美国国家公共电台 NPR--Africa is getting a lot of attention this month from the U.S., China and Russia

Africa is getting a lot of attention this month from the U.S., China and Russia

Transcript¹

The Biden administration is making a big push to re-engage with Africa after the tumult² of the Trump³ years. At the same time, Africa is also being wooed by China and Russia.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Global superpowers are paying lots of attention to the African continent lately.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Yeah. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, just arrived in Ghana for a five-day tour. And Treasury⁴ Secretary Janet Yellen is in South Africa today. Yellen just missed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was there a day earlier. And China's new foreign minister wrapped up his five-nation African tour last week.

MART?NEZ: All right. So what could all this diplomatic activity mean? We're going to get into that with NPR West Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu.

Emmanuel, President Biden has said his administration wants to step up its commitment to Africa. So does that explain all those visits from U.S. officials?

EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE⁵: Yes, it does. You know, U.S. policy in Africa was relatively⁶ disengaged for years, particularly under President Trump. So all of this is part of a major reset⁷ by U.S. officials. You know, the African Leaders Summit in D.C. last month was key. The summit was actually light on policy and focused more on bridge building and reinvigorating those ties. And these visits are an extension of that. There are also plans for President Biden and Vice⁸ President Harris to visit this year. You know, when you talk to U.S. officials, they see Africa as a priority because of the cultural prominence⁹ of the continent in the U.S., because of art, music, Africa's rapid population growth and economic potential.

MART?NEZ: All right. So the U.S. then wants to ramp¹⁰ up their presence in Africa, clearly. So how much catching¹¹ up does it have to do to China?

AKINWOTU: You know, Chinese trade in Africa is about four times that of the U.S. I'm in Lagos right now. And yesterday, the president opened a new billion-dollar seaport¹², largely funded by China, who own a majority stake - new trains, new roads, new airport terminals. You know, all of this is - are largely built with Chinese funding. The U.S. has been a vocal¹³ critic of a lot of these development loans across Africa because countries have racked up huge debts to China. But the underlying¹⁴ question here is, what does the U.S. have to offer African countries that would be better? And that said, the U.S. is still a vital trading partner in Africa. And there's the ongoing¹⁵ U.S. trade agreement called AGOA, which is really important. And the U.S. is important in a host of areas. But at the same time, it's also playing diplomatic catch-up, and not just with China.

MART?NEZ: So how does Russia figure into all this?

AKINWOTU: Russia has long-established ties here going back to the Soviet¹⁶ Union and upped engagement during the Ukraine war. You know, many African countries have tried to resist pressure by the West to halt trade or ties with Russia because of their invasion of Ukraine. But African countries on the whole don't want to have to choose. And in fact, South Africa are taking part in joint¹⁷ naval¹⁸ exercises with Russia and China off its east coast next month.

MART?NEZ: All right. So how are all these visits being perceived on the continent?

AKINWOTU: I think overall, there's a mixture of welcome because the investment and benefits are important, but there's also caution. You know, many people resent the idea of Africa being this arena¹⁹ of competition between outside powers, you know, like, with African countries seeming like pawns²⁰ in a chessboard. But there's also a question of, how does the continent not be an arena for great power competition when they're relying on outside help? But for the U.S., I think we'll have to see whether these trips and engagement leads to genuinely closer economic and political ties.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR West Africa correspondent Emmanuel Akinwotu in Lagos, Nigeria.

(SOUNDBITE OF SCRIMSHIRE'S "LOVE IN DREAMS")

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 tumult   

n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹

参考例句：

• The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
• His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 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。

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 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。

7 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

10 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

13 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

14 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

17 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

18 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

19 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

20 pawns   

n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• The hostages are being used as political pawns. 人质正被用作政治卒子。
• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。 来自《简明英汉词典》