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George Osborne overrode strong objections from the Foreign Office when he made the controversial decision to join China’s Asian Infrastructure bank, the Financial Times has learnt.
英国《金融时报》了解到，英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)在做出加入中国的亚洲基础设施投资银行(AIIB)这一争议性决定时，克服了外交部(Foreign Office)的强烈反对。
Officials in China and the UK have told the FT the chancellor rejected the concerns of British diplomats, who warned that the decision would alienate allies in Japan and the US. Mr Osborne only secured support for his stance by raising the issue at a meeting of the National Security Council, at which the prime minister gave his assent.
中英两国官员告诉英国《金融时报》，这位财政大臣拒绝接受英国外交官们担心的问题，后者警告称，该决定将疏远英国与盟友日本以及美国之间的关系。奥斯本在英国国家安全委员会(National Security Council)的会议上提出该问题才获得了支持，英国首相在会上对他的立场予以了肯定。
The announcement that Britain would join the bank, which some people n the US see as a rival to the Washington-based World Bank, was quickly criticised by the Obama administration. But the government in London felt vindicated by the later decision of six other European countries to follow suit.
英国将加入亚投行的决定很快招来了奥巴马(Obama)政府的批评。美国有些人把亚投行视为设在华盛顿的世界银行(World Bank)的对手。但后来又有6个其他欧洲国家做出同样决定，令英国政府感觉自己的做法是正确的。
The FT has learnt that the decision was taken only days before the announcement, at a meeting of the NSC, the most senior foreign policy body in the coalition government. Officials in Beijing and London believed until the last minute that opposition from the Foreign Office would prove insurmountable.
英国《金融时报》了解到，该决定是在消息公布几天之前、在国家安全委员会的一次会议上做出的。国家安全委员会是联合政府中权力最大的外交政策机构。中英两国官员直到最后一刻都认为，来自英国外交部的反对会是不可克服的。
One person with knowledge of the meeting said Mr Osborne had persuaded ministers and defence chiefs that the commercial benefits of such a deal outweighed possible ructions.
一位了解该次会议的人士表示，奥斯本使众位大臣和防务高官相信，这一协议的商业利益大过可能带来的吵嚷。
The row is the latest sign of Mr Osborne’s activism in foreign policy, which has exacerbated old tensions between the Treasury and the Foreign Office. The chancellor has taken a prominent role in NSC discussions, frequently pushing for a mercantilist foreign policy that puts trade at the centre of decision making. He has been backed in this by David Cameron, the prime minister, who last year led the UK’s largest ever trade delegation to China.
这次争论是奥斯本积极介入外交政策领域的最新迹象之一。这已加剧了财政部与外交部之间的旧有紧张关系。这位财政大臣在国家安全委员会的讨论中发挥了主导作用，不断地推行将贸易置于决策核心地位的重商主义外交政策。在这一方面，他得到了英国首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)的支持。去年，卡梅伦率领英国史上规模最大的贸易代表团访问了中国。
But this shift away from traditional diplomacy to commercial activism has irritated old hands in the Foreign Office, who say valuable political intelligence is being missed. Some diplomats say this policy change is to blame for the government’s failure to spot trends such as the rise of Islamist extremists in the Middle East, or Russian aggression in Ukraine — Number 10 says that few other western powers spotted these. China is yet to decide where to locate a European office of the AIIB, with London, Frankfurt and Luxembourg vying for the honour.
但是，从传统外交转向商业激进主义，惹恼了外交部的老手们。他们表示，珍贵的政治智慧不见了。有些外交官表示，这一政策转变应归咎于英国政府未能发现伊斯兰极端分子在中东崛起、或者俄罗斯侵入乌克兰等趋势。唐宁街10号表示，其他西方强国也没有几个发现这些趋势。中国尚未决定将亚投行的欧洲办事处设在哪里，伦敦、法兰克福和卢森堡都在为此展开争夺。
The Treasury said: “The decision to become a prospective founding member of the AIIB was a collective government decision, agreed across all the relevant departments.” Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, had been persuaded by the safeguards offered by China over governance and political interference, an FO official said.
英国财政部表示：“成为亚投行意向创始成员国的决定，是英国政府的集体决定，得到了所有相关部门的认同。”一位外交部官员表示，外交大臣菲利普•哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)已被中国提出的治理和政治干预方面的防护措施所劝服。
Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of HSBC, endorsed the UK stance yesterday saying: “The best way to improve an institution is to participate.”
汇丰(HSBC)行政总裁欧智华(Stuart Gulliver)昨日对英国立场予以了支持。他表示：“完善一个机构的最佳方式就是参与进去。”
