a time when the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi government is at a low point.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

An investment conference nicknamed Davos in the Desert is underway in Saudi Arabia.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Top executives from some of the world's largest banks are there, along with billionaire investors. They're laying the groundwork for deals. On one level, it's an obvious move. Saudi Arabia ranks as one of the richest countries in the world. But the gathering⁴ comes as the U.S. harshly criticizes Saudi Arabia for its policies.

INSKEEP: NPR's David Gura is covering this story. David, good morning.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE⁵: Morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: So who's attending?

GURA: Well, a lot of boldface names - Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase; David Solomon of Goldman Sachs; Charles Scharf of Wells Fargo. Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of the private equity⁶ firm Blackstone, is there. So is Ray Dalio, who ran the world's largest hedge fund until recently. Former President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also on the agenda; former Treasury⁷ Secretary Steven Mnuchin as well. Saudi Arabia is invested in both of their multibillion-dollar private equity funds. So that gives you a sense of who's there, Steve. Who's not there is anyone from the current administration, which is currently reevaluating its relationship with Saudi Arabia.

INSKEEP: Well, given the anger at the Saudis right now, why would the business leaders be going?

GURA: Well, there's money to be made. Let's not dance around that. One participant told me Saudi Arabia is pouring a gazillion dollars into renewable energy. The country has more than half-a-trillion dollars in a government-controlled investment fund. And Karen Young, who's with Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, told me this conference is a way for Saudi Arabia to show off its ambitions beyond oil.

KAREN YOUNG: A new identity for the kingdom and the kingdom trying to get into what it sees as kind of futuristic sectors⁸.

GURA: So there are panels on artificial intelligence and crypto and sports. Saudi Arabia is pouring tens of millions of dollars into a golf league it hopes will rival the PGA. And Karen Young told me Saudi Arabia sees itself now as a country with a more assertive⁹ foreign policy than before, and it's more confident in its ability to attract outside investment.

INSKEEP: Which is interesting given the trouble Saudi Arabia has been in in recent years for ordering the murder of a journalist and any number of other things. How does this fit with the U.S. approach, the government approach, to Saudi Arabia?

GURA: Yeah, the contrast is very stark¹⁰, going back to that trip President Biden took to Saudi Arabia in July. He met with the crown prince. There was that fist bump. The administration was optimistic that visit would lead to Saudi Arabia helping¹¹ at a time when oil has gotten more expensive because of the fallout from the war in Ukraine. But a couple of months later, it did the opposite. Saudi Arabia pushed for deep production cuts, and prices have gone up again. So the decades-long relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is at a low point. But the White House has said repeatedly, Steve, it's not up to them to tell business leaders if they should steer¹² clear of this conference.

INSKEEP: I guess President Biden can't criticize them too much for going to Saudi Arabia since he recently went to Saudi Arabia. But Biden has been pretty outspoken¹³ about Saudi Arabia's human rights record all along.

GURA: Yeah. It's also about this, the country's human rights record. After the killing¹⁴ of columnist¹⁵ Jamal Khashoggi, many executives pulled out of the conference. But someone who has not stayed away is Anthony Scaramucci, perhaps best known for the 10 days or so he spent as former President Trump's communications director. He has spent most of his career as an investor².

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI: To me, it's a tragedy. It's an event that has to be recognized as a tragedy. But I think we have to look at the longer-term goals and the longer-term interests of global peace, global prosperity and, frankly¹⁶, global progress.

GURA: Scaramucci applauds Saudi Arabia for making some progress in recent years. He says he's optimistic about the role it wants to play in the wider world. But when it comes to the killing of Khashoggi, which the U.S. intelligence community says the crown prince approved, Scaramucci says the broader issue is, are we capable of moving past that? Those are his words. And, Steve, Scaramucci thinks we should be.

INSKEEP: David Gura. Thanks so much.

GURA: Thank you, Steve.

1 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。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

7 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

10 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

11 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。

12 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

13 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

16 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。