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Less than a week after the White House described trade talks in Beijing as "candid and constructive",
白宫称在北京举行的贸易谈判是“坦诚且具有建设性的”，
American and Chinese negotiators met again on April 3rd in Washington, DC.
不到一周后，美国和中国谈判代表在华盛顿特区再次会面。
There is talk of a summit between the two countries' presidents. But amid the upbeat noises are a few discordant notes.
有人称两国领导人进行了会晤。但在这欢快的声音中夹杂着一些不和谐的音符。
Without a deadline, the discussions could drag on, or even stall.
没有截止日期的话，讨论可以延期或甚至是停止。
Although the contours of a deal seem clear, the final items are always the trickiest. And even if a deal is struck, it may not be a good one.
虽然协议的轮廓看似清晰，但最终条款总是最难搞定的。即使达成协议，这也有可能不是一份好协议。
The two sides have already agreed on provisions relating to currency manipulation,
双方已经就汇率操纵规定达成一致，
and are hashing out how much more American goods the Chinese will commit to buying.
并正在协商解决的是中国承诺更多的购买多少美国产品的问题。
Rules on technology transfer and American companies' access to the Chinese market are still being discussed.
关于技术转让以及美国公司进入中国市场的规定仍在商讨之中。
Also on the table will be American demands that China relaxes its attitude to trade in data, which it sees as a threat to national security.
同样将要讨论的还有美国要求中国放松其对数据贸易的态度，中国将之视为对国家安全的威胁。
Some in the Trump administration see the negotiations as an opportunity to demand reforms that would also benefit China,
特朗普政府中的一些人将谈判看做是一次要求改革的机会，这些改革也将惠及中国，
such as a more stringent intellectual-property regime or trimmed subsidies.
比如更严格的知识产权制度或是削减补贴。
The main objective of the Chinese delegation, led by Liu He, a vice-premier, is simpler:
由副总理刘鹤所带领的中国代表团的目标更简单：
the lifting of the tariffs imposed since last July, which currently cover just over 44% of Chinese exports to America, or goods worth $250bn in 2017.
解除自去年7月实施的关税，目前超过44%的中国对美国出口受到了影响，即2017年价值2500亿美元的商品。
According to Myron Brilliant of the US Chamber of Commerce, a lobby group, the talks starting on April 3rd focused on two of the thorniest topics.
游说组织美国商会的薄迈伦·布里连特认为，开始于4月3日的谈判的关注点是两个棘手的主题。
The first was which, if any, of the tariffs will be dropped upon reaching a deal.
第一个是一旦协议达成后，哪些关税将被解除。
The Trump administration sees tariffs as leverage, useful to make sure that the Chinese stick to what is agreed.
特朗普政府将关税视作一种确保中国坚守已达成协议的有效手段。
The second related to enforcement. The Americans want to be able to decide unilaterally
第二个和执行相关。美国人想要能够单方面决定
if China has broken the terms of any deal and punish it with fresh tariffs, without risking retaliation.
如果中国违反了任何协议中的条款，他们可以向中国施加新关税且不用担心遭到报复。
But that would be humiliating for the Chinese.
但是这会让中国蒙羞。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
