双语 | “洋垃圾”，说声再见不容易

3月23日，特朗普签署对中国进口商品加收关税总统备忘录刚过去一天，在WTO货物贸易委员会（Council on Trade in Goods）会议上，美国代表就向中国提出：中国对于可回收品的进口限制已经极大地中断了全球废金属供应链的运转，要求中国取消对“洋垃圾”的进口禁令。

对此，中国外交部发言人华春莹26日批评美方有关说法“上纲上线”，非常虚伪，所谓关切“于情不合，于理不通，于法无据”。望美方自己的垃圾自己消化。

去年7月，国务院办公厅印发《禁止洋垃圾入境推进固体废物进口管理制度改革实施方案》，提出全面禁止洋垃圾入境，完善进口固体废物管理制度，切实加强固体废物回收利用管理。

洋垃圾实施进口禁令后，西方措手不及。因为，很多垃圾出口国没有充足的基础设施，难以充分实现对废旧物品及垃圾的回收利用。

那么，中国和洋垃圾有何渊源，为何下决心禁止进口洋垃圾？Yee君带你了解一下↓

美国指责中国违反WTO义务

Amid fears of a potentially devastating trade war between the US and China, Washington has urged Beijing not to implement the ban on US garbage and recyclable materials that Asia’s giant threatened to impose last July.

由于担心美中之间可能发生毁灭性贸易战，华盛顿方面敦促北京方面不要执行去年7月宣称要实施的禁收美国垃圾和可回收材料的禁令。

In an effort to battle the “illegal foreign garbage” influx into China, last July China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it plans to ban imports of 24 types of solid waste materials, such as soda bottles, mixed paper, recycled steel and newsprint. Despite the threat to implement the ban by the end of the year, the document stated that the “proposed date of adoption” is “to be determined.”

为了打击“非法外国垃圾”流入中国，去年7月，中国环保部向世贸组织（WTO）提交文件称，中国计划禁止进口24种固体废物，如汽水瓶、混合纸、再生钢和新闻纸。尽管中国宣称在年底前实施这项禁令，但该文件指出，“拟通过日期待定”。

Concerned over the massive impact the ban could have on the US economy, on Friday the US trade representative urged China to re-examine its decision.

考虑到禁令可能对美国经济产生的巨大影响，美国贸易代表23日敦促中国重新审视这项决定。

“We request that China immediately halt implementation and revise these measures in a manner consistent with existing international standards for trade in scrap materials, which provide a global framework for transparent and environmentally sound trade in recycled commodities,” the US spokesperson noted at the WTO Council for Trade in Goods session in Geneva.

美国WTO发言人在日内瓦的WTO货物贸易理事会会议上指出：“我们要求中国立即停止实施这些措施，并以符合现有国际废料贸易标准的方式修订这些措施，这些标准为回收商品的透明和无害环境贸易提供了全球框架。”

“China’s import restrictions on recycled commodities have caused a fundamental disruption in global supply chains for scrap materials, directing them away from productive reuse and toward disposal,” the trade representative pointed out.

美国贸易代表指出：“中国限制进口可回收商品严重干扰全球废旧物资的供应链，导致废旧物资无法得到充分再利用和处理。”

Washington’s demand came a day after President Donald Trump ordered the US Trade Representative (USTR) to levy tariffs on at least $50 billion of Chinese imports.

华盛顿方面在总统特朗普命令美国贸易代表对中国进口商品征收500亿美元关税的第二天提出上述要求。

中方回应：禁止洋垃圾入境是中国的权利，望美方自己的垃圾自己消化

China on Monday defended its policy on banning the imports of solid waste. "The concerns are neither reasonable nor have any legal basis," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing in response to the U.S. representative's remark.

3月26日，中国就禁止进口固体废物政策进行回应。外交部发言人华春莹在例行记者会上答问时说，禁止“洋垃圾”入境是中国依法享有的权利，美方官员就此表达的所谓“关切”于情不合，于理不通，于法无据。

“It's very hypocritical of the U.S. to say China is breaching its WTO duty,” Hua said. She pointed out that if the United States thought it legitimate to restrict exports of high-tech and high-value-added products, then China's ban on foreign waste imports should not be illegal.

华春莹说：“美方官员说中方‘似乎’正在违反世贸组织义务，这是非常虚伪的。”她指出，如果美方对华限制高技术、高附加值产品的出口是正当的，那么中国禁止进口外国垃圾就不应该是违法的。

“Restricting and banning the imports of solid waste is an important measure China has taken to implement the new development concept, improve environmental quality and safeguard people's health,” Hua said.

华春莹表示，禁止“洋垃圾”入境，推进固体废物进口管理制度改革，是中国政府贯彻落实新发展理念、着力改善生态环境质量、保障国家生态安全和人民群众健康的一个重大举措。

Hua said that according to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, every country has the right to ban the entry of foreign hazardous waste and other sorts of waste.

据华春莹介绍，《控制危险废物越境转移及其处置的巴塞尔公约》充分确认，各个国家有权禁止外国危险废物和其他废物进入本国领土。

"We hope that the U.S. can reduce and manage hazardous waste and other waste of its own and take up more duties and obligations," Hua said.

华春莹说：“希望美方根据巴塞尔公约精神，立足于自己减量、处理和消化自己产生的危险废物和其他废物，为世界承担更多他们应尽的责任和义务。”

中国为何拒绝“洋垃圾”？

For decades China has been a major processing centre for the world’s recycled waste. In 2016 the country imported 45m tonnes of scrap metal, waste paper and plastic, together worth over $18bn. Paying foreign firms for trash may seem like an unfair deal, but the trade benefits both sides. Exporters earn a return on their leftover waste, much of which might otherwise end up in a landfill. Chinese firms, meanwhile, gain access to a steady supply of recycled materials, which are often cheaper and less energy-intensive than domestically sourced raw materials—recycled steel, for example, requires 60% less energy than steel produced from iron ore.

几十年来中国一直是全球垃圾回收的主要处理中心。2016年中国进口了4500万吨废金属、废纸和废塑料，总价值超过180亿美元（约合人民币1126.8亿元）。从外国企业购买垃圾似乎是不平等交易，但这项贸易其实是互利的。出口企业能从自己的废料中赚取回报，否则这些垃圾最终只会被投入填埋池。而中国企业则源源不断地获得了可回收材料的供给，这比使用国内原材料更廉价，能耗更低。以可回收钢材为例，所需能源比矿石炼钢节省60%。

Such economic benefits come with costs, however. Imports of recyclable waste are often dirty, poorly sorted or contaminated with hazardous substances. Even when such waste is safely imported, it is not always recycled properly.

然而这种经济利益是要付出代价的。进口的可回收垃圾一般肮脏不堪，没有进行妥善分类，而且受到有害物质的污染。即使进口途经是安全的，回收环节也常常会出现问题。

In 2002 Chinese authorities faced widespread criticism after a documentary showed workers in Guangdong province crudely dismantling discarded electronic devices and dumping the toxic remains into a river. A more recent film, “Plastic China”, examines the environmental damage caused by the country’s plastic-recycling industry, which is dominated by thousands of small-scale outfits that often lack proper pollution controls.

2002年，一部纪录片展示了广东工人粗糙拆解废弃电子产品、将有毒残余倒入河中的画面，随后中国有关部门受到广泛批评。此后，一部名为《塑料王国》的影片揭示了中国塑料回收业对环境造成的危害，这个行业充斥着成千上万的小作坊，缺乏有效控制污染的措施。

▲《塑料王国》（Plastic China）海报

Facing growing public pressure, Chinese authorities have begun cracking down. In 2013 the government launched “Operation Green Fence”, a campaign to block imports of illegal and low-quality waste through improved inspections of container ships. In February 2017, Chinese customs officials announced “National Sword”, an initiative aimed at reducing illegal shipments of industrial and electronic waste. Last July’s announcement was the latest of such efforts to clean up the industry.   

面对不断增长的公众压力，中国有关部门开始进行打击。2013年中国政府启动“绿篱行动”，旨在通过对集装箱货轮加强监管，阻止进口非法、劣质垃圾。2017年2月中国海关宣布“国门利剑”行动，以减少非法运输工业和电子垃圾。2017年7月的“洋垃圾”禁令是清理这一行业的又一最新举措。

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