目前美国两党就如何面对中国已经达成共识，但受制于其制度，不知其战略与政策的连贯性能否连续保持。
此外，地缘政治真是很奇妙的东西，一些小国面对山姆大叔时，跳得可真欢。难道不知面对大国之时，最好要左右逢源的吗？
词组
U.S. Readies New Asia-Pacific Economic Strategy to Counter China
美国启用新亚太经济战略以对抗中国
很少看到 ready 做 vt
trade issues
贸易争端
substitute for previous pact the US abandoned
替换之前被US废弃的条约
unveil its first broad economic strategy for this region
公布其在这一地区第一个广泛的经济战略
be uneasy about China’s expanding influence in this region
对中国在这一地区日益增长的影响力感到不安
digital trade, supply chains and green technology
数字贸易，供应链和绿色科技
details of the plan has yet to be released
计划的详情尚未公布
a cross-section of economists, diplomats and trade experts
来自不同领域的经济学家、外交官和贸易专家们
face a battle in creating an effective pact to brings together many of Asia’s economies to set the rules of engagement for commerce and new technology
在制定一个有效条约将许多亚洲经济体聚拢并为商业和新经济接触制定规则
deputy U.S. Trade Representative
美国贸易副代表
seek to sell more agricultural and manufacturing products in this market
寻求在该市场销售更多的农产品和制造业产品
market-access measures
市场准入措施
operate on similar values and rules
以相似的价值观和规则行动
a significant step in US efforts to move beyond security ties to counter China’s growing ambitions in Asia
是美国努力超越安全关系，对抗中国在亚洲日益增长的野心的重要一步
reinforce the US’s substantial presence with the strengthing of the “Quad” Group including Japan, India and Australia
通过增强包含日本，印度和澳大利亚的“四国”集团强化美国重要的存在
substantial [səbˈstænʃl]
pull out of TPP
退出TPP
beef up the economic diplomacy
加强经济外交
beef n 牛肉 vt 加强 vi 抱怨 牢骚
a digital trade agreement
数字贸易合约
facilitate e-commerce such as electronic payment and invoicing
加强诸如电子支付和发票的电子商务
govern personal data protection and cross-border data flows
治理个人数据保护和数据跨境流动
standards for the ethical use of AI
人工智能使用的道德标准
tariff cuts
关税消减
oversee the segments on supply chains, infrastructure and decarbonization, and tax and corruption
监督供应链，基础设施和脱碳以及税收和腐败的细分市场
oversee (over-see 看得多了就是) 监督的意思
a House hearing
国会听证会
句子
The framework is aimed at [filling the hole] in U.S. Asia strategy left by its 2017 (departure from the Trans-Pacific Partership), a robust trade agreement the US had helped to design as a counterweight to China.
该框架旨在填补美国2017年退出 TPP 后留下的亚洲战略空洞。TPP 是一项由美国帮助设计的，用来抗衡中国的坚实贸易协定。
Market access could be one of the most important returns that the countries in this region would expect from the US leadership.
市场准入是这一地区的国家希望在接受美国领导后能获得的最重要回报之一。
I think these are the countries that are going to be cautious, that are going to take a wait-and-see approach to see how it evolves (entering into these kinds of commitments).
我认为这些国家会保持谨慎和持续观望，看看加入这些条约后会形势如何发展。
Beijing’s pro-trade steps have fueled concerns among American businesses and close allies.
中国政府亲贸易的举动激起了美国企业界和亲密盟友的担心。
They worry that the U.S.’s absence in regional trade agreements gives Beijing an opening to [establish its leadership in] setting rules and standards for trade and economy, particularly in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital trade.
他们担心美国在地区贸易协定中的缺席会给中国政府有机会在贸易和经济方面，特别是在诸如人工智能和数字贸易的新兴技术领域，确立规则和标准时建立领导地位。
This is an incredibly important aspect of our effort to ensure a free and open region.
这是我们在努力确保一个自由和开放地区所付出努力中的最重要的一方面。
U.S. business groups have been lobbying for strong digital-trade provisions in the framework, hoping it will serve as a vehicle for ensuring U.S. leadership in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G.
美国商业集团一直在游说在框架中添加强有力的数字贸易约束，这将有希望成为确保美国在新兴科技如人工智能和5G上保持领导地位的动力。
There is a lot that needs to be done to get us back to some sort of competitive parity with China.
还有很多事情需要完成，这样才能使我们在某种程度上能回到和中国进行对等竞争的地步。
The framework could becoma a backdor scheme to introduce significant rules in digital trade and other areas (detrimental to workers and consumers without congressional approval).
这个框架可能会成为一个后门机制，可以不经国会同意而在数字贸易和其他领域引入对工人和消费者有害的重要规则。
How can we ensure that U.S. engagement in digital trade in future agreements doesn’t perpetuate a race to the bottom?
我们如何能保证美国在未来协议中对数字贸易的投入不会成为一项永久的逐底竞赛？
perpetuate [pərˈpetʃueɪt] 延续;使永久化;使持久化;使持续
Short of coming back to the TPP, there are many areas where the U.S. can play a leadership role.
除了返回 TPP， 美国还能在许多领域发挥领导作用。
原文
U.S. Readies New Asia-Pacific Economic Strategy to Counter China
Biden administration aims to work more closely with Asian nations on trade issues, but some say effort won’t substitute for previous pact the U.S. abandoned
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is preparing to unveil its first broad economic strategy for the Asia-Pacific region, a move awaited by U.S. allies and American business groups that are uneasy about China’s expanding influence in the region.
With the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the U.S. aims to work more closely with friendly nations on issues including digital trade, supply chains and green technology. The framework is aimed at filling the hole in U.S. Asia strategy left by its 2017 departure from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a robust trade agreement the U.S. had helped to design as a counterweight to China.
While details of the plan have yet to be released, the framework isn’t expected to try to return the U.S. to the TPP. A cross-section of economists, diplomats and trade experts say the administration faces a battle in creating an effective pact that brings together many of Asia’s economies to set the rules of engagement for commerce and new technology.
The framework is expected to be unveiled “within weeks,” Sarah Bianchi, deputy U.S. Trade Representative for the Asia-Pacific region, said at a recent trade conference.
At the same time, these so-called market-access measures are considered essential to building stronger U.S. relations in the region, particularly with less developed nations in South and Southeast Asia seeking to sell more agricultural and manufacturing products in the U.S. market.
“Market access could be one of the important returns that the countries in the region would expect from the U.S. leadership,” South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said after a meeting with U.S. officials in Washington last month.
Without market-access measures, the framework could become simply another club for the U.S. and its rich allies such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, which already operate on similar values and rules, some diplomats and economists say.
“The real question is, ‘How do we get countries like Vietnam and Indonesia into this?’” said Bill Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I think these are the countries that are going to be cautious, that are going to take a wait-and-see approach to see how it evolves entering into these kinds of commitments.”
The Biden administration sees the new Indo-Pacific framework as a significant step in U.S. efforts to move beyond security ties to counter China’s growing ambitions in Asia.
Mr. Biden last year reinforced the U.S.’s substantial presence with the strengthening of the “Quad” group including India, Japan and Australia, as well as a new submarine pact with Australia and the U.K. But it has lacked a comprehensive economic strategy since pulling out of the TPP in 2017 amid bipartisan worries about the negative impact of trade agreements on American jobs.
The new framework comes as China beefs up its economic diplomacy in the region. China in recent months applied to join the new iteration of the TPP and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, an alliance between New Zealand, Chile and Singapore viewed as a model for future digital-trade agreements.
A digital trade agreement could cover a range of issues including technology standards to facilitate e-commerce such as electronic payment and invoicing, and rules governing personal data protection and cross-border data flows. Setting standards for 5G technology and the ethical use of artificial intelligence could also be part of such an agreement.
China is also heavily promoting its role in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a 15-nation trade agreement launched last month.
Beijing’s pro-trade steps have fueled concerns among American businesses and close allies. They worry that the U.S.’s absence in regional trade agreements gives Beijing an opening to establish its leadership in setting rules and standards for trade and economy, particularly in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital trade.
Mr. Biden unveiled the idea for the new economic framework during the East Asia summit in October and is expected to roll out details in the weeks ahead.
“This is an incredibly important aspect of our effort to ensure a free and open region,” Laura Rosenberger, senior director for China at the White House National Security Council, said in a recent speech to the National Bureau of Asian Research.
She emphasized “the importance of U.S. leadership in establishing the rules of the road…so that we do not let China put U.S. workers and companies in long-term disadvantage.”
The framework will be structured as a collection of individual agreements, which nations in the region can pick and choose to sign up on. It will likely exclude tariff cuts and other legally binding market-opening steps that require Congressional approval.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will lead the trade component of the framework, which will include digital trade, labor standards and trade facilitation. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will oversee the segments on supply chains, infrastructure and decarbonization, and tax and corruption.
In putting together the strategy, the administration must find a balance between the demands of the trading partners, U.S. businesses and labor, and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
U.S. business groups have been lobbying for strong digital-trade provisions in the framework, hoping it will serve as a vehicle for ensuring U.S. leadership in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G.
Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says a digital agreement must be “front and center” of the broad strategy.
“There’s a lot that needs to be done to get us back to some sort of competitive parity with China,” he said.
Meanwhile, some in Mr. Biden’s party worry that the framework could become a backdoor scheme to introduce significant rules in digital trade and other areas detrimental to workers and consumers without Congressional approval.
“The U.S. has thus far failed effectively to regulate the tech sector here at home to ensure that consumer privacy rights are protected,” said Rep. Andy Levin (D., Mich.) during a House hearing last month. “How can we ensure that U.S. engagement in digital trade in future agreements doesn’t perpetuate a race to the bottom?”
Some governments in the region including Japan, Australia and Singapore have pressed the U.S. to return to the TPP, even as administration officials have ruled it out, citing a lack of sufficient support from either party in Congress and opposition from labor unions.
For now, these governments welcome signs of Mr. Biden’s broader economic engagement with the region.
“Short of coming back to the TPP, there are many areas where the U.S. can play a leadership role,” Koji Tomita, Japan’s U.S. ambassador, said in a recent panel discussion.
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