中國提出購買近700億美元商品,換取美國暫停關稅

WASHINGTON — China offered to purchase nearly $70 billion of energy, agricultural and manufactured products from the United States in the first year of a deal that would require the Trump administration to suspend tariffs on Chinese products, a person familiar with the talks said.

華盛頓——據一位知情人士透露，中國提出在協議開始執行的第一年裏，向美國購買近700億美元的能源、農業和製造業產品，該協議要求特朗普政府暫停對中國商品加徵關稅。

The offer, which came during a meeting this weekend in Beijing between Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the Chinese economic adviser Liu He, would go only partway toward President Trump’s initial demand that China reduce its $375.2 billion trade surplus with the United States by $200 billion annually. And it leaves untouched other American requests, including that China allow American companies More access to its markets and end practices that the Trump administration and business executives say force companies to transfer valuable intellectual property.

這個提議是在上週末美國商務部長威爾伯·羅斯(Wilbur Ross)與中國經濟顧問劉鶴的北京會晤中提出的。這個數字還不到特朗普總統最初提出的要求的一半。特朗普的要求是中國減少每年3752億美元的對美順差中的2000億美元。此外，它沒有涉及美國的其他要求，包括允許美國企業更多地進入中國市場，終止特朗普政府和企業高管們所說的迫使企業轉讓寶貴的知識產權的做法。

The proposal could fizzle quickly. Chinese officials have said publicly that any agreements would be void if the United States continued with plans to impose tariffs and other restrictions, and American officials have given no indication so far that they intend to halt the tariffs.

這項提議可能很快就會成爲泡影。中國官員曾公開表示，如果美國繼續實施加徵關稅等限制措施的計劃，那麼，任何協議都將無效。到目前爲止，美國官員都沒有表現出有暫停徵收關稅的打算。

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, would not comment on whether the Chinese proposal would pass muster with Mr. Trump, saying on Tuesday that “we’re in the negotiation process” and that “our focus is to make sure we get good deals.”

白宮新聞發言人薩拉·哈克比·桑德斯(Sarah Huckabee Sanders)不願就中方的提議是否會得到特朗普的認可發表評論。她週二說，“我們正處在談判的過程中，”並且“我們的重點是確保我們得到有利的協議”。

The White House has said the levies will go into effect shortly after a list of affected products is published by June 15, and that restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States will follow, shortly after they are announced by June 30.

白宮稱會在6月15日之前公佈受影響的產品名錄，之後關稅很快就會生效，並且對中國在美投資的限制也會在6月30日公佈之後不久開始執行。

Those plans have led to a bitter turf war within the administration as officials try to reach a deal with China that would allow Mr. Trump to claim victory in a brewing trade dispute.

這些計劃導致聯邦政府內部出現了一場激烈的地盤之爭，因爲一些官員試圖與中國達成一項協議。這項協議能夠讓特朗普宣稱在一場正在醞釀中的貿易爭端中取得了勝利。

Negotiators like Mr. Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have pushed China to agree to a package of purchases that would benefit American businesses and forestall the possibility of a trade war between the economies. But that approach has drawn ire from hard-liners like Peter Navarro, a trade adviser, and Robert E. Lighthizer, the top trade negotiator, who argue that the White House needs to hold out for bigger concessions from China in terms of reforming its economy and reducing its trade surplus with the United States.

羅斯和財政部長史蒂文·馬努欽(Steven Mnuchin)等談判代表已敦促中國同意一系列購買計劃。它們會讓美國企業獲益，並預防兩大經濟體之間爆發貿易戰的可能性。但這種方式引起了貿易顧問彼得·納瓦羅(Peter Navarro)和最高貿易談判代表羅伯特·E·萊特希澤(Robert E. Lighthizer)等強硬派的憤怒。他們認爲，白宮必須堅持要求中國在改革經濟和減少對美貿易順差上做出更大的讓步。

The recent round of discussions in Beijing was more narrowly focused on potential Chinese purchases of American products, a goal that has angered some China critics who fear that Mr. Ross and Mr. Mnuchin are sacrificing the bigger concessions by China that many feel are needed. That includes Democrats, who have also pressed Mr. Trump to push China to open its markets and have criticized the president for focusing on the trade deficit at the expense of other goals.

最近在北京舉行的一輪討論重點僅在潛在的中國購買美國產品上。這個目標激怒了一些對中國持批評態度的人士。他們擔心，羅斯和馬努欽會放棄爭取中方更大的讓步。很多人覺得這些讓步是必須的。這個羣體包括民主黨人，他們還敦促特朗普強迫中國開放市場，並指責特朗普只關注貿易赤字，捨棄了其他目標。

Economists have also expressed skepticism about China’s potential to purchase tens of billions of dollars of additional products from the United States, arguing that the American economy is already operating near its full potential. If China does ramp up purchases of energy and agricultural goods, they say, it would simply displace those purchases from other nations, making little lasting impact on the overall trade deficit or the American economy.

經濟專家也對中國從美國多購買數百億美元產品的可能性表示懷疑，稱美國經濟現在的運轉幾乎已經發揮了全部潛力。如果中國真的加大能源和農業產品的購買量，他們說，那隻會取代其他國家的購買量，這對總的貿易赤字或美國經濟幾乎沒什麼持久影響。

The figure offered last weekend follows earlier statements by senior Trump administration officials, who said after a meeting with the Chinese in mid-May that Beijing had proposed a package of purchases and economic reforms that would essentially allow $200 billion worth of American goods to enter China over the next few years.

在中方上週末提出這個數字之前，特朗普政府的高官在5月中旬同中方在北京舉行會談後說，北京提出了一系列購買和經濟改革計劃。它們本質上會讓價值2000億美元的美國商品得以在接下來幾年進入中國。

As that round of talks concluded in mid-May, the White House said that China had committed to buying more agriculture and energy exports, but noted that American officials would travel to China to work out the details of their agreement.

5月中旬那一輪談判結束時，白宮稱中國承諾購買更多的農業和能源出口產品，但也指出美國官員將前往中國，敲定協議的細節。

The push to strike a deal with China has also provoked criticism from some lawmakers. The Trump administration briefed lawmakers two weeks ago on a deal that would keep the Chinese telecom firm ZTE in business in exchange for other trade concessions, a proposal that the president later confirmed on Twitter.

與中國達成協議的努力也招致了部分議員的批評。兩週前，特朗普政府向議員通報了一項協議，欲用允許中國電信公司中興通訊繼續其業務來換取其他貿易讓步，總統隨後在Twitter上證實了這一提議。

The United States had banned the Chinese firm from buying American technology components for seven years as a punishment for violating United States sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The prospect of lifting those sanctions had provoked a backlash from lawmakers across the political spectrum, who saw the issue as a law enforcement matter and ZTE’s expansion in the United States as a potential national security threat.

美國禁止這家中國企業在七年內購買美國的科技零部件，以作爲對其違反美國對伊朗和朝鮮制裁的懲罰。撤銷懲罰的可能性在各層級的議員中引起了強烈反對，他們認爲這是執法問題，而中興在美國的擴張是對國家安全的潛在威脅。

The trade conflict with the Chinese could escalate in coming months, putting at risk multinational businesses that depend on China to source and sell products. China has threatened to retaliate by placing its own tariffs on roughly $50 billion of American products, and Mr. Trump responded by threatening tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods.

與中國的貿易衝突可能會在未來幾個月內加劇，使依賴於中國供貨或出售產品的跨國公司陷入風險。中國威脅要對美國產品施加約500億美元關稅以進行報復，而特朗普則以對另外1000億美元的中國商品加徵關稅這一威脅作爲迴應。

The administration’s efforts to coax China into purchasing more American products may be a peace offering to farmers, who are heavily dependent on exports and have found themselves in the cross hairs of several of Mr. Trump’s trade conflicts, including his push to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement and global steel and aluminum tariffs that have prompted retaliation on American goods.

政府慫恿中國購買更多美國產品的努力，對農民來說可能是一個示好的姿態，農民嚴重依賴出口，而在特朗普的幾次貿易衝突中，他們發現自己處於靶心，甚至包括特朗普修改《北美自由貿易協議》(North American Free Trade Agreement)和全球鋼鐵關稅的努力，都使美國商品遭到了報復。

“Farmers have not been doing well for 15 years,” the president wrote on Twitter on Monday. “Mexico, Canada, China and others have treated them unfairly. By the time I finish trade talks, that will change. Big trade barriers against U.S. farmers, and other businesses, will finally be broken. Massive trade deficits no longer!”

“農民處境不佳已經有15年了，”總統週一在Twitter上寫道。“墨西哥、加拿大、中國和其他國家對他們不公。等我完成貿易談判時，就不會這樣了。攔住美國農民和其他行業的巨大貿易壁壘終將被打破。不再有巨大的貿易赤字！”