Not so phoney war

An American ban puts China’s ZTE in peril

China’s second largest telecoms firm could become a bargaining chip in the trade dispute

phoney: not real or true; false, and trying to trick people
· 假的；冒充的；欺骗的
　SYN fake
peril: serious danger
· 严重危险：
　The country's economy is now in grave peril.
　现在，这个国家的经济陷入了严重危机。

Apr 19th 2018 | SHANGHAI

1. TALK of restricting the use of Chinese telecoms equipment in the West is growing. This week the curbs went the other way, when America banned its companies from selling hardware and software for seven years to one of China’s state-owned tech champions, ZTE. On April 16th America’s Department of Commerce said that China’s second-largest telecoms firm had trampled on a settlement reached in March 2017 over ZTE’s illegal shipments since 2010 of American-made technology—telecommunications equipment to Iran, and routers, servers and microprocessors to North Korea—in known of trade sanctions.
   1）关于西方限制使用中国电信设备的传言越来越多。本周，这些限制走向了另一个方向：美国禁止其公司在未来七年向中国国有技术优胜者之一中兴通讯出售硬件和软件。美国商务部4月16日表示，这家中国第二大电信公司无视2017年3月达成的和解协议，该协议针对的是中兴通讯在已知贸易制裁的情况下自2010年以来非法运输美国制造的技术——向伊朗运输电信设备以及向朝鲜提供路由器、服务器和微处理器。

解析

本段开篇点明最近的美国政府制裁中兴的新闻事件，引出下文的深入分析；
China’s second-largest telecoms firm had trampled on a settlement reached in March 2017 over ZTE’s illegal shipments since 2010 of American-made technology—telecommunications equipment to Iran, and routers, servers and microprocessors to North Korea—in known of trade sanctions. 这句话的主句是China’s second-largest telecoms firm had trampled on a settlement
reached in March 2017是修饰settlement的后置定语；
over与settlement搭配，意思是“就……的协议、针对……的协议”，比如：The management and unions have reached a settlement over new working conditions.资方和工会已就新的工作条件达成协议。
ZTE’s illegal shipments since 2010 of American-made technology 中 since 2010是插入句中的时间状语，shipment of sth 是指“对……的运输”
两个破折号之间的内容是对American-made technology的进一步解释
in known of trade sanctions 意思是“在已知贸易制裁的情况下”

TALK: ~ (of sth / of doing sth) | ~ (that...)
· stories that suggest a particular thing might happen in the future
· 传言；谣言；流言蜚语；揣测：
　There was talk in Washington of sending in troops.
　华盛顿有派兵的谣传。
　She dismissed the stories of her resignation as newspaper talk.
　她不理会有关她辞职的报道，认为那不过是报纸的谣言。
trample: 践踏;无视;伤害 To trample on someone's rights or values or to trample them means to deliberately ignore them.

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2. The one at risk of being crippled by an embargo is now ZTE. In 2016 UBS, a bank, estimated that 80-90% of its products relied on American parts. Jean Baptiste Su of Atherton Research, an American technology-research outfit, described the ban as “devastating” for ZTE, especially the loss of chips made by America’s Qualcomm used in about 70% of ZTE’s smartphones. Although ZTE makes most of its money from its telecoms-equipment business, nearly a third of its revenues come from phones.
   2）现在轮到中兴有遭到禁运严重伤害的风险。 2016年，银行UBS估计其80-90％的产品依赖于美国零部件。美国技术研究机构Atherton Research的Jean Baptiste Su称，该禁令对中兴通讯来说是“破坏性的”，特别是中兴将损失其智能手机中约70％所使用的美国高通公司芯片。尽管中兴的大部分业绩来自电信设备业务，但其近三分之一的收入来自手机。

解析

本段分析制裁将对中兴造成的破坏性影响；

cripple: to seriously damage or harm sb / sth
· 严重毁坏(或损害)：
　The pilot tried to land his crippled plane.
　飞行员试图驾驶损坏严重的飞机着陆。

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3. Switching to other suppliers (and it must seek out those with zero parts sourced from America) would require handset redesigns to match new specifications that would take years to bring to market, says Mr Su. The software restrictions are just as bruising. ZTE’s phones use the Android operating system developed by Google, which under the ban may no longer be able to license its apps to ZTE. It does not have its own operating system. As The Economist went to press, ZTE’s shares had been suspended from trading in Shenzhen and Hong Kong for three days.
   3）Su先生说，换其他供应商（并且它必须寻找那些没有任何零部件是来源于美国的供应商）需要重新设计手机以符合新的规格，而这些规格将需要数年时间才能推向市场。软件限制同样令人厌烦。中兴的手机使用谷歌开发的Android操作系统，谷歌在禁令之下可能无法再向中兴通讯授权。（因此）它没有了自己的操作系统。 在本期《经济学人》出版之时，中兴股份在深圳和香港（股票交易所）的交易暂停了三天。

解析

进一步分析禁运的负面影响；

specification: a detailed description of how sth is, or should be, designed or made
· 规格；规范；明细单；说明书
bruising: difficult and unpleasant, making you feel tired or weak
· 艰难讨厌的；繁重麻烦的：
　a bruising meeting / experience
　令人厌烦的会议；艰辛的经历

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4. America had dangled the threat of this sort of ban (known as a denial of export privileges) last year but shelved it when ZTE confessed to wrongdoing and paid $890m in penalties. As part of the deal ZTE pledged to discipline senior staff. But although it fired four people, it was found to have neither reprimanded nor cut bonuses to 35 others, as promised. That seems incredibly foolhardy. According to the Department of Commerce, ZTE admitted it had submitted false statements but said it had no intention of misleading the government. The department decried “a pattern of deception” and “repeated violations”.
   4）去年，美国一直将要实施这种禁令（称为拒绝出口特权）的威胁悬在中兴头上，但当中兴通讯承认不当行为并支付了8.9亿美元罚金时，美国搁置了这种威胁。作为协议的一部分，中兴承诺对高级员工进行管理。但是，尽管它解雇了四个人，但人们发现它既没有根据承诺谴责35名其他高级员工，也没有减少他们的奖金。这看起来非常愚蠢。据商务部称，中兴通讯承认提交了虚假陈述，但辩称它不是有意误导政府。该部门谴责（它是）“欺骗的典型”且“屡次违规”。

解析

本段分析美国此次实施制裁的理由；

dangle: (informal) to offer (something) in order to persuade someone to do something
shelve: to decide not to continue with a plan, either for a short time or permanently
· 搁置，停止(计划)

SYN put on ice ：
　The government has shelved the idea until at least next year.
　政府决定把这个想法先放一放，至少推迟到明年再说。
reprimand: to tell sb officially that you do not approve of them or their actions
· 申斥；训斥；斥责
　SYN rebuke ：
　[VN]
　The officers were severely reprimanded for their unprofessional behaviour.
　军官们因违反行业规则而受到了严厉的斥责。

foolhardy: taking unnecessary risks
· 莽撞的；有勇无谋的
　SYN reckless ：
　It would be foolhardy to sail in weather like this.
　这种天气出航就是瞎冒险。

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5. ZTE stood out as the only Chinese handset-maker to have cracked the American market; half of its phones are sold there. It is the country’s fourth-largest seller of smartphones, with a 12% share—despite its inclusion in a report from America’s House Intelligence Committee in 2012 that urged domestic telecoms firms purchasing networking equipment to shun its products over espionage worries. (The report also targeted Huawei, ZTE’s larger Chinese rival, which, because of deeper concerns over its possible ties to the Chinese government, has struggled to make inroads since.)
   5）中兴是唯一一家成功打入美国市场的中国手机制造商；它有一半的手机在那里销售。它是该国第四大智能手机销售商，拥有12％的份额，尽管2012年美国众议院情报委员会的一份报告中提到它，该报告因担心间谍活动而敦促购买网络设备的国内电信公司避免采购其产品。 （该报道也针对华为，华为是中兴在中国的竞争对手，因为（美国）对它可能与中国政府存在的关系有更深的担忧，所以它打入美国市场一直非常艰难。）

解析

本段介绍中兴之前在美国市场上的突出表现；
despite its inclusion in a report from America’s House Intelligence Committee in 2012 that urged domestic telecoms firms purchasing networking equipment to shun its products over espionage worries. 这句中 that指代的是前文的report；后面是 urge sb to do sth 的结构；
purchasing networking equipment是修饰firms的定语，所以应该翻译成“购买网络设备的国内电信公司”；
shun its products 中的its和前文its inclusion中的its一样，指的都是“中兴的”；

crack: to break open or into pieces; to break sth in this way
· 砸开；破开；砸碎；打碎
espionage: the activity of secretly getting important political or military information about another country or of finding out another company's secrets by using spies
· 间谍活动；谍报活动；刺探活动
　SYN spying
inroads: 侵袭;侵入 If one thing makes inroads into another, the first thing starts affecting or destroying the second.
In Italy, as elsewhere, television has made deep inroads into cinema.在意大利,跟在别处一样,电视严重影响了电影市场,夺走了大批观众。

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6. Although the sanctions row predates the administration of President Donald Trump, it will make an example of ZTE, reckons Mr Su, as tensions mount between America and China over trade disputes and technological dominance. Since the start of the year a bill has been proposed in America’s Congress to block the government from using telecoms equipment made by Huawei and ZTE; and Mr Trump has halted the takeover of Qualcomm by Broadcom, a rival chipmaker, on national-security grounds, for fear it would give China the edge in setting standards for 5G, a wireless technology.
   6）虽然制裁纠纷早于唐纳德特朗普总统的政府成立，但随着中美之间在贸易争端和技术主导方面的紧张关系逐步增加，它将会用中兴来杀一儆百，苏先生认为。自今年年初以来，美国国会已提出阻止政府使用华为和中兴制造的电信设备的法案；而特朗普以国家安全为由已阻止芯片制造商Broadcom（高通公司的一个竞争对手）收购高通公司，因为担心它会让中国在为5G无线技术制定标准方面具有优势。

解析

本段分析特朗普执政后对中国通信企业的打压，指出此次制裁中兴的真正原因；

row: 严重分歧;纠纷 A row is a serious disagreement between people or organizations.
make an example of sb: to punish sb as a warning to others not to do the same thing
· 惩罚某人以儆戒他人；用某人来杀一儆百
mount: to increase gradually
· 逐步增加：
　Pressure is mounting on the government to change the law.
　迫使政府修改法律的压力不断增加。
　The death toll continues to mount.
　死亡人数持续增加。
edge: a slight advantage over sb / sth
· (微弱的)优势：
　The company needs to improve its competitive edge.
　公司必须提高它的竞争力。
　They have the edge on us.
　他们略胜我们一筹。

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7. A parallel salvo this week, by the Federal Communications Commission, was all of a piece. America’s telecoms regulator voted unanimously to move forward with a plan to stop federal subsidies to domestic carriers who use suppliers that are considered to be a risk to American national security. It pointed in particular to congressional scrutiny of Huawei and ZTE.
   7）本周联邦通信委员会同时发动的奇袭是类似的。美国电信监管机构一致投票推进一项计划，以对使用被认为对美国国家安全构成风险的供应商的国内通信公司停止给予联邦补贴。它特别提到了对华为和中兴的国会审查。

解析

本段介绍美国电信监管部门采取的其他类似行动；

salvo: the act of firing several guns or dropping several bombs, etc. at the same time; a sudden attack
· 齐射；齐投；奇袭：
　The first salvo exploded a short distance away.
　第一批投下的炸弹在不远处爆炸。
　(figurative)The newspaper article was the opening salvo in what proved to be a long battle.
　报上那篇文章是一场长期论战的开篇第一炮。
(all) of a piece (formal): all the same or similar
· 一模一样；相仿：
　The houses are all of a piece.
　这些房子千篇一律。
carrier: a company that provides a telephone or Internet service
· 电话公司；互联网公司；通信公司：
　a telecoms carrier
　通信公司

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8. Edison Lee of Jefferies, an investment bank, thinks that ZTE has a shot at negotiating the ban away, but that if it fails it will hope to involve the Chinese government in a mediation process. Even if ZTE’s fate becomes a bargaining chip in a trade dispute, a resolution may take many months. Until then the firm will at best limp on.
   8）投资银行Jefferies的Edison Lee认为，中兴尝试通过谈判来解除禁令，但如果失败了，它会希望中国政府参与调解过程。即使中兴的命运成为贸易纠纷的筹码，（找到）解决方案可能也需要数月时间。在此之前，该公司最多只能蹒跚前行。

解析

预测接下来中兴的前景会比较艰难；

shot: the act of trying to do or achieve sth
· 尝试；努力：
　The team are looking good for a shot at the title.
　看来这个队力争夺冠的势头不错。
　I've never produced a play before but I'll have a shot at it.
　我从来没有写过戏剧，不过我要尝试一下。
　I'm willing to give it a shot.
　我愿意试试。
　Just give it your best shot (= try as hard as you can)and you'll be fine.
　只要尽自己最大努力，你就会有好的结果。
chip: a small flat piece of plastic used to represent a particular amount of money in some types of gambling
· (作赌注用的)筹码 ：
(figurative)The release of prisoners was used as a bargaining chip.
释放战俘被用作讨价还价的筹码。
limp on: to move slowly or with difficulty after being damaged
· (受损后)缓慢行进，艰难地移动：
　The plane limped back to the airport.
　飞机艰难地返回了机场。
　(figurative)The government was limping along in its usual way.
　政府按老一套挣扎着应付。

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原文出处：经济学人

翻译：七呵夫

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