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When Donald Trump tweeted on August 5th that tariffs were working "big time", American media sprang into action to test the claim.
8月5日，唐納德·特朗普在推特上說，關稅“頗有成效”，美國媒體突然活躍起來，他們想要檢驗這種說法。
In China, editors were more circumspect. No major Chinese-language newspaper reported his tweets.
中國媒體則更加慎重。中國主流媒體并沒有對特朗普的這條推文進行報道。
One of his claims—that China's stock market has fallen 27% in the past four months—was an exaggeration.
其中一條內容—中國股票市場在過去四個月跌了27%—夸大了事實。
But why would any self-respecting propagandist in Beijing dwell on that?
但是為什么沒有一家中國主流媒體報道過這件事呢？
Chinese stocks have indeed fallen sharply, which officials do not wish to emphasise.
中國股票市場確實急劇下跌，官方并不想強調這一點。
And this is just one of a series of awkward facts for China as its trade war with America deepens.
中國與美國貿易戰爭深化，而這只不過是中國所面臨的一系列尷尬事實中的一個。
The yuan is down 8% against the dollar since April, and near its weakest in more than a year.
自四月以來，人民幣兌美元匯率下跌8%，在一年多的時間內，趨近最疲軟的時刻。
A shrinking trade surplus produced a current-account deficit in the first half of 2018, China's first such gap in at least two decades.
2018年上半年，貿易順差縮水導致收支往來帳戶赤字，這是中國在至少20年內首次出現這樣的差距。
More broadly, China's growth is slowing at a time when America's economy is expanding at its fastest pace since 2014.
更廣泛地講，自2014年起，美國經濟開始以最快的速度進行擴張，而那時中國經濟發展正在放慢腳步。
No wonder Mr. Trump feels that he is on the right path, and that Chinese investors are jittery.
難怪特朗普會覺得他正步入正軌，而中國投資者則緊張不安。
Making matters worse for China is a whiplash effect.
對中國而言，更糟糕的是一種鞭梢效應。
Until recently officials and executives believed their own declarations of technological prowess.
直到最近，官方和執行者們仍相信他們科技能力的聲明。
Privately, advisers were confident that Mr. Trump could be placated with promises to ramp up imports from America.
在私下里，顧問們相信可以用增加美國進口的承諾來安撫特朗普。
Now both views look wanting. An agreement for China to buy more American natural gas and soya beans collapsed in June.
現在這兩種觀點似乎都不夠準確。今年6月，中國從美國購買更多天然氣和大豆的協議破裂。
Chinese officials are keenly aware of vulnerabilities; had America maintained its sanctions on sales of semiconductors to ZTE,
中國官方敏銳地意識到其弱點；讓美國維持對ZTE半導體銷售的制裁，
the Chinese telecoms giant might well have gone out of business. Those with a conspiratorial mindset see things in a darker light.
這家中國電信巨頭很有可能因此停業。那些滿腦子陰謀論的人總是以更加黑暗的眼光看事情。
"The Americans don't want a deal. They want to screw us," says a fund manager.
“美國人不想要協議。他們想打壓我們，”一位基金經理說道。
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