又中又英——Reciprocity

　　President Xi Jinping and European Union (EU) leaders held a virtual summit earlier this month to discuss trade. The EU has long complained of China’s trade practices. During the summit with Xi Jinping, EU leaders demanded fairer trade. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, used an interesting expression when he spoke with reporters after the virtual summit. He said: “Europe needs to be a player, not a playing field”. He said Europe wanted “reciprocity and a level playing field”. The word “virtual” used this way means almost but not exactly a particular thing. Most countries have shut borders because of the coronavirus. This means people use apps like Zoom for meetings. Such meetings are “virtual” meetings. They are almost but not real face-to-face meetings.
The word “summit” means the highest point of a mountain, but used this way it means a meeting between the top leaders of countries. When President Xi and US President Donald Trump hold a formal meeting, it is called a “summit”. Charles Michel’s expression is interesting because he used the word “play” in a clever way. When he told reporters after his summit with Xi Jinping that “Europe needs to be a player”, he meant Europe must have greater access to China’s markets. The word “player” used this way means to be a participant. Charles Michel meant Europe wants to participate more in China’s markets.
When he said Europe is “not a playing field”, he meant Europe doesn’t want China to take advantage of Europe’s open markets while China keeps its markets partly closed to Europe. The expression “playing field” used this way regarding China means Chinese companies can unfairly take advantage of Europe’s open markets. The word “reciprocity” means both sides giving each other equal treatment. The expression “level playing field” means a situation in which everyone has the same chance of succeeding. When Europe says it wants a “level playing field” it means it wants China to open its markets in the same way Europe has opened its markets to China.
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国家主席习近平和欧盟领袖在本月较早时候，举行了一个视像高峰会议（virtual summit），商讨贸易事宜。欧盟长久以来都有投诉中国的贸易惯例。在与习近平的高峰会（summit）上，欧盟领袖要求有更公平的贸易。
　　欧洲理事会主席夏尔‧米歇尔在视像高峰会（virtual summit）后接受记者采访时，用了一个有趣的习语。他说：“Europe needs to be a player, not a playing field”；又说欧洲要的是“reciprocity and a level playing field”。Virtual在上文的意思是虚拟的、几乎但又不完全是某事。大部份国家因为新冠肺炎疫情的缘故，已关闭边境，这意味着人们要用像Zoom的应用程式去举行会议；这些虚拟的视像会议就是“virtual” meetings，它们跟面对面的会议差不多，但又不是真的见面。
　　Summit是指山顶、巅峰，但在这里则是指各国最高领袖的峰会。当习近平主席与美国总统唐纳德‧特朗普要召开正式的会议，那就叫做“summit”。夏尔‧米歇尔的习语很有趣，因为他聪明地用了“play”一字。他在与习近平的峰会（summit）后跟记者说“Europe needs to be a player”，他的意思是，欧洲必须有更多进入中国市场的机会；“player”在这里是指参与者。夏尔‧米歇尔的意思是，欧洲想在中国市场上参与更多。
　　当他说Europe is “not a playing field”，他的意思是欧洲并不想中国部份市场不对欧洲开放的同时，中国却又从欧洲的开放市场中取利。习语“playing field”在这里指涉着中国，说的是中国企业得以不公平地占尽欧洲开放市场的便宜。
　　Reciprocity即互惠，相互的待遇是平等的。习语“level playing field”即公平竞争的环境，人人都有相同的成功机会。当欧洲说它想要一个“level playing field”，意即它要中国开放市场，一如欧洲向中国开放市场。
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻

Michael Chugani 褚简宁