马克龙“骏马外交”亲近中国

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has fired the starting pistol on a three-day visit to China by giving his host, Xi Jinping, a horse called Vesuvius.

埃马纽埃尔.马克龙以送给习近平主席的一匹叫“维苏威火山”的骏马，开启了为期三天的中国之行。

The eight-year-old gelding recruited from France’s presidential cavalry corps represented “an uNPRecedented diplomatic gesture”, Reuters quoted the French presidency as saying.

路透社援引法国总统马克龙的话说，这匹从法国总统骑兵卫队退役的8岁的公马代表了“史无前例的外交姿态”。

“It mattered a lot for the president, even if it was very complicated to import a horse for sanitary reasons,” one official said. “It’s a symbol of French excellence.”

一位官员表示：“此事对马克龙总统非常重要，即便中国进口马匹的手续非常复杂。”“这也是法国人精益求精的象征。”

Macron’s tour of Xi’an and Beijing is designed to boost ties between the two nations as Paris emerges as a key Chinese partner in Europe following Britain’s decision to abandon the European Union.

随着英国退出欧盟，法国已逐渐成为中国在欧洲的一个重要的合作伙伴，马克龙总统此次的西安、北京之行目的就是促进两国关系的发展。

In a glowing interview with Chinese state media before his arrival, Macron said: “China is a country that fascinates me, like so many French people … [it is] the oldest living civilisation – a ‘state older than history’, as General de Gaulle once said.”

抵达中国前，在接受中国媒体的一场热情洋溢的采访时，马克龙表示，“中国是一个迷人的国度，和这么多的法国人一样。像戴高乐将军所说，（它）有现存最古老的文明，是一个“比历史更悠久的国家。”

Chinese experts praised Macron’s decision to give the Middle Kingdom his horse, a move apparently inspired by the Chinese tradition of “panda diplomacy”, when Beijing bestows the black-and-white Sichuan natives upon its friends.

中国专家称赞马克龙给中国送骏马的决定，这一举动显然是对中国传统的“熊猫外交”的回应，当时中国将四川的熊猫送给法国。

“He really respects Chinese history,” enthused Ding Yifan, a France expert from the China Development Research Centre, a state-backed thinktank.

国家支持的智库、中国国务院发展研究中心的法国问题专家丁一凡指出，“马克龙非常尊重中国的历史。”

Ding said he saw the gift as an allusion to the Qianlima or “thousand-mile horse”, a mythical winged creature famed for its ability to travel great distances. By giving Xi such a present, Macron was signalling his desire for a long-lasting relationship with Beijing.

丁表示，他从这匹骏马中看出了“千里马”的寓意，千里马——一种神秘的有翅膀的动物，以其长距离旅行能力而闻名。通过送给习近平这样一件礼物，马克龙发出渴望与中国维持长期关系的信号。

The four-legged gift was not Macron’s only goodwill gesture to Xi, who was recently anointed as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. By beginning his tour of China in Xi’an, the ancient Silk Road hub, Macron was also offering symbolic backing to Xi’s signature foreign policy campaign, the $900bn Belt and Road initiative.

最近，习近平最誉为中国自毛泽东以来最具影响力的领导人，这件四条腿的礼物并不是马克龙对习近平友好姿态的唯一表示。自古代丝绸之路的中心西安开启此次中国之行，马克龙此举还象征性的支持习近平倡议的9000亿美元的“一带一路”外交政策。

The equine offering places French diplomacy furlongs ahead of British counterparts, who have lost favour in Beijing following Brexit. When David Cameron travelled to China in 2013 he handed Xi a signed England football shirt. When the Communist party leader came to London in 2015 the Queen gave him a book of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

法国的“骏马”外交使其外交活动早于英国。自脱欧后，英国失去了中国的支持。2013年，英国首相戴维.卡梅伦访问中国时，他送给了习近平一件英格兰足球签名球衣。2015年，中国国家主席习近平到达伦敦时，女王送给他一本莎士比亚的十四行诗集。

Theresa May has not yet had the chance to pay tribute, having repeatedly postponed a visit to China that was originally expected last summer. May is now expected to visit Beijing in late January.

特蕾莎.梅尚未有机会到访中国，她一再推迟了原定于去年夏天访问中国的计划。现在，梅预计将于1月底到达北京。