Even if China’s gross domestic product1 is measured using its official, undervalued exchange rate, its economy is far bigger than those of G-8 members like Canada or Italy — and almost three times the size of Russia’s. If one values China ’s economy using another approach, purchasing power parity, then it is already easily the biggest economy outside the U. S.

　　As it happens, France invited China’s new leader —Hu Jintao — to Evian. But Mr. Hu may be the second most important man in the world, and he deserves a place in a Group of 9. On short and long term issues that the G-8 grapples with — from dealing with North Korea to preventing global warming — the two key players in the world are China and the U. S. And it’s ridiculous to include Russia in the G-8 but not China.

　　Several objections can be raised to expanding the G-8 to include China: It’s a summit meeting for industrialized nations, and China isn’t one . It’s true that China has more peasants than any country in the world, but it also has more industrialists. Hey, it’s China.

　　China exports more manufactured goods than Canada, Italy or Russia; it is launching a space program to put a man on the moon; its biotechnology is superb. And while the industrialization of China is still in its early stages, the world needs to wrestle with what that means: if the Chinese come to use as much energy per capita as Americans do, that will amount to more than the total amount of energy now produced worldwide.

　　China has steadily become more responsible over the years on issues ranging from trade to terror, and in the last few months it has shown real leadership on resolving the North Korean crisis2.

　　President Bush has managed relations with China very well, mostly because Pentagon hawks3 who had been trying to turn Beijing into The Enemy were distracted by 9 /11. There are real risks that we will become enemies — there could be clashes between the U. S. and China over Taiwan, the South China Sea — but they will be lessened if we give China opportunities for global leadership.

　　In the meantime, China is too important to leave out in the cold. As the leaders in Evian struggle over SARS, AIDS, Iran and North Korea, they need China within their ranks, as a member of the G-9 .

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　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Choices :

　　1. Which countries have less GDP than China does?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France

　　2. Which of the following have less purchasing power than China does?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan

　　3. Which countries export less manufactured goods than China?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　Where did this G-8 summit hold?

　　--------------------------------------------

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. A / B / C 2. A / B / C / D / E / F 3 . A / B / C

　　Ⅱ. Evian, France.

　　--------------------------------------------

　　參考譯文：

　　“八國集團”應改為“九國集團”

　　值 此全球領導人面對21 世紀挑戰之際,“ 八國集團”埃維昂秘密會議最糊涂的一面就是, 一個很可能主導這個世紀的國家卻缺席了這個會議。這個國家就是中國。

　　即使按中國官方低估了的人民幣匯率計算的中國國內生產總值也遠遠大于“ 八國集團”中的一些國家, 如加拿大和意大利, 幾乎是俄羅斯的3 倍。如果按照購買力評價方法計算的話, 中國經濟已是世界上僅次于美國的經濟體。

　　碰巧, 法國邀請中國新領導人胡錦濤到了埃維昂。可是胡錦濤可能是這個世界上二號重要人物, 他應該在“ 九國集團”中有一席之地。無論短期或長遠的事件——— 比如朝鮮問題或者全球變暖,“ 八國集團”要想處理好, 就得靠中國和美國這兩大世界上的主要角色。但荒唐的是,“ 八國集團”有俄羅斯, 居然沒有中國。

　　反對讓中國加入“ 八國集團”不外乎以下一些觀點: 峰會是工業化國家的會議, 但中國不是。中國的農民數量世界第一這點沒錯, 但同樣它的工業家的數量也是最多的。喏, 這就是中國。

　　中國制成品出口比加拿大、意大利和俄羅斯都要多; 中國正在進行載人飛船計劃; 中國生物技術很先進。中國正處于工業化的早期階段, 有必要深思這對世界意味著什么。如果中國的人均能源消費達到美國人現在的水平, 那么, 中國的能源消費將超過世界目前所能生產的能源總和。

　　在過去幾年里, 中國無論在國際貿易方面, 還是在反恐領域都比以前承擔了更多的責任。過去幾個月, 中國在解決朝鮮危機問題上, 也發揮了真正的領導作用。

　　布 什總統在處理美中關系方面做得很好, 多半是因為當五角大樓鷹派正試圖把中國歸入“ 敵人”時,“9 · 11”幫助布什扭轉了這個局面。美中之間確實存在很多使雙方敵對的危險, 比如兩國在臺灣問題和南中國海問題上的沖突, 但如果我們給中國一個扮演全球領導角色的機會, 這些風險就會降低。

　　同時, 中國太重要而不能被束之高閣。當在埃維昂的領袖們就非典問題、艾滋病問題、伊朗問題和朝鮮問題進行磋商時, 他們需要中國, 他們需要“ 九國集團”的頭銜。閱讀導評中國的地位越來越重要, 這點美國人最清楚。二十世紀七八十年代, 美國媒體對于中國的報道多是“ 天使化”, 現在多是“ 妖魔化”。因為美國經濟學界已經達成的共識是“ 如果中國的人均能源消費達到美國人現在的水平, 那么中國的能源消費將超過世界目前所能生產的能源總和。”屆時, 美國的油價要漲到什么程度? 日本現在也積極謀求扼殺中國的能源空間: 要求俄羅斯停修“ 安大線”改修“安納線”以切斷俄羅斯對華原油供應, 將這些原油出口到日本。但是中國的國際地位不會因為遏制就下降, 這點他們遺忘了。