Xi Jinping’s tour of the Middle East shows China’s growing stake there

Jan 23rd 2016 | BEIJING

SINCE he took over as China’s leader in 2012, Xi Jinping has been a busy globetrotter. Last year he visited more countries than Barack Obama[去年访问的国家比奥巴马还多], America’s president (14 against 11). Heedless of[不顾;不理会] whether his hosts are powerful, puny['pjuni][弱小的；微不足道的；微小的] or pariahs, he has flown everywhere from America to the Maldives['mɔ:ldaɪvz;-dɪvz][马尔代夫] and Zimbabwe[zim'bɑ:bwei; -wi][津巴布韦]. Mr Xi wants to project China’s rising power—and his role in promoting that—to foreign and domestic audiences. But until this week, he had not set a presidential foot in the Middle East.

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▷ globetrotter ['glob,trɑtɚ]

【释义】A globetrotter is a world traveler. Your uncle the globetrotter might be famous in your family for giving lengthy slideshows of photos from his travels.

n. 环球旅行者;世界观光旅行家

Thankfully, there‘s a new e-book in town, The Art of Solo Travel, by seasoned globetrotter, Stephanie Lee.

令人欣慰的是，世界观光旅行家斯蒂芬妮▪李出了本新的电子书《独自旅行的艺术》。

▷ pariah [pə'raɪə]

【释义】A pariah is someone that has been soundly rejected by their community. Your constant gossiping might make you a pariah on campus.

n. 贱民（印度的最下阶级）

为社会所遗弃者;流浪者;受鄙视的人(或动物)

A person who is avoided by others; a pariah.

大家躲避的人;被排斥的人

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The trip, under way as The Economist went to press, began in Saudi Arabia[沙特阿拉伯] (whose king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, is pictured with Mr Xi). He then visited Egypt[埃及] and was due to finish his tour in Iran[伊朗]. No Chinese president had toured the region since 2009. China’s leaders had worried about getting embroiled in[卷入] the region’s intractable disputes. But China has a big stake in the Middle East. It is the world’s largest oil importer[世界上最大的石油进口国] and gets more than half of its crude[krud][原油;天然的物质] from the region. Mr Xi’s much ballyhooed “new Silk Route[新丝绸之路]”, aimed at linking China and Europe with the help of Chinese-funded infrastructure, runs across the Middle East. Chinese companies are already building expressways and harbours there.

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▷ intractable [ɪn'træktəbl]

【释义】Can't manage your stubborn little brother who won't do what anyone says? You could call him intractable, or you could call your mother. Problems are intractable when they can't be solved.

adj. 棘手的;难治的;倔强的;不听话的

It emerged as the most intractable issue of our era.

它成了我们时代最难解决的问题.

▷ ballyhoo ['bælɪhu]

v. 大肆宣传;大吹大擂

the much-ballyhooed new Star Wars movie.

受到热炒的新一集《星球大战》电影

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The timing of Mr Xi’s tour is tricky[微妙的]. Tensions between Saudi Arabia[沙特阿拉伯] and Iran[伊朗] are particularly high after Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric[什叶派教士] earlier this month and angry Iranians responded by storming[猛攻;怒骂] the Saudi embassy in Tehran[位于德黑兰的沙特大使馆]. But the lifting of Western sanctions[取消制裁;解除制裁] on Iran on January 16th allowed Mr Xi to display even-handedness[公平的;公平无私的] by visiting both countries, without upsetting Western powers. Mr Xi, like his predecessors['prɛdəsɛsɚ][前任], likes to present China as a non-interfering[互不干扰的] champion of peace. (Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, said this week that the West’s “meddling hands[干预;插手]” were “more of a mortal poison[致命毒药] than of a magic potion[魔力药水]” in the Middle East.) But Mr Xi is not keen to play a central role as peacemaker[调解者;和事佬]. China’s first “Arab Policy Paper[中国对阿拉伯国家政策文件]”, released on January 13th, is a vague[含糊;不明确的], waffly document. It talks of “building a new type of international relations[构建新型国际关系]”, but is devoid of[缺乏] new ideas.

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▷ waffly 

waffle的变形

n. 华夫饼干;动听而无意义的话;无聊话

Cut the waffle and get to the point.  

别胡扯,谈正题.

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Zhang Ming, a vice-foreign minister[外交部副部长张明], said this week that economic development was the “ultimate way out” of conflict in the region. By expanding its trade and investment links with the Middle East, China hopes discontent[不满]and conflict[冲突] there will gradually dissipate. In addition to crushing['krʌʃɪŋ][压破，征服，冲入] dissent[dɪ'sɛnt][不一致；持异议，争执][打压异见者], it is trying a similar approach in Xinjiang, a province in western China with a large Muslim population—so far without success.

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▷ dissipate ['dɪsɪpeɪt]

【释义】Dissipate means "disperse" or "fade away" — as a bad smell will dissipate(usually) if you wait long enough.

vt. 浪费;使…消散

vi. 驱散;放荡

Don't dissipate your efforts.

不要浪费你的精力。

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In the long run, China may find it hard to avoid taking sides. To some extent it has already done so in Syria: it talks to representatives from both the Syrian government and the opposition, but by vetoing UN resolutions[联合国大会决议] on intervention[介入;调停] it tilts[tɪlt][有倾向性,偏袒,偏向][在否决了联合国大会介入的决议时就已经有所倾向了], in effect[实际上], in the government’s favour[是受政府的支持;欢迎]. The presence of a growing number of Chinese citizens in the Middle East may challenge China’s non-interventionist approach[不干预政策]. After a Chinese national was executed by Islamic State in November, China promised to strengthen protection of its citizens abroad[加强对海外公民的保护]. Its new rules of Middle Eastern diplomacy could end up resembling familiar Western meddling[与熟悉的西方干预(方式)一样了].

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