巴基斯坦濒临破产 扎尔达里向中国求援

PAKISTAN'S PRESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari began a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday, seeking aid for his near-bankrupt nation from an increasingly powerful ally.
巴基斯坦总统阿西夫•阿里•扎尔达里(Asif Ali Zardari)周二开始对中国进行为期4天的国事访问，为几近破产的巴基斯坦向中国这个日益强大的盟友求援。


'China is the future of the world,' Mr. Zardari, widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua on the eve of his trip. 'A strong China means a strong Pakistan.'
扎尔达里是巴基斯坦已故前总理贝•布托(Benazir Bhutto)的丈夫。他在访华前夕接受中国官方媒体新华社采访时说，中国是世界的未来，一个强大的中国意味着一个强大的巴基斯坦。


Pakistan's economy was already in critical care before the global financial meltdown. Mr. Zardari is reaching out to China, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, among other so-called Friends of Pakistan, to make the case that the world has an interest in helping to stabilize the nuclear-armed nation, which has been shaken by Islamist militancy.
巴基斯坦的经济在全球金融危机爆发之前就已深陷困境。扎尔达里眼下正在向中国、美国和沙特阿拉伯等所谓的“巴基斯坦的朋友”求助，以便证明世界有兴趣帮助稳定这个拥有核武器、已经因伊斯兰武装力量而局势动荡的国家。


Pakistan is seeking $5 billion to $6 billion from donors. Government officials are urgently trying to shore up dwindling foreign-exchange reserves -- now down to $8.32 billion -- and revive an ailing economy by boosting the confidence of foreign investors. It sees China as a substantial source of this capital.
巴基斯坦正在寻求从救助获得50亿-60亿美元的资金。巴政府官员迫切地想支撑该国不断减少的外汇储备（如今已经降到了83.2亿美元），并通过增强外国投资者的信心令疲弱的经济复苏。巴基斯坦将中国视为这笔资金的一个重要来源。


Mr. Zardari promised to return to China every three months and said the relationship would focus on business.
扎尔达里承诺将每隔3个月访问一次中国，并且说两国关系将重点放在商业往来上。


Shaukat Tarin, economic adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was in Washington at the start of the week, said Pakistan had secured $1.4 billion from the World Bank, and was expecting additional financing from the Asian Development Bank.
巴基斯坦总理优素福•拉扎•吉拉尼(Yousuf Raza Gillani)的经济顾问塔林(Shaukat Tarin)周一在华盛顿说，巴基斯坦已经确保能从世界银行(World Bank)获得14亿美元贷款，预计还会从亚洲开发银行(Asian Development Bank)获得更多的融资。


The U.K., meanwhile, doubled its aid to Pakistan and will give the country about $825 million over the next three years, according to the British High Commission in Islamabad.
驻伊斯兰堡的英国高级专员公署称，英国将对巴基斯坦的援助增加了一倍，并且将在未来3年中向该国提供约8.25亿美元的资金。


But it's China, often praised by Pakistani officials as a steadfast friend, that may offer Islamabad its best hope for a major cash infusion. The Asian giant's foreign-exchange reserves are the world's largest, at $1.9 trillion. Chinese officials could be eager to demonstrate their new wealth and diplomatic heft, analysts say.
不过，最有希望向巴基斯坦进行大规模注资的可能是常常被该国官员称赞为牢固朋友的中国。中国这个亚洲大国拥有1.9万亿美元的外汇储备，规模居世界首位。分析人士说，中国官员可能会渴望展示他们新的财力和外交实力。


'China can provide support by putting some deposits in the central bank of Pakistan, that's something they might be able to do quickly,' said Salman Shah, a former Pakistani finance minister. 'They can put a deposit of $1 billion or $2 billion.' By contrast, he said, such a request made to the U.S. 'would probably have to go through Congress or through the Treasury,' he said. 'It is a very long, drawn-out process.'
巴基斯坦前财政部长Salman Shah说，中国可以在巴基斯坦央行存入一些存款，进而提供支持，他们可能很快就能做到；他们可以存入10亿或20亿美元。他说，与此相反，向美国提出这样的请求可能必须获得国会或是财政部的批准，会是个非常漫长的过程。


China's foreign aid has been growing, especially in Africa, typically in the form of concessionary loans for infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and power plants generally handled by Chinese contractors. China is already involved in building a large port in Pakistan. But neither Chinese nor Pakistani officials have offered details of any current aid agreement.
中国的海外援助一直在不断增长，特别是在非洲，援助的形式常常是向一般由中国承包商负责的公路、铁路和发电厂等基础设施项目提供优惠贷款。中国已经参与了巴基斯坦的一个大型港口建设项目。不过中国和巴基斯坦官员都没有透露任何当前援助协议的细节。


The decades-long friendship between China and Pakistan is grounded in arms sales, energy assistance and an all-weather geopolitical alliance. China has sold conventional weapons and missile technology, and is suspected of helping Pakistan develop nuclear weapons. In 2006, China and Pakistan signed a pledge to increase bilateral trade to $15 billion a year by 2011.
中巴两国间数十年的友谊基于武器出售、能源援助和全天候的地缘政治同盟关系之上。中国已经向巴基斯坦出售了常规性武器和导弹技术，外界还怀疑它帮助巴基斯坦开发了核武器。2006年，两国签订了协议，要在2011年前将双边贸易额增加至每年150亿美元。


As India and the U.S. have worked to complete a civilian nuclear agreement, China and Pakistan have discussed a similar deal. The negotiations highlight how uneasy ties have become as both China and India jockey for influence in Asia.
正值印度与美国努力达成一项民用核技术协议之际，中国和巴基斯坦也讨论了类似的协议。这类谈判凸显出，随着中国和印度都试图抢夺在亚洲的影响力，国家间的关系变得有多棘手。


A Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman said Tuesday there would be 'in-depth discussions' on cooperation in 'some major areas,' but declined to confirm if a nuclear deal was in the works. The Xinhua news agency, quoting the Pakistani foreign ministry, said China and Pakistan expect to sign 'several agreements' during Mr. Zardari's visit.
中国外交部发言人周二说，中巴两国将就相关领域的具体合作进行深入探讨，但是拒绝透露是否有核技术方面的协议。新华社援引巴基斯坦外交部的话称，中国和巴基斯坦预期将在扎尔达里访华期间签订多项协议。


Meanwhile, Pakistan's ties with the U.S. remain fraught with tensions. Mr. Zardari has reached out to U.S. leaders, but in doing so has faced criticism at home, particularly because of repeated U.S. missile strikes inside Pakistani territory targeting Islamist militants near the Afghanistan border.
与此同时，巴基斯坦与美国的关系仍然非常紧张。扎尔达里已经向美国领导人求援，但是这样做使他面对着国内的批评，特别是因为美国在巴基斯坦境内再三对阿富汗边境附近的伊斯兰武装力量发动导弹袭击。