奧斯本 英國外交舞臺上的冒險者
George Osborne is Britain’s biggest political risk-taker; indeed, on a five-day tour of China the chancellor’s relish for the grand gesture suggests the mindset of the thrill seeker, constantly looking for an even bigger challenge.
喬治攠斯本(George Osborne)是英國政界最敢於冒險的人。這位財政大臣在爲期五天的訪華之旅中饒有興致地擺出大度的姿態，實際表明了他尋求刺激的心態，他在不斷尋找更大的挑戰。
Mr Osborne calls his approach “bold at home, bold abroad” and his China trip is the clearest sign yet that he intends to deploy his radical approach to domestic policymaking on a much wider stage. A trade mission to Iran is next on his agenda.
奧斯本稱自己的作風“在國內大膽，在國外也大膽”，而他的中國之行是最明顯的信號，表明他打算將自己的激進作風應用到更廣泛的國內政策制定上。他的下一行程是攜貿易代表團前往伊朗。
The China tour, covering four cities and thousands of miles, saw Mr Osborne accompanied by a sizeable retinue of British officials, business and civic leaders, and the kind of security normally associated with a visiting head of state.
奧斯本此次中國之行共訪問了四座城市，行程數千英里。他的隨行代表團規模相當龐大，包括英國官員，商界和民間領袖，以及規格堪比國家元首出訪的安保團隊。
“I’m the prime minister’s envoy,” he tells the Financial Times during a trip on a high-speed train through the arid wastes of Xinjiang in north-west China. The 17-car convoy awaiting his arrival is on the scale of a prime ministerial visit.
奧斯本在乘坐高鐵前往新疆的途中對英國《金融時報》表示：“我是英國首相的特使。”新疆位於中國西北地區，列車要穿過乾旱的沙漠地區。由17輛汽車組成的車隊等候着他的到來，迎接規模達到首相訪問級別。
Mr Osborne, a Sinophile who backpacked around China after graduating from Oxford 20 years ago, designed the itinerary himself in the knowledge that it would generate criticism in the west and approbation in Beijing.
親華派奧斯本從牛津大學(Oxford)畢業20年後，纔開始了他的中國“揹包”遊。這一行程由他親自安排，他很清楚此行會受到西方的批評，但會獲得北京方面的讚許。
“I just want to do something different with these China trips,” he says. “I want to take a bit of a risk with the China relationship, pushing it so it really brings jobs and growth to our country.”
奧斯本說：“我只是希望此次訪華之旅能做些不一樣的事。我希望在對華關係上冒一點險，推動英中關係發展，從而真正爲我們國家帶來就業機會和經濟增長。”
Mr Osborne’s visit to the Shanghai stock exchange was a gesture of economic solidarity, a defiant insistence that Britain should “run towards China” when others were suggesting it might be better to head to the exit.
奧斯本參觀上海證券交易所展現出了要在經濟方面與中國緊密團結的姿態，當其他人都認爲最好逃離中國之時，奧斯本用這一挑釁式表態強調英國應該“奔向中國”。
His five-hour mission to Urumqi in the restive region of Xinjiang — a highly unusual visit by a western politician — was criticised by human rights groups concerned about Beijing’s curbs on the Muslim Uighur minority.
烏魯木齊位於不安定的新疆地區，奧斯本對這座城市進行了5個小時的訪問，這在西方政客中是極不尋常的。一些關注中國政府壓制維吾爾少數民族穆斯林的人權團體對奧斯本此行提出批評。
Mr Osborne expected the reaction but his visit was appreciated in Beijing; only by conducting a walkabout in downtown Lhasa could Mr Osborne have raised the diplomatic stakes higher.
奧斯本對這種反應已有意料，但此行受到了北京方面的讚賞。除非奧斯本在拉薩市區漫步，纔會導致更大的外交風險。
“Ultimately those who say don’t come to places like this don’t have an argument,” he says of his stay in Urumqi. “They are saying you can best advance the interests of people living here by not turning up. I think that doesn’t wash.”
奧斯本談到烏魯木齊之行時表示：“從根本上來說，那些說不要來這種地方的人毫無理由。他們說我不現身此地才能提高生活在這裏的人民的利益，我認爲這一說法無法令人接受。”
Mr Osborne says he raised human rights issues as part of a wider “grown up” conversation with his hosts. He says there is a false choice in public debate between “standing up to China and kowtowing to China”.
奧斯本表示，他在與中方進行更廣泛的“成熟”對話中提到了人權問題。他說有關“對抗中國還是屈從於中國”的公開辯論其實並不存在非此即彼的選擇。
China Daily, the state-run newspaper, purred in agreement that Sino-British relations presented “a desirable and harmonious picture” at the end of the chancellor’s visit, in contrast with the “downturn” in 2012 after David Cameron met the Dalai Lama.
中國官方報紙《中國日報》(China Daily)滿意地贊同道，與2012年戴維慍蕓倫(David Cameron)會見達賴喇嘛(Dalai Lama)後英中關係的“低迷”狀態相比，奧斯本此次訪問結束之際，中英關係呈現出“理想而和諧的景象”。
But are the commercial gains worth the political risk? After all, the chancellor’s diplomacy will not look so good in the event of an ethnic bloodbath in Xinjiang or another stock market crash. Mr Osborne admits British exporters have not been a great beneficiary so far in China’s economic growth but he believes that is changing.
然而，爲了獲取商業利益是否值得冒政治風險？畢竟，如果新疆發生種族屠殺，或者中國股市再度崩盤，財相的外交手段看起來就不那麼高明瞭。奧斯本承認，英國出口商迄今並非中國經濟增長的重要受益者，但他相信這種情況正在改變。
“In the early stage of China’s development, frankly our economy didn’t have a huge amount to offer,” he says. But he argues that as China moves from an economy based on investment to one based on consumption, the country would want “to make use of services more: British high-end manufacturing, banking, pharmaceuticals, cultural products all come into play”.
“在中國發展的早期，坦白說我們的經濟並沒有很多可以提供的東西，”奧斯本說。但他認爲，隨着中國從依靠投資的經濟轉爲依靠消費的經濟，中國將希望“利用更多服務：英國的高端製造業、銀行業、藥物和文化產品都會開始發揮作用”。
He says the City of London could be the biggest beneficiary as China’s capital markets go global but it is a slow process. Mr Osborne says China is slowly opening its economy but has no qualms about the lopsided nature of the relationship. He says Britain’s “access all areas” offer to China is good in its own right. “There’s a powerful free trade doctrine,” he says. “We had that idea in the 19th century and it’s served us well ever since.”
奧斯本稱，倫敦金融城(City of London)可能是中國資本市場走向世界的最大受益者，但這是一個緩慢的過程。他表示，中國正緩慢開放經濟，但他對於兩國關係的不平衡並無顧慮。他說，英國向中國提供“所有領域的准入”本身是不錯的。“其中包含強大的自由貿易信條，”他說，“我們在19世紀萌生了這種思想，此後這一直讓我們受益匪淺。”
As the train speeds from Urumqi to Turpan on the old silk road, the chancellor admits he has an appetite for risk — he cites his decision to bring a party of Labour leaders from northern cities with him from London — but he says he is guided by the national interest.
沿着古老的絲綢之路，火車從烏魯木齊高速駛向吐魯番，奧斯本承認，他有一種對冒險的渴望——比如說他決定帶領英國北方城市的一些工黨領袖一起從倫敦來華就是一個例子——但他表示，他是在國家利益的指引下這麼做的。
At home, policies such as revolutionising the pensions sector, slashing the welfare state or introducing a 9 national living wage speak to his love of the bold move. He says he is confident those policies will work out, but he cannot be sure. Could the minimum wage end up as a millstone around the neck of the economy; will handing over pension pots to individuals leave the state to pick up the pieces if they squander the money, or result in a mis-selling scandal? With Labour’s opposition in turmoil, is hubris only a step away?
在英國國內，養老金改革、削減福利國家角色，或者引入9英鎊的國家生活工資標準等政策，都表明他喜歡採取大膽舉措。奧斯本說，他有信心這些政策將會奏效，但他不能確定。最低工資最後是否可能成爲經濟的負累？如果個人揮霍了移交給他們的養老金，國家是否要收拾殘局，或者是否可能導致不當銷售的醜聞？在一片混亂局勢中不顧工黨的反對，這離狂妄自大是否只有一步之差？
Mr Osborne says: “I think in this job you have a responsibility to shift the dial a bit and take the big decisions the country needs for its future. Ultimately I’m paid to make decisions with the prime minister on the country’s future.”
奧斯本表示：“我認爲，身在這個崗位上，你有責任推動一些進步，做出國家未來所需要的重大決策。歸根結底，我拿這份報酬是要和首相一起，爲這個國家的未來做出決策。”
He argues that not making decisions is more dangerous: for example not pushing ahead with the HS2 train line or striking out into riskier export markets. “I don’t want us to slowly decline into the sunset,” he says, arguing that plenty of countries were following that route.
他認爲，不做決策更爲危險；比如，不推進英國HS2高鐵項目，或者不去開闢風險更高的出口市場。“我不希望我們慢慢衰退，走向沒落，”奧斯本說，他表示有許多國家正走上這條路。
“I’d agree with the broader point that if you take big bold decisions they won’t always be popular,” he says. “In that sense it’s a risk. But sometimes the absence of decision and the consequences can be much worse.”
“我認同一個更廣泛的觀點，也就是如果你做出大膽的決策，它們並不會總是受到歡迎，”他說，“就此而言，這是一種風險，但有時，沒有決策，後果可能糟糕得多。”
One minister said before the trip that Mr Osborne’s China mission was “all about George becoming prime minister — but we can’t say that”. Even Mr Cameron’s team seemed surprised at the scale of the visit. “Five days?” said one ally.
一位大臣在這次出訪前表示，奧斯本的中國之行“一切都在於喬治要成爲首相，但我們不能說出來”。即使是卡梅倫的團隊，似乎也對此次出行的規模感到吃驚。“五天？”一名助手說。
But Mr Osborne shrugs off suggestions he is auditioning for the top job. “I’m very focused on my job which is to deliver economic success for Britain,” he says. “Being here is about doing that. I do that in partnership with the leadership of DC without whom none of this would be possible.”
但奧斯本對於他在“試演”最高職位的說法不以爲然。“我非常專注於我的工作，那就是實現英國經濟的成功，”他說，“身處這裏是爲了做那件事情。我是在戴維慍蕓倫的領導以及與他的合作下做這些事情的，沒有他這些都不可能。”
