中国国家主席习近平访美

AS IT IS 2015-09-23 China's President Xi Set to Visit US 中国国家主席习近平访美

Cybersecurity will be one of the many issues on the table this week when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Barack Obama. The state visit will take place in Washington.

Tensions have increased over Internet hacking¹, territory disputes and China’s weakened economy.

U.S. national security adviser² Susan Rice gave a sharp warning to the Chinese during a speech Monday.  She says state-sponsored cyber espionage³, or spying, must stop. Speaking at George Washington University in Washington D.C., Ms. Rice calls cyber espionage a national security concern — one that is critical to U.S.-China relations.

“In his meetings with President Xi, President Obama has repeatedly made plain that state-sponsored cyber-enabled economic espionage must stop.  This isn’t a mild irritation⁴, it’s an economic and national security concern to the United States. It puts enormous strain on our bilateral⁵ relationship, and it is a critical factor in determining the future trajectory⁶ of U.S.-China ties.”

Ms. Rice also says the U.S. government wants to solve issues around the South China Sea with diplomacy⁷, not force. She says the U.S. wants all countries involved in maritime⁸ claims to stop taking land, building new facilities, and militarizing positions in disputed areas. 

“We urge China and ASEAN countries to conclude a code of conduct and set clear, predictable, binding⁹ rules of the road in the South China Sea.”

The two leaders will also discuss North Korea and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Ms. Rice says China and the United States are, in her words, “equally united in demanding the complete and verifiable de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

National security advisor¹⁰ Rice says China is a “fulcrum¹¹” of influence for North Korea. She says this week’s meetings would be another chance, in her words, “to discuss how we can sharpen Pyongyang’s choices between having nuclear weapons, and developing economically.”

Ms. Rice says human rights will also be discussed. She says China’s “increasing restrictions¹² on freedom of expression and assembly, including their visa restrictions on American journalists, are not only wrong, they’re short-sighted.”

She says U.S. officials raise their concern about human rights “at every level.” Ms. Rice also says they raise the cases of people who they say are unjustly detained in China.

No doubt the downturn of China’s large economy will also be discussed.  Observers say problems in China’s economy might bring the two leaders together.

Michael O’Hanlon is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

“When you see a major unanticipated slowdown in either economy, it’s a cause of concern to both, and therefore a mutual¹³ problem. It’s going to have to be addressed, in many ways, by cooperative policy rather than blamesmanship.”

Mr. O’Hanlon added that there could be another important part to China’s economic troubles:

“The other important dimension is that it may bring the Chinese down a half a peg¹⁴ in their confidence level.”

He says China’s economic situation could help the relationship between the two countries. He says China has made a lot of progress and is now the world’s second-biggest economy.  But, he says, in his judgment¹⁵, the U.S. remains¹⁶ “far ahead” of China.

“Whether it’s GDP, obviously GDP per capita, military strength, economic and global political leadership, number of allies, strength in defense¹⁷ budgets of our allies, there are just so many metrics by which the United States far outdistances China.”

That said, Mr. O’Hanlon makes the argument that the U.S. and China are in a “mutually dependent relationship.” Both are large economies that are dependent on each other. The bottom line, he says, is that we both need each other.

Words in This Story

on the table – phrase something to be discussed

hacking – n. gaining illegal access to computers to steal information

espionage – n. spying between two or more countries

irritation – n. something that bothers a person

strain – n. something that is difficult

trajectory – n. direction

maritime – adj. having to do with water, sea or ocean

verifiable – adj. able to prove something is true or correct

fulcrum – n. one that have capability for action

1 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

2 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。

3 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

4 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 fulcrum   

n.杠杆支点

参考例句：

• Give me a fulcrum on which to rest,and I will move the earth.给我一个支承的支点，我就会搬动地球。
• The decision is the strategic fulcrum of the budget.这一决定是预算案的战略支点。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

14 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。