VOA慢速英语:美国最高贸易谈判代表赞扬中美第一阶段贸易协议

President Donald Trump's top trade negotiator has praised what is being called "phase one" of a trade deal between the United States and China. However, Chinese officials remain guarded in their reaction before the signing of any agreement.
川普总统派出的最高贸易谈判代表赞扬了所谓的中美“第一阶段贸易协议”。但是在正式签署任何协议之前，中国官员的回应始终保持着警惕。
The new agreement is expected to nearly double U.S. exports to China over the next two years.
预计这项新协议将在未来两年内使美国对华出口增长近一倍。

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke about the trade deal on Sunday. He told CBS television that the deal was "totally done," although small changes to the wording are possible.
美国贸易代表罗伯特·莱特希泽周日谈到了这项贸易协议。他对哥伦比亚广播公司电视台表示，这项协议“完全完成了，”虽然协议的措辞可能会有些细微的变化。

The deal was announced on Friday after more than two and a half years of negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials.
中美两国官员经过超过两年半的谈判之后于周五宣布了这项协议。

China agreed to increase purchases of U.S. products by about $200 billion over the next two years. China is expected to buy more agricultural and manufactured goods and energy products from American companies.
中国同意在未来两年内增加购买约2000亿美元的美国产品。预计中国将从美国公司购买更多的农产品、工业制成品以及能源产品。

In addition, China has agreed to take steps to improve protections on property rights. It promised to better protect U.S. intellectual property and to limit pressure on American companies to transfer technology. Other steps include opening the Chinese market to U.S. financial businesses and a promise not to manipulate the value of China's money.
此外，中国已经同意采取措施加大对知识产权的保护。中国承诺将会更好地保护美国知识产权，并降低美国公司转让技术的压力。其他措施包括向美国金融企业开放中国市场，并承诺不操纵中国货币汇率。

In return, the U.S. government has promised to reduce some taxes on Chinese imports.
作为回报，美国政府已经承诺降低对中国进口产品的部分关税。

Lighthizer said the date for signing the agreement has yet to be set.
莱特希泽表示，协议签署日期尚未确定。

China to increase imports from U.S.
中国将增加从美国进口

Under the agreement, China is expected to import $40 to $50 billion worth of U.S. farm products in each of the next two years. That is an increase over the $24 billion that China imported in 2017, the last year before the U.S.-China trade dispute.
根据这项协议，预计未来两年中国每年将进口价值400到500亿美元的美国农产品。这比2017年中美贸易争端爆发前，中国240亿美元的进口额有所增加。

The top agricultural import for China has been soybeans, which reached $12 billion in 2017. China also said it would buy more grain from U.S. farmers.
中国最大农产品进口是大豆，它在2017年达到了120亿美元。中国还表示将向美国农民购买更多谷物。

Several Chinese officials told the Reuters news agency that the wording of the agreement remained a sensitive issue. In fact, one person, who Reuters did not identify, said the deal, "is a phased achievement, and does not mean that the trade dispute is settled once and for all."
几位中国官员对路透社表示，协议措辞仍然是一个敏感问题。实际上，路透社并未透露姓名的一位人士表示，这笔交易“是一项阶段性成就，并不意味着贸易争端得到了彻底解决。”

Shi Yinhong is an adviser to the State Council of China and a professor at Renmin University in Beijing. Shi said China faces pressure to carry out phase one of the trade deal. He suggested that China might have to buy more soybeans than it needs to meet the terms of the agreement. He said while the Americans are happy, "we did not cheer" the new agreement.
时殷弘是中国国务院顾问，也是北京人民大学的一位教授。时殷弘表示，中国面临着执行第一阶段贸易协议的压力。他暗示中国可能必须购买超出符合协议条款所需数量的大豆。他说，虽然美国人很高兴，但是“我们并未庆祝”这项新协议。

U.S. to reduce import taxes
美国降低关税

The deal suspends planned U.S. import taxes on $160 billion of Chinese goods. Those tariffs were to take effect on December 15. U.S. negotiators also agreed to cut in half tariffs on $120 billion in Chinese products, including Bluetooth headphones, smart speakers and televisions. The new tax rate is 7.5 percent.
该协议暂停了美国对1600亿中国产品计划征收的关税。这些关税原定于12月15日生效。美国谈判代表还同意把1200亿美元中国产品的关税削减一半，这些产品包括蓝牙耳机、智能音箱和电视机。新的税率为7.5%。

The U.S. Trade Representative and Department of the Treasury said any reports that U.S. negotiators offered to cut in half tariffs on all $360 billion in goods were "false."
美国贸易代表和美国财政部表示，任何声称美国谈判代表把3600亿美元商品的关税削减一半的报道都是“错误的。”

The deal keeps in place a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese products exported to the United States.
该协议对价值2500亿美元中国出口到美国的产品继续征收25%的关税。

Lighthizer said Chinese officials would decide the success of the deal. "Whether this whole agreement works is going to be determined by who's making the decisions in China," he said.
莱特希泽表示，中国官员将决定协议的成败。他说：“整个协议是否生效将取决于中国方面由谁决策。”

"If the hard-liners are making the decisions we're going to get one outcome, if the reformers are making the decisions – which is what we hope – then we're going to get another outcome," Lighthizer added.
莱特希泽还说：“如果是强硬派做决定，得到的会是一种结果；如果由改革派做决定--这也是我们希望的，那么将得到另一种结果。”