【经济学人】习真的想成为世界的领头羊吗？ | 2017.01.21 | 总第791期

DELEGATES at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos often treat politicians as rock stars. But the fawning reception given to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on January 17th was extraordinary. He was the first Chinese president to attend the annual gathering of the world’s business and political elite. Even an overflow room was packed when he delivered, in his usual dour manner, a speech laced with literary references—rendered through bulky headsets into equally monotone translations. Mr Xi said little that was new, but the audience lapped it up anyway. Here, at a time of global uncertainty and anxiety for capitalists, was the world’s most powerful communist presenting himself as a champion of globalisation and open markets.

出席在旅游胜地瑞士达沃斯举办的世界经济论坛的代表们经常把政客比作摇滚明星。但是1月17日为习近平主席举办的记者招待会意义非凡。他是中国首任出席世界年度政治经济精英集会的国家领导人。即使习主席以传统正式的方式进行着演讲，其中夹杂一些参考文献中的内容，并且人们头戴笨重的耳机，听着相对单调的翻译，整个房间也是人满为患。虽然习主席所演讲中几乎没有涉及什么新颖内容，但观众们还是乐在其中。对资本家来说，现在正处于全球不确定性和焦虑感交织的时间节点，作为世界上最具权威的共产主义者，习主席向世界展示了作为全球化和开放市场赢家的风采。

• Elite: n.精英        

• Dour: adj.冷酷的，严厉的，深沉的

Mr Xi (pictured, next to a panda ice-sculpture) did not mention Donald Trump by name, nor even America, but his message was clear. “No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war,” he said, in a swipe at Mr Trump who has threatened, among other mercantilist acts, to slap heavy tariffs on Chinese goods. Mr Xi likened protectionism to “locking oneself in a dark room”, a phrase that delegates repeated with delight. His words seemed comforting to many of them after a year of political surprises, not least in America and Britain. Mr Xi quoted from Dickens to describe a “world of contradictions”, as he put it. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” he said. Many foreign businesses complain about what they regard as a rise of protectionism in China, too—but no one could accuse Mr Xi of being out of tune with the Davos mood. China, Mr Xi assured delegates, “will keep its door wide open and not close it”.

习主席（上图所示，站于熊猫冰雕旁边的人）没有点名道姓地提及特朗普，甚至都没有提及美国，但是他要传达的信息很明确，那就是“贸易战争中，没有赢家”。这是他针对特朗普在其他重商主义打压中，打算对中国建立沉重关税壁垒的回应。习主席将保护主义政策比作“将自己关在小黑屋”——与会代表常用来戏称的短语。他的话语对于许多经历了一年政治动荡的与会代表们来说有着极大的安慰作用，尤其是美国和英国的代表们受益匪浅。习主席引用了狄更斯的名言来形容当今矛盾复杂的世界---“这是最好的时代，也是最坏的时代。”许多外企对于中国的保护主义怨声载道——但没有一个人敢当面将中国赶出达沃斯论坛。习主席安慰到代表们，声称：中国永远坚持门户开放政策。

The Chinese president also portrayed his country as a staunch defender of the environment. He said that sticking to the Paris agreement on climate change, which came into effect last year, was “a responsibility we must assume for future generations”. These, too, were welcome words to many listening: Mr Trump’s threat to reject the pact will make China’s commitment to it all the more crucial.

中国主席还把他的国家描述为保护环境最忠诚的卫士。习主席承诺坚持贯彻执行去年巴黎气候变化大会上通过并实施的公约，他说：“为了下一代的持续发展，环保是我们不可推卸的责任。这些话也是很多人关注的焦点，因为川普扬言要拒绝执行公约等不确定因素使得中国对环保问题的看法变得至关重要。

• staunch : adj.忠实的，坚定的

The week of whose inauguration?

到底这周是谁的就职典礼？

The timing of Mr Xi’s trip was fortuitous—according to the Financial Times his aides were working on it before Britain voted to leave the European Union and well before Mr Trump’s election victory. But he must have relished the points that those events enabled him to score at Davos. Mr Xi faces political battles of his own as he prepares for a five-yearly Communist Party congress in the autumn and a reshuffle right after it. He wants to install more of his allies in key positions. Standing tall on the world stage could help (and attending Davos will have reinforced the point to his colleagues that he is in charge of China’s economy, as he clearly is of every other main portfolio).

根据金融时报的说法，习主席达沃斯之旅的时机很巧合---在此次访问之前，就是英国脱欧和川普赢得竞选时期。 但是习主席应该知道，这些事件都会让他在论坛期间加分。习近平主席要面临的是秋天举行的五年一次的中国共产党全国人民代表大会以及简政改组的问题。习主席希望让更多自己的盟友担任要职。而中国目前处于世界领先国家地位这个优势将能促成这种情况的发生（参加达沃斯论坛也将向他的同僚们证明，自己是中国经济发展也是其他方面发展的核心人物）。

• Fortuitous: adj. 偶然的，巧合的

• Reinforce: v.加固，使充实

• Portfolio: n.职务，文件夹

Mr Xi would have relished the occasion even had the predictions of many in the global elite a year ago proved accurate—that Britain would vote to stay in the EU and that Mr Trump would not win. The forum is one where embarrassing questions about China’s politics are seldom raised openly. Mr Xi could talk airily of China’s openness, with little fear of being asked why he is clamping down on dissent and tightening controls on the internet (last year this newspaper’s website joined the many foreign ones that are blocked). On January 14th China’s most senior judge condemned judicial independence as a “false Western ideal”.

即使一年前许多政界人士预测英国不会脱欧，特朗普不会当选，习主席仍会满意达沃斯论坛提供的这次机会。此次论坛对于中国某些政治话题的尴尬言论将会很少在公开场合上提及。习主席可以畅所欲言地讨论中国的开放问题，也不用担心有人会问为什么中国政府严厉打击反对势力并且严管网络（去年，许多国外报纸网站被封锁）。1月14日，中国最高人民法院法院指责司法独立为“错误的西方理想论”。

Previously, the highest-ranking Chinese attendees had been prime ministers. In 2016 the vice-president, Li Yuanchao, who ranks lower than the prime minister in the party hierarchy, led the team. So why has Mr Xi waited until his fifth year as president to turn up? He may well have winced at the thought of doing so last year, when discussions were dominated by questions about China’s management of its slowing economy in the wake of a stockmarket crash and a sudden devaluation of the yuan. Many analysts still worry about China’s economy (not least its growing debt), but the West’s problems have loomed larger over the Swiss Alps this week.

在此之前，中国派遣参加论坛的最高头衔官员是总理。2016年，中国国家副主席李源潮领衔访问团队，副主席在中国国家机关内是仅次于总理的职位。所以为什么习主席直到执政第五年才出席达沃斯论坛？习主去年可能就有参会的打算了，但是想到可能会面临要讨论中国当时如何在证券市场震荡时期管理经济以及人民币的贬值问题，就放弃了这个打算。许多分析专家都担心中国的经济现状（特别是日益增长的债务问题），但本周在瑞士，讨论最多的还是西方的问题。

李源潮

And for all his uplifting talk, Mr Xi shows no signs of wanting to take over as the world’s chief troubleshooter, even if Mr Trump shuns that role. Mr Xi is preoccupied with managing affairs at home and asserting control in seas nearby (see article). “Nothing is perfect in the world,” the new Davos man sagely informed the delegates. But he is unlikely to take the lead in making the world a better place.

即使特朗普不是那个“世界麻烦终结者”，即使习主席做了那一番振奋人心的演讲，中国也没有想要成为世界第一的迹象。习主席要解决的是国内的事务和近海的主权问题（详见文章）。“世上无完美之事。”达沃斯新人物对与会代表说到。（期待您的翻译，明天会有针对这句话的长难句解析哟~）

• uplifting : adj.振奋人心的，鼓舞人心的

•  sagely : adv.贤能地，贤明地

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “The new Davos man”

这篇文章出现在经济学人印刷版中国版块，题为“达沃斯新人物“

翻译 ▍政治一组 

审核 ▍Arias

编辑 ▍澜意