In Dueling Ads, Candidates Seek to Politicize Issues of China and Manufacturing
United States-China relations continue to surface as an issue on the campaign trail, particularly in battleground states like Ohio where manufacturing is a major force in the local economy. Now both President Obama and Mitt Romney are running television commercials that trade accusations over who is softer on China, and who is more to blame for sending American jobs there.
在美国总统选举的进程中，中美关系议题继续显山露水成为焦点，特别是在一些关键州，比如制造业在当地经济中举足轻重的俄亥俄州。目前，奥巴马总统(Obama)和米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)都推出了电视广告，互相指责对方在中国问题上太温和，应该为美国人的工作机会流失到中国负责。
The Romney campaign ad states: “Under Obama we’ve lost over half a million manufacturing jobs, and for the first time China is beating us. Seven times Obama could have stopped China’s cheating. Seven times he refused.” Then it cuts to Mr. Romney, who declares, “It’s time to stand up to the cheaters and make sure we protect jobs for the American people.”
罗姆尼竞选广告说，“奥巴马执政期间，我们失去的制造业就业岗位超过50万，而中国第一次超过了我们。奥巴马本来有七次机会阻止中国的欺骗行为，但他七次都拒绝做出行动。”然后镜头中出现了罗姆尼，他宣称，“是时候了，让我们抵制骗子，保护美国人民的工作机会。”
The announcer concludes, “Barack Obama: failing to stop cheating, failing American workers.”
播音员说道，“贝拉克·奥巴马：没能阻止欺骗行为，他让美国工人失望。”
The Obama campaign ad, released a day after the Romney one first appeared, opens on an incredulous note. “Mitt Romney tough on China?” an announcer asks. “Romney’s companies were called pioneers in shipping U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. He invested in firms that specialized in relocating jobs to low-wage countries like China. Even today part of Romney’s fortune is invested in China. Romney’s never stood up to China. All he’s done is send them our jobs.”
罗姆尼的广告出现一天后，奥巴马也推出了竞选广告，一开始便以质疑的口吻问道：“米特·罗姆尼对中国强硬吗？罗姆尼的公司是将美国制造业就业机会输出海外的先锋。他投资的公司专门将工作机会转移到中国等低工资国家。甚至在今天，罗姆尼的部分资金还投资在中国。罗姆尼从没有抵制过中国。他所做的就是将我们的工作机会输送到中国。”
Who is right? Mr. Romney’s first claim — that more than half a million manufacturing jobs have disappeared since Mr. Obama took office — is supported by data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which show manufacturing employment at 12.5 million in January 2009 and put it at just under 12 million as of August, a net loss because of job cuts during the recession.
谁说得对呢？美国劳工统计局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)提供的数据证明了罗姆尼的第一个主张——自从奥巴马执政以来，有超过50万的制造业岗位流失。数据显示，2009年1月制造业就业人数为1250万，到8月份时，就业人数降至1200万以下，这是经济衰退期间裁员造成的净损失。
However, what the ad does not say is that manufacturers have actually added several hundred thousand jobs since early 2010, a bright spot in an otherwise dull economy.
然而，广告中没有提到的是，自从2010年初，制造业实际上增加了几十万个就业岗位，成为暗淡经济形式下的一个亮点。
His second claim, regarding the “seven times Obama could have stopped China’s cheating,” refers to the Treasury Department’s repeated decisions — under both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations — to decline to label China a currency manipulator. Mr. Romney has said he would reverse that course, a position that has alarmed some free-trade Republicans, who think the move could escalate tensions between the United States and China.
他的第二个主张提到的“奥巴马本来有七次机会阻止中国的欺骗行为”指的是美国财政部(Treasury Departmen)屡次做出的决策——在奥巴马和乔治·W·布什(George W. Bush)执政期间——拒绝将中国定位为汇率操纵国。罗姆尼曾说过他将会扭转这种情形，其态度引起了一些推崇自由贸易的共和党人的警觉，他们认为此举会加剧美国和中国之间的紧张局势。
Mr. Obama has made the term “outsourcing pioneer” a regular line in his stump speech and a catchphrase in his advertising. It is also one of the most disputed accusations of the presidential campaign. Its origins lie in a Washington Post article from June, in which the paper reported that Bain Capital, the private equity company Romney founded, “owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories.”
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