VOA慢速英语2020 新冠疫情使得东盟成为中国最大贸易伙伴

Southeast Asian countries have become China's biggest trading partner this year. At the same time, economic activity in wealthier nations has slowed because of the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

今年，东南亚国家已经成为中国最大的贸易伙伴。与此同时，由于新冠肺炎的蔓延，发达国家的经济活动有所放缓。

Trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China reached $240 billion in the first five months of 2020. That is an increase of 4.2 percent over the same period in 2019, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said. Chinese trade with ASEAN is about 15 percent of its total trade worldwide.

2020年前5个月，东盟和中国之间的贸易额达到了2400亿美元。新华社表示，这比2019年同期增长了4.2%。中国和东盟的贸易额大约占其全球贸易总额的15%。

China began easing restrictions¹ related to COVID-19 in March. Vietnam and Malaysia eased their restrictions soon after. Many countries in other parts of the world are still struggling with shutdowns, supply system reductions and a lack of people buying products.

中国从3月份开始放宽对新冠肺炎的相关限制。越南和马来西亚此后不久也放松了限制。世界其它地区很多国家仍在封锁、供应减少以及产品需求不振中挣扎，

Jonathan Ravelas is the chief market strategist with Banco de Oro UniBank in the Philippine capital Manila. He said that Asian countries followed COVID-19 shutdown restrictions more closely than Western nations. Ravelas told VOA, "The way we do things...it's better to deal with your peers. And that's the reason (for) the potential bounce back in Asia."

乔纳森·拉维拉斯是菲律宾首都马尼拉的菲律宾金融银行的首席市场策略师。他说，亚洲国家比西方国家更严格地遵守了新冠肺炎停产限制。拉维拉斯对美国之音表示，“我们的策略是，最好跟你的同类打交道，这就是亚洲可能迅速恢复的原因。“

The European Union (EU) was China's top trading partner last year after pushing out the United States. But anti-coronavirus closures limited EU-China trade in the first three months of 2020, business advising group Dezan Shira & Associates says.

欧盟去年赶超美国成为了中国最大的贸易伙伴。但是协力商业管理咨询公司表示，抗击新冠病毒的封锁措施限制了2020年首季度中欧之间的贸易。

Rajiv Biswas is Asia-Pacific chief economist² with IHS Markit in Singapore. He said factories in Europe bought fewer parts from China and shipped fewer finished goods, such as cars, back to China.

拉吉夫·比斯瓦斯是IHS Markit公司新加坡分公司的亚太区首席经济学家。他说，欧洲工厂减少了从中国购买零件，并且运回中国的汽车等成品也有所减少。

The United States has a weaker trade partnership³ with China because of increased import tariffs⁴. A sharp decrease in consumer buying during shutdowns across the United States further reduced trade.

由于进口关税提高，中美贸易伙伴关系较弱。美国全境停工期间消费者购买量急剧下降，从而进一步减少了贸易。

Biswas added, "the trade war, and lockdowns this year have affected⁵ China-U.S. trade. And also, with the EU, since March, April and most of May, most of Europe was heavily affected and in lockdown."

比斯瓦斯还说：“贸易战以及今年的疫情封锁措施影响了中美贸易。而且中欧之间的贸易也受到影响，因为在三月、四月以及五月大部分时间里，欧洲大部分地区都受到严重影响，处于封锁状态。”

Becoming top trading partner

成为最大贸易伙伴

ASEAN member countries and China had also reduced each other's costs with a no-tariff trade deal that took effect in 2010. ASEAN and China are expected to sign another deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, to improve trade further later this year.

东盟成员国和中国还通过在2010年生效的无关税贸易协定降低了双方的成本。预计东盟将与中国签署另一项区域全面经济合作伙伴关系协定，以便在今年晚些时候进一步改善贸易。

Rising wages among Southeast Asia's 640 million people permit growing numbers of Chinese goods, such as smartphones, to do well in the market. Industrialization of ASEAN member countries has created factories that buy materials from China to make finished goods. The products are then often sold in China.

东南亚6.4亿人口的工资不断上涨，使得越来越多的中国商品，如智能手机在市场上表现良好。东盟成员国的工业化建立了工厂，这些工厂从中国购买材料制成成品。通常这些产品随后销往中国。

Chinese imports from Vietnam rose 24 percent in the first three months of 2020 compared to the same time period of 2019. The value of goods from Indonesia rose 13 percent. The Dezan Shira group says that increase is because of "increasingly integrated supply chains."

与2009年同期相比，2020年首季度中国从越南的进口增长了24%。从印尼进口的商品价值增长了13%。协力商业管理咨询公司表示，增长的原因是因为“日益整合的供应链。”

Chinese imports of parts for electronic devices rose about 26 percent early this year. Biswas said that factories in Malaysia and Thailand were still able to produce them when European suppliers had problems.

今年年初，中国对电子设备零部件的进口增长了26%。比斯瓦斯表示，当欧洲供应商出现问题，马来西亚和泰国的工厂仍然能生产这些产品。

China still looked to Southeast Asia for palm oil, rubber and processed food, said Song Seng Wun. He is an economist with the bank CIMB in Singapore. He said, "Gradually, with economies stepping out from the lockdown and getting back on their feet, these things are starting to see economic activities picking up."

宋城文表示，中国仍在寻求从东南亚进口棕榈油、橡胶和加工食品。他是联昌国际银行新加坡分行的经济学家。他说：“随着经济逐渐从封锁当中走出来并重新站起来，这些事情开始看到经济活动在抬头。”

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·埃文斯。

1 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

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 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。

4 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。