中国欢迎特朗普愿与金正恩会面的表态

China has welcomed Donald Trump’s statement that he would be “honoured” to meet Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances, amid soaring tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

在朝鲜核野心引发紧张局势升级的背景下，中国欢迎美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)有关他在适当情况下将很“荣幸”会晤金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的声明。

The US president’s comments contrast with his hardline stance on the North Korean leader, as well as Friday’s call from Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, for the UN to impose “painful sanctions” on Pyongyang to deter its nuclear programme. A weekend ballistic missile test prompted Mr Trump to declare that North Korea had “disrespected” Beijing.

与美国总统此言形成反差的是，他对朝鲜领导人采取了强硬立场，就在上周五，美国国务卿雷克斯·蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)呼吁联合国对平壤施加“痛苦的制裁”，以阻止其核武计划。朝鲜在上周末再度试射弹道导弹，促使特朗普宣告朝鲜“不尊重”北京。

Beijing yesterday called on the two countries to “meet each other halfway”. Geng Shuang, foreign ministry spokesman, reiterated China’s position that “the only practical and feasible way to realise the de-nuclearisation of the peninsula is to solve the issue through dialogue, negotiations and in peaceful ways”.

北京方面昨日呼吁两国“相向而行”。外交部发言人耿爽重申，中国的立场是“对话协商是解决半岛核问题唯一现实可行的途径，也是唯一正确的选择。”

Mr Trump told Bloomberg on Monday: “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it. Most political people would never say that, but I’m telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him.” Mr Trump described Mr Kim as a “pretty smart cookie” to CBS the previous day.

特朗普周一向彭博社(Bloomberg)表示：“如果我与他会晤合适的话，我绝对会去做，我将很荣幸这么做。大多数政治人士绝不会这么说，但我告诉你，在适当情况下，我会与他会晤。”前一天特朗普对美国哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)形容金正恩是个“很聪明的家伙”。

Mr Trump did not stipulate his conditions but since taking charge in 2011, Mr Kim has neither met a foreign leader nor left his country. Mr Trump would be unlikely to visit North Korea and has previously said he would invite Mr Kim to the US, though not for a state dinner.

特朗普没有列出他的条件，但金正恩自2011年掌权以来从未会晤过一位外国领导人，也从未出国。特朗普不太可能访问朝鲜，此前他曾表示愿邀请金正恩访美，但不会举行国宴招待。

North Korea has quickly become Mr Trump’s most pressing foreign policy issue. His predecessor, Barack Obama, who also said during his 2008 election campaign that he would be prepared to meet Mr Kim, warned Mr Trump of the North Korean threat during their handover talks.

朝鲜已迅速成为特朗普最紧迫的外交政策问题。他的前任、在2008年竞选期间表示将愿意会晤朝鲜领导人的巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)，曾在交接谈话时就朝鲜的威胁向特朗普发出警告。

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, which have no diplomatic relations, are regularly heightened at this Time of year as North Korea celebrates several patriotic anniversaries and the US conducts military exercises in the area. In recent weeks, however, the simmering animosity has threatened to escalate into conflict.

美朝没有外交关系，双方之间的紧张局势在每年的这个时候往往都会升级，因为朝鲜要庆祝几个爱国纪念日，而美国要在该地区进行军事演习。然而，最近几周，不断升温的敌意似乎有可能升级为冲突。

Yesterday, US forces in South Korea put into operation a missile shield that has irked both Pyongyang and Beijing, and threatens to undermine the US alliance with Seoul. From Beijing, Mr Geng urged the two countries to “halt the process immediately”.

昨天，驻韩美军开始运行一套导弹防御系统，该系统引发平壤和北京两方面的不满，并且有可能削弱美韩同盟。在北京，中国外交部发言人耿爽敦促美韩两国“立即停止部署进程”。

Mr Trump sparked an unusual backlash in the South Korean capital last week when he said he would demand $1bn from Seoul for the deployment, which is widely believed to enhance US strategic interests in the region.

特朗普上周的言论在韩国首都引发不寻常的反弹，当时他表示，将要求首尔方面为部署反导系统支付10亿美元；该系统的部署被普遍视为有助于增强美国在该地区的战略利益。

Concerns about the US president in South Korea were already high after Mr Trump raised the prospect of unilateral military strikes on North Korea, telling the Financial Times that if China will not intervene to stem its neighbour’s nuclear ambitions, then “we will”.

在特朗普提出美国对朝鲜发动单方面军事打击的可能性之后，韩国国内对美国总统的担忧本来就处于较高水平。特朗普告诉英国《金融时报》，如果中国不出手管住其邻国的核野心，那么“我们会的”。

Pyongyang has accused the US of “intimidation and blackmail”. Western experts believe North Korea is rapidly developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that may one day be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead as far as the US.

平壤指责美国进行“恐吓和勒索”。西方专家认为，朝鲜正在快速开发洲际弹道导弹，这些导弹有朝一日可能携带核弹头打到美国。

The US president has often delighted in making overtures to strongman rulers, whether extending friendship to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, inviting Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte to visit or, during his campaign last year, saying he would like to eat a hamburger with North Korea’s supreme leader.

现任美国总统常常乐于向强势统治者伸出橄榄枝，无论是向俄罗斯的弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)展示友谊，邀请菲律宾领导人罗德里戈·杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)访问白宫，还是——就像他在去年竞选期间曾经说的那样——和朝鲜最高领导人一起吃汉堡。

Observers struggled to determine whether Mr Trump’s comments were a throwaway remark, a serious attempt to defuse dangerous tensions or something in between.

观察家们难以确定特朗普的言论是随口说说，还是缓解危险紧张局势的严肃企图，或者是介于两者之间。

Jenny Town of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said that while North Korea “tends to be better behaved when in a negotiation versus when they’re not”, Mr Trump’s suggestion of a meeting was unlikely to reduce tensions. “I don’t even think it was a productive approach,” she said, arguing for greater consistency from the US. “In the usual call-and-response [in US-North Korea relations] this year, the X factor has been Trump rhetoric feeding in and being more threatening.”

约翰霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)美韩研究所(US-Korea Institute)的珍妮?汤(Jenny Town)表示，尽管朝鲜“在谈判期往往比没有谈判的时候更守规矩”，但特朗普的会晤之说不太可能缓解紧张局势。“我甚至不认为这是一种有成效的做法，”她表示，她主张美国政府应当增强政策的连贯性。“在今年（美朝关系中）惯常的喊话与回应中，一个未知因素是特朗普冒出的、越来越吓人的言论。”