经济学人下载:贸易战争:谁是最后的赢家(2)

The asymmetry in the trade war is another uncomfortable fact.
这场贸易战中的不对称是另一个让人不安的事实。

Since America buys far more from China than vice versa, America has more scope to impose tariffs.
由于美国从中国进口的商品比出口中国的商品多，那么美国可对中国强制征税的商品范围就更大。

This imbalance, long discussed in theoretical terms, is close to becoming a hard reality.
这种在理论术语中久经讨论的不平衡就快变成一种严酷的现实。

Mr. Trump has instructed his trade team to consider 25% tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports as early as September,
早在9月的时候，特朗普就指示他的贸易团队考虑对中国价值两千亿美元的商品征收25%的关税，

taking the total affected by its tariffs to about $250bn, with room for twice that amount.
受关税影响的商品总价值约为2500亿美元，还有翻倍增长的空间。

China's threatened retaliation, announced on August 3rd, will be tariffs on $60bn of American imports.
8月3日，中国宣布要进行报复，将对美国价值600亿美元的商品征收关税。

This would take the total under its tariffs to $110bn, with little room for more.
根据其关税规定，总价值可达1100亿美元，可增长空间微乎其微。

China has other weapons at its disposal. It can disrupt the lucrative Chinese operations of American businesses, from Apple to Starbucks.
中国还有其他武器可以使用。它可以干扰在中国赚钱的美国企业，比如苹果和星巴克。

But that would have downsides.
但是这样的做法也有缺点。

Declaring bogus justifications (health violations, say) would reinforce foreign criticism of government meddling in China's economy.
伪造的理由（比如违反健康条例）将会强化国外对于中国政府干预经济的批判。

And the nature of such interference, unlike tariffs, is that it will not be announced in advance, meaning it can take longer to register the impact.
不同于关税，这种干预的本质在于政府不会提前宣布进行干预，这意味着其影响的生效需要更长的时间。

The timing of the trade war is most inconvenient for China.
对中国而言，这场贸易战的时机最为不利。

Over the past two years the government has waged a campaign to rein in debt levels.
在过去两年中，政府已经开始着手约束债务水平。

Finally this has started to bite, with credit growth slowing sharply.
最终，由于信贷增长骤减，该做法开始产生严重的后果。