VOA标准英语2009年-For G20, Asia, Ahead in Recovery, Wants Bi

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
17 September 2009

 
Man walks past electronic board showing stock index at securities company in Chengdu, China's Sichuan
province, 17 Nov 2008
Signs of an economic recovery in Asia come as leaders of the G20 leading industrialized nations prepare to meet in Pittsburgh (September 24-25). But economists² say for the recovery to be sustainable the G20 has to find ways to rebalance the global economy, and that Asia has a big role in the shaping the outcome. 
Investors³ express outrage⁴

Every business day, at around noon, Mrs. Chang ties homemade banners outside a branch of Citibank in Hong Kong. The banners say "Citibank is an evil bank".

"Citibank cheated and took my money. I lost one million Hong Kong dollars [$125,000]" she said.

Mrs. Chang is among about 30,000 Hong Kong investors who say they were misled into buying Lehman Brothers "mini-bonds" - complex financial instruments linked to U.S. home mortgages developed by the American investment bank. Several banks in Hong Kong sold the bonds, including Citibank.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed⁵ a year ago, many of these investors say they did not know it had anything to do with them. How the bankruptcy⁶ of one bank halfway⁷ across the globe could affect a retired⁸ tailor in Hong Kong exemplifies the globalization of the financial system.

Financial system increasingly interlinked

Over the years, the global economic and financial system has become increasingly interlinked, yet polarized into the big spending West and savers in Asia.

Consumers in the West were the biggest buyers of cheap Asian exports, which allowed Asian governments to pile up trillions of dollars in foreign currency reserves. The West also borrowed heavily from Asia. And when the asset bubble in the U.S. burst last year, consumers in the West cut back on spending - and that hit Asia hard.

Nicholas Kwan, Asia economist¹ at the British bank Standard Chartered, says the G20 needs to address this imbalance because it is part of the complex set of factors that led to the crisis.

"We know that it's not just one country's problem that this crisis started with," Kwan noted⁹. "We have to come up with something that will allow a more balanced economy around the world, like between the West and the East. Can the West leverage¹⁰ less, which means they need to save more, but they need to save in a way that they don't crunch¹¹ the demand too sharply."

Reform from both sides

At the recent World Economic Forum¹² in China, David Dollar, the U.S. Treasury¹³ Department's representative to China, says it takes reforms from both sides.

"The U.S. will not be same source of demand as it has been over the past decade," Dollar said. "So we do feel it's important for the big surplus economies of the recent period, which would primarily be China, Japan and Germany, … to stimulate¹⁴ more domestic demand and more consumption so that there's sufficient demand in the world."

Governments from China to Thailand are trying to do so, through stimulus¹⁵ spending, subsidies¹⁶ and other means. But some countries have a long way to go. Muhammad Lutfi, chairman of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating¹⁷ Board, says his country is held back by the poverty of large percentage of its population. Indonesia is a member of the G20.

"I have 240 million people, only 53 percent with electricity. Because we don't have electricity that means 100 million people are not included in the production cycle," he explained. "If I can develop a power plant, these people can be developed into a new middle class, they can produce and they can consume. And that is I think the responsibility of emerging markets like Indonesia."

Reluctance¹⁸ to spend

The reluctance to spend in Asia stems largely from the lack of social safety nets - inadequate¹⁹ public options for health care, pensions and education. In Hong Kong, Mrs. Chang says she and her husband saved hard for their retirement²⁰, only to see it disappear.

Trade liberalization and currencies have something to do with the rebalancing process. China and the United States have long disagreed over the value of the yuan. Washington says the yuan is too weak, making Chinese exports cheap and contributing to China's huge trade imbalance. Recently, Chinese officials called for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as an international reserve currency - a topic that is likely to find its way in Pittsburgh.

Global readjustment

Economists say a global readjustment is needed to stabilize²¹ the economy and to ensure the recovery will be sustainable. Kwan at Standard Chartered says the region is not yet on solid footing, despite signs of an early recovery.

"We are much better now than six months ago," Kwan said. "But don't be taken that we are safe from here. Many of the so-called recovery are still, probably, only temporary because much of those are because of inventory²² restocking, some of those are because of these fiscal²³ stimulus, which will not last too long."

When and how to start ending stimulus measures is also expected to be high on the summit's agenda. Beijing plans to continue its loose monetary²⁴ policy and government spending.

Quest for greater voice

Business leaders in Asia and elsewhere say the crisis has further shifted economic power to Asia. Many say the region, particularly China, should have more say in shaping the future. Like other major developing economies, such as India and Brazil, Asian governments say they should have a greater voice in multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank.

Caio Koch-Weser is a vice²⁵ chairman of Deutsche Bank and a former German financial official at the G20. He says it is a better platform for global cooperation than the G8 group of leading industrialized nations.
 
"Use the G20 now. I think it is the right forum now for dealing²⁶ with how you orchestrate, how you enhance surveillance for better governance of the international monetary and financial system," Caio said. "And again my plea to China would be - you are now big, the spillover effects of what you do are so enormous to the world that responsible leadership and not hesitating to assume leadership in these international fora is in everybody's interest."

Aside from China and Indonesia, the other Asian nations at the G20 are Japan, South Korea and India.

1 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。

2 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》

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

7 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 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。

10 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

11 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

12 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

13 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。

14 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。

15 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

16 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

18 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

19 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

20 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

21 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

22 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

23 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

24 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

25 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。

26 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。