【雅思课外精读】拜登重申将加强和盟友的合作是要务

　　【雅思课外精读】拜登重申将加强和盟友的合作是要务   原文译文*注：本文摘自11月14日《经济学人》

　　America and the world美国和世界

　　America’s allies should share the burden with Joe Biden美国盟友应该和美国一起承担责任

　　The Biden administration could do with a little more help from its foreign friends拜登政府可以从盟友那里获得帮助

　　1. IN MUCH OF the world, and nowhere more so than among America’s allies, Joe Biden’s victory has come as a great relief. Under his presidency there will be no more bullying and threats to leave NATO. America will stop treating the European Union as a “foe” on trade, or its own forces stationed in South Korea as a protection racket. In place of Donald Trump’s wrecking ball, Mr Biden will offer an outstretched hand, working co-operatively on global crises, from coronavirus to climate change. Under Mr Trump, America’s favourability ratings in many allied countries sank to new lows. Mr Biden promises to make America a beacon again, a champion of lofty values and a defender of human rights, leading (as he put it in his acceptance speech) “not only by the example of our power but by the power of our example”.

　　从整个世界尤其是美国盟友来看，拜登获胜真的让人松了一口气。他担任总统之后，终于不用再面临退出北约的恐吓和威胁了。美国也不会再把欧盟当作贸易敌人，也不会再利用其驻韩部队来收保护费了。同四处搞破坏的特朗普不一样，拜登将伸出援手，和大家合作以应对气候变化，新冠病毒等全球危机。在特朗普的领导之下，美国在许多盟国的支持率创下新低。拜登承诺要让美国再次引领世界，成为崇高价值和人权的捍卫者，就像他在胜选演说中说的那样，“美国不仅因其强大国力引领世界，还要以身作则。”

　　2. Allies are central to Mr Biden’s vision. He rightly sees them as a multiplier of American influence, turning a country with a quarter of global GDP into a force with more than double that. He is also a multilateralist by instinct. On his first day in office he will rejoin the Paris agreement on climate change, which America formally left on November 4th. Unlike Mr Trump he believes it is better to lead the World Health Organisation than to leave it. He will reinvigorate arms control, a priority being to ensure that New START, the last remaining nuclear pact with Russia, is extended beyond February 5th. He would like to rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran that Mr Trump dumped, if he can persuade the Iranians to go back into compliance.

　　盟友是拜登计划中的核心。他将其视为美国影响力的放大器，将美国这个拥有全球四分之一GDP的国家影响力扩大一倍。他一上任，就会重新加入巴黎气候变化协定，此前，美国已经于11月4日正式推出巴黎协定。就世卫组织问题上，拜登和特朗普不同， 他认为领导比退出要好。他会重整军备，首先就是要确保《新战略武器裁减条约》延长至2月5日之后。《新战略武器裁减条约》是美国和俄罗斯仅存的最后一项核协议。如果他能够成功说服伊朗遵守协议，拜登将重新加入同伊朗的核协议。此前，特朗普解除了同伊朗的核协定。

　　3. Inevitably, America’s friends have a long list of things they hope it will do as it re-embraces global leadership. The demands stretch from places and organisations Mr Trump has abused, such as the UN and allies like Germany, to parts of the world he has ignored, such as much of Africa. Yet it will not all be smooth travelling. Not all countries are nostalgic for a return to Obama-era policies, when America “led from behind” and blurred its red lines. Several countries on NATO’s front line with Russia like the way defences have been beefed up under Mr Trump. And Asian allies like how Mr Trump has confronted China, talked of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and worked on the “Quad” with Australia, India and Japan. Mr Biden needs to prove that he will not turn soft.

　　不可避免的是，美国重回世界领导地位的过程中，盟友们有很多事情希望美国能够帮忙，其中包括联合国，德国等曾遭受特朗普攻击的地区和组织，还包括非洲等曾被他忽视的区域。然而，事情不可能一帆风顺。并非所有国家都想重回奥巴马时代，那时候，美国“在幕后指挥，”还总是犯规。临近俄国的几个北约前线国家更喜欢特朗普领导下加强防御的政策。还有，其亚洲盟友更喜欢特朗普对抗中国的策略，他们就“自由开放的印度-太平洋地区”这个话题大谈特谈，他们也更喜欢特朗普与澳大利亚，印度，日本所谓的“美日印澳”四边机制。”拜登需要证明他不会手软。

　　4. His priorities will be to quell the virus and improve the economy. On both counts he can count on little support, and much pushback, if the Senate is under Republican control, as is likely. Such troubles at home have probably also exacerbated the country’s reluctance to take on more foreign burdens. Who can be sure that world-wary Jacksonians won’t come galloping back in 2024, perhaps even with Mr Trump in the saddle?

　　拜登的首要任务是控制病毒，改善经济。如果参议院由共和党控制（就目前来看，这种可能性很大），他在这两方面都不会得到什么支持，相反，他还会遇到很多阻力。国内的这些问题也会导致美国不愿意再承担更多的国外责任和负担。即使是在特朗普继续掌权的情况下，也没有人能够保证杰克逊主义不会在2024年重新控制美国。

　　5. So rather than pile demand upon needy demand, America’s allies should go out of their way to show that they have learned to pull their weight. NATO partners, for example, should not relax defence spending just because Mr Trump is no longer bullying them. Germany should pay heed to French efforts to build European defence capacity—there is scope to do so without undermining NATO. Europeans could lend a bigger hand to France in the Sahel. In Asia the Quad could keep deepening naval and other co-operation. Japan and South Korea should restrain their feuding.

　　因此，美国盟友们不该一而再再而三地要求别人，而应该尽力学会自己承担责任。比如说，北约盟友不能仅仅因为特朗普不再恐吓他们就放松国防。德国应该关注法国在欧洲防御方面的努力，在不损害北约利益的前提下，法国是可以这样做的。在萨赫勒地区，欧洲人可以向法国提供更多帮助。在亚洲，“美日印澳”四国可以继续深化海军和其他方面的合作。日本和韩国应该停止对抗。

　　6. Allies should also work with America to repair the international order. They can support efforts to resist Chinese or Russian rule-bending. Many countries will want to join Mr Biden’s efforts at concerted carbon-cutting.

　　盟国还应与美国合作，整顿国际秩序。他们可以支持美国抵制中国和俄罗斯改变规则。许多国家都会加入拜登阵营，共同努力减少碳排放。

　　7. Mr Biden will face a world full of problems, but he will also start with strengths. Thanks to Mr Trump, he has sanctions on adversaries including Iran and Venezuela that he can use as bargaining chips. And among friends, he can seek to convert relief at renewed American engagement into stronger burden-sharing. His allies would be wise to answer that call with enthusiasm.

　　拜登将面对很多问题，但是他的实力也会因此展现。多亏了特朗普，他才能够制裁伊朗和委内瑞拉等国家，而且还能够把这当作谈判的筹码。在盟国中间，他可以将美国救济变为共担责任，而他的盟友则会热情回应他的这一号召。