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CATTI二級口譯精講第46講講義
篇章練習(xí)（二）
North Korea is a vivid example of what we do together and how the United States and China are cooperating and working together in ways that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. In the case of North Korea and its nuclear weapons ambitions and programs, we are cooperating to send a concerted message to the leadership in Pyongyang that Pyongyang must comply with its international commitments, it must terminate its nuclear weapons programs, promptly, verifiably and irreversibly. We do not wish to see a nuclearized Korean Peninsula.
China hosted and fully participated in the Six Party Talks that were held in Beijing this past August. And China continues to play an important role in trying to bring North Korea into a serious diplomatic process. In the Six-Party Talks, all of the regional stakeholders including our allies -- Japan and the Republic of Korea, include Russia as well -- are at the table putting our common interests forward.
Many said it wouldn't work. Many said it couldn't be done.1 Many said that President Bush should abandon the desire for a multi-party arrangement and just talk bilaterally with the North Koreans. They said North Korea would never agree to anything else and that China would not play a role in expanding the dialogue. But they were wrong. China did play a role.
In March of this year I met with my Chinese Foreign Minister counterpart, at that time Foreign Minister Tang, 2 and I reinforced President Bush's message that China needed to rise to its responsibilities in dealing with this regional problem.3 The very next day the Vice Premier, who is here with us today, flew to North Korea and delivered that message, that there would be no alternative to multilateral talks in which all countries of the region would be fully involved, China included. I want to thank the Vice Premier again for the important contribution that he made in bringing those talks about.
A China that works constructively with us in this manner, along with other regional partners such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, that is a China that inspires confidence in its own people and gains trust from the rest of the world.
As was mentioned earlier in Bangkok just a few weeks ago at the APEC summit, President Bush presented to President Hu his latest ideas on how we could move the negotiations forward with the North Koreans. In this case, then following that meeting, National People's Congress Chairman Mr. Wu went to Pyongyang and discussed it with the North Koreans. He brought back reaffirmation that the North Koreans were interested, in principle, in moving forward once again to Six-Party Talks, where can exchange views, present new ideas.
We know what needs to be done. The North Koreans need to stop their program. The North Koreans are looking to us and to the other nations in the region for security assurances. I believe strongly and am confident that a diplomatic solution is possible if we continue with this multi-party set of discussions and all parties come to the table looking for a solution. This is just illustrative of the kind of leadership role that China is playing regionally and on the world stage in cooperation with us, not in competition with us.
Another area that I might touch on is China's contributions to the global campaign against terrorism. This is another example of the practical nature of our partnerships.4 China voted for all of the key Security Council resolutions against terrorism. China publicly supported Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan as we eliminated al-Qaida presence and the Taliban. More welcome still has been more than just political and diplomatic support, but China's pledge of tangible and real support to the Afghan people with a contribution of $150 million in bilateral assistance.5
Also, in the difficult situation in Iraq, China has played a constructive role. Minister Li, and before him Minister Tang, and I spent much time working together on the various Security Council resolutions, and China played a helpful role last fall when Resolution 1441 was passed, putting Iraq on notice that we would not stand for its continued material breach of its obligations.
China also supported us on the three resolutions that have come since the war -- 1483, 1500 and most recently Resolution 1511. In this last resolution, which was an important one, the entire international community came back together again and endorsed the plan of moving forward to achieve early sovereignty for Iraq, once again, under its own leaders, but to do it in a way that is realistic, a way that will put in place a democratic Iraq that will live in peace with its friends and its neighbors.
And I hope that China will see its way clear to help us in the challenges that lay ahead6 with respect to providing hope to the people of Iraq, providing them material assistance. Many of you may also be aware of other areas in which China has cooperated with us. Our counter terrorism dialogue has been an important one and it is producing positive results.
Just to cite one example of how we're working together to protect both nations, today Chinese and American customs officials are working together in Shanghai and other Chinese ports to pre-screen thousands of shipping crates to ensure that we know what is coming into our ports and onto our shores. China is helping us with our homeland defense. And this makes us all, both sides, all nations, safer, more secure from the threat of terrorism.
There is another area that really may sound like it's outside the range of politics and Iraqi people where we're cooperating together, but it's an area that is vital to the well-being of the Chinese people, the American people, the people in the world, and it's now we're working together to deal with the dangers inherent in infectious diseases.7
China's sobering experience with SARS earlier this year stands as a lesson to all countries on the challenge of infectious diseases.8 I have called HIV/AIDS the world's greatest weapon of mass destruction today. It threatens to kill tens of millions of men, women and children -- in the Caribbean, in Latin America, in the subcontinent, especially in Africa -- and yes, it is a danger to China as well.
And China's government is facing up to this crisis, working with us. The United States has told China we are ready to help. Last month, our Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson spoke in China of President Bush's interest in furthering our practical cooperation on HIV/AIDS and other health issues. Specialists from our Centers for Disease Control are working on the ground with their Chinese counterparts. Our National Institute of Health has granted $14.8 million to help China upgrade its health care infrastructure.
(Excerpts from “Remarks of Secretary of the State Colin L. Powell at the Conference on China-U.S. Relations” in College Station, Texas on November 5, 2003)
