美国大选将影响美国在亚洲的外交政策吗?

AS IT IS 2016-11-05 Will the American Election Affect US Foreign Policy in Asia? 美国大选将影响美国在亚洲的外交政策吗?

The two main candidates for president of the United States have spoken about a lot about Asia during the election campaign.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump¹ are critical of trade deals with Asian nations. They have different opinions about U.S. defense² policies in East Asia.

Some observers have noted³ that America’s interests overseas remain consistent. And, they say, the problems facing the next president are complex.

Both Clinton and Trump have been critical of free trade deals. That is especially the case with the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁴ (TPP). The candidates might be reacting to growing public anger. Many Americans have blamed international trade for the loss of jobs over the past 20 years.

The U.S. Congress has yet to approve the TPP. It is unclear whether lawmakers are willing to vote on the agreement after the elections next week.

During election campaign stops, Clinton and Trump have each said they do not support the TPP. Clinton changed her position from 2012 when she called the deal the “gold standard in trade agreements.” Four years ago, she was serving as Secretary of State. Trump has also voiced his opposition⁵ to the TPP, calling it a bad deal.

Supporters of the agreement, however, note that it is meant to open up markets in Asian and Pacific countries to American companies. The deal is also meant to balance China’s expanding economic influence in East Asia.

The TPP’s supporters note that, if approved, the deal would include 12 nations, including Japan. Those countries are responsible for 40 percent of world trade.

China policy an important campaign issue

Trump has accused China of manipulating the value of Chinese money to make its exports less costly⁶ to other countries. He has threatened, if elected president, to use high taxes on Chinese goods to punish China for its actions.

Some economists⁷ say measures such as these could cause a trade war.

Clinton has been more critical of human rights abuses in China. And she has criticized the Chinese government for its territorial⁸ claims in the South China Sea.

Professor Xie Tao teaches political science with Beijing Foreign Studies University. He says public criticism of China has been strong during the election campaign. But he says the criticism tends to soften⁹ after the elections. Xie notes this was the case with Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton. As president, he decided¹⁰ not to link Chinese human rights issues to trade.

Candidates differ on answer to North Korean threat

How the United States should answer threats from North Korea also has been a campaign issue.

Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, has voiced support for strong military alliances with South Korea and Japan to counter North Korea’s weapons programs. She also wants to continue working with China to increase economic restrictions¹¹ on the North Korean government.

Trump has suggested another plan of action. China is North Korea’s main ally and trade partner. The businessman says he would pressure the Chinese government to force North Korea to stop its nuclear activities.

China has joined the United Nations Security Council in ordering sanctions on North Korea. But, it is unwilling¹² to cause the collapse¹³ of the North, which would likely result in a unified¹⁴ Korea under the control of South Korea.

In addition, Trump has called on South Korea and Japan to support more of the cost of the U.S. military presence in those countries. At times, he has suggested that the allies might be permitted to develop nuclear weapons as protection against North Korea.

Professor Kim Hyun-Wook is with the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul. He says some changes may take place under the next president, but the alliance will remain strong.

“There might be some tensions and adjustment and refinement¹⁵, but I think the alliance will be very solid.”

The U.S. military has visibly placed bombers¹⁶ and fighter jets in East Asia. It is also seeking to deploy¹⁷ the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea. Both China and Russia have criticized the proposed deployment¹⁸.

Words in This Story

consistent – adj. staying about the same over time

gold standard – n. the best example of something

manipulate – v. to deal with in a controlling way, often unfairly

tend – v. to behave in a certain way often

counter – v. to do something in response to something else

visibly – adj. in a way that can be noted or observed

1 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。

2 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。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 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。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

9 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 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

12 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

15 refinement   

n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼

参考例句：

• Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
• Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。

16 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

18 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。