美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia-Ukraine war is likely to overshadow G7 and NATO meetings

Russia-Ukraine war is likely to overshadow G7 and NATO meetings

Transcript¹

President Biden this weekend heads to Europe for the upcoming G7 and NATO summits. He is expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and the influence of China, among other issues.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How much progress has the United States made in its global competition with China? President Biden, like his predecessor², has taken a more confrontational³ approach to China than past administrations. This weekend is a moment to check Biden's progress because Biden wants to work with U.S. allies in facing China, and this weekend, many of them hold a summit - the G-7, the Group of Seven industrialized democracies. At last year's G-7 summit, Biden offered an approach to China. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith was listening then, and she has been asking how it worked out. Tam, good morning.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: What did Biden promise one year ago?

KEITH: So it's good to remember that this was Biden's first foreign trip a year ago, his first trip as president. And he was triumphant⁵. He was declaring that America was back and reengaged in the world, and what he announced was part of this. He successfully got the G-7 leaders to put their weight behind something meant to be an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I put forward an idea that we named the Build Back Better World partnership⁶.

KEITH: China has, for about a decade, been building roads and bridges and other big projects in Asia and Latin America and Africa, gaining a foothold in countries desperate for financing, extracting economic and political concessions⁷ along the way. So the pitch for Build Back Better World was to offer a more appealing alternative.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: It's a values-driven, high-standard, transparent⁸ financing mechanism⁹ we're going to provide and support projects in four key areas - climate, health, digital technology and gender¹⁰ equity¹¹.

KEITH: Think clean energy projects, 5G networks or something like rare minerals mining. But the initiative ran into a more challenging environment than just about anyone imagined at the time it was announced. Zack Cooper specializes in U.S.-Asia strategy at the American Enterprise Institute.

ZACK COOPER: There was a feeling that they'd be, you know, coming out of COVID globally in a really strong position to have a couple of years of very positive growth and building back, right?

KEITH: Instead, COVID has remained a challenge. Russia invaded Ukraine, setting off energy and food crises. Inflation became a serious problem globally.

COOPER: And now people are talking about heading back into a recession. I just think that's a very different environment to have this conversation.

KEITH: Without much fanfare¹², Biden administration officials have been working to make the project they announced a reality. This weekend, Biden and G-7 leaders will formally launch the program, announcing the first projects to be funded. But the initiative will have a new name. The Build Back Better branding, now associated with the president's stalled domestic economic agenda, is gone. But there's a lot of skepticism. Michael Shifter is a former president of the Inter-American Dialogue and is in regular touch with leaders in Latin America. He says it's a good idea, but...

MICHAEL SHIFTER: The expectations have really declined, and I'm not sure anybody's really expecting very much at this point, unfortunately.

KEITH: And he says in Latin America, working with China has filled a need.

SHIFTER: Countries are in dire¹³ straits. They need resources. There are opportunities the Chinese are offering, and the U.S. can't match those.

KEITH: The intentions are good, says Ian Bremmer at Eurasia Group, an international consulting firm, but there are a lot of questions about whether there's real money behind it.

IAN BREMMER: Whenever they talk to American officials, they say, well, if you don't want us investing in China, give us an alternative, right? If you don't want us tying up with Beijing and all this money they're offering, well, where else are we supposed to go? You don't have anything else. So this is meant to be that. And there's only one problem (laughter), which is that we don't actually have the money to fund it.

KEITH: The White House has heard the doubters. National Security Adviser¹⁴ Jake Sullivan, speaking in Washington last week, insisted it won't take as much U.S. government money as you might think.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAKE SULLIVAN: What we're really trying to stimulate¹⁵ is a long-term economic relationship rooted in private sector¹⁶ investment, not in massive cash transfers from the American Treasury¹⁷ to these countries. And that means taking relatively¹⁸ smaller amounts of money and leveraging¹⁹ significant private sector investment to add up to billions and, ultimately, tens of billions of dollars.

KEITH: In theory, this could work, says Matthew Goodman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. With a U.S. government seal of approval, the idea is private sector money would flow in from pension funds, hedge funds, private equity and insurance funds.

MATTHEW GOODMAN: We've got, like, $100 trillion plus, hundred trillion, far out-dwarfing what China may have to offer through Belt and Road.

KEITH: But these funds have to be convinced they can make a return on their investment, and there is risk in investing in projects in countries where markets can be opaque²⁰ and the rule of law is unsteady by Western standards, says Goodman.

GOODMAN: You know, the question is, is this really going to tip the balance and incentivize these massive funds in the U.S. to go into these investments? And I think that's an open question still.

INSKEEP: That's one of the experts who spoke²¹ with NPR's Tamara Keith. And, Tam, first, thanks very much. I appreciate that. It was a really clear explanation of the difference between the U.S. strategy and the Chinese strategy. But there is that skepticism that you find. How does the administration answer the skepticism?

KEITH: Well, Biden administration officials are really bullish about this project, and we will get a better sense of why they are, in theory, when they announce the details of the first projects. Those details are being held tightly right now because this big meeting hasn't happened yet, and they want to be able to announce it there. But, you know, for all of their enthusiasm, there is a lot at this meeting that could overshadow any splashy announcement. You know, everyone here in the U.S. is waiting for the Supreme²² Court to hand down its decision in a case that could overturn Roe²³ v. Wade²⁴, and if that happens while the president is overseas, that's all anyone will be talking about. And he, of course, will have to respond, and he'll want to.

INSKEEP: And even if that didn't happen, there are more urgent issues to discuss even at the G-7 summit itself.

KEITH: That's right. There are a lot of problems for these leaders to deal with. Russia's war in Ukraine is causing food and fuel shortages. Energy prices are high. That's hurting the economies of all of these countries. There's inflation. And so one thing that we do know is President Zelenskyy of Ukraine is expected to give virtual remarks both at the G-7 and then later at the NATO summit in Madrid.

INSKEEP: Tamara, thanks for your reporting.

KEITH: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Tamara Keith.

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 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

6 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。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

9 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 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。

12 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

13 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

14 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

15 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 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。

18 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

19 leveraging   

促使…改变( leverage的现在分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• De-leveraging is a painful process: it has barely begun. 去杠杆化是个痛苦的过程：它才刚刚开始。
• Archimedes said, saying: Give me a fulcrum, I can leveraging the Earth. 阿基米德说过一句话：给我一个支点，我可以撬动地球。

20 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

21 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

22 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

23 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

24 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。