U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo never seems to tire of China-bashing. His latest tour was supposed to enhance ties with the UK, Ukraine, and Central Asian countries. Yet at each stop, he routinely warned his hosts of risks in their China ties.对于抨击中国，美国国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥似乎永不知疲倦。他最近出访的目的本应是加强美国和英国、乌克兰以及中亚国家的关系。但每到一处，他都习惯性地对该国与中国的关系提出警告。 He called China's business activities in these countries harmful to their national sovereignty, long-term development, and people's interests. In London, he upped the ante in attacking China's political system, saying, "While we still have to be enormously vigilant about terror ... the Chinese Communist Party presents the central threat of our times." 他声称中国在这些国家的商业活动有损这些国家的主权、长期发展以及国民利益。在伦敦，他对中国政治体制的攻击更是变本加厉，称“尽管我们要对恐怖主义保持高度警惕......, 但中国共产党才是这个时代的主要威胁”。 Mr. Pompeo's China bogeyman reminds me of an ancient Chinese fable written more than 2,200 years ago. A man loses his axe and suspects it was stolen by the son of his neighbor. So he observes the boy's behavior, the way he talks and walks, and his facial expressions. The more he watches, the more the boy seems exactly like a thief. 蓬佩奥先生妖魔化中国的言论让我想起了2200多年前的一则中国古代寓言故事。一个人丢了斧头，怀疑是邻居的儿子偷走了。于是他观察这个孩子的行为、走路姿势、说话方式和面部表情，越看越觉得这个孩子就是个贼。 Later, the man recovers the axe by accident and the boy turned out to be innocent. This time, when the man observes the boy again, he couldn't find any indications of his original suspicions at all. Nothing really went wrong in the first place, but it's all about perception. That seems to be how some U.S. politicians are seeing China today. 后来，这个人无意间找到了自己的斧头，也就是说孩子是清白的。这时，当他再看孩子时，怎么看又都觉着这个孩子是无辜的。孩子本身没有问题，都是邻居的心态在作祟。这似乎正是如今一些美国政客看待中国的方式。 It's none of anyone else's business how China organizes itself. China's track record is a good one. The people live twice as long compared to 70 years ago. Over 800 million people stopped living in poverty over the past four decades, that's 2.5 times the entire population of the U.S. China has been the world's biggest growth engine for more than a dozen years. 中国采用何种体制与旁人无关。中国取得的成绩有目共睹。中国人的寿命与70年前相比增长了一倍。在过去40年间，有超过8亿中国人摆脱了贫困，是美国总人口的2.5倍。十多年来，中国一直是全球经济发展的引擎。 Compared with many other systems, China is able to mobilize national resources to tackle major challenges. Just look at the latest example—the construction of a hospital with 1,000 beds for patients suffering from the new coronavirus. It took only 10 days to build. Two more hospitals are expected to be operational within days. Thousands of soldiers, medical staff and workers from different sectors across China have descended on the province of Hubei. China also set a world record in sharing genome information about the virus with the world. So far, only about 150 cases have been confirmed outside of China. The WHO has called China's response a "model." 与其他制度相比，中国能够很好地调动国家资源，解决重大问题。就看看最近的例子吧。仅用十天便建成了一座拥有1000张床位的医院收治新型冠状病毒感染者。另外两座医院也预计在几天之内投入使用。数千名官兵、医务工作者和各行各业的劳动者纷纷驰援湖北。中国还与世界共享病毒基因组信息，速度之快创下纪录。到截稿为止（2月4号） 其他国家的确诊病例仅有约150例。世界卫生组织将中国的应对措施称为“典范”。 While it boasts to have the world's best health care system, the U.S. has been one of the first countries to issue sweeping travel restrictions, clearly against the WHO's recommendations. When there was only one confirmed case at home, the U.S. declared a national emergency.美国标榜坐拥全世界最好的医疗体系，却是最早针对中国实行全面旅行禁令的国家之一，与世卫组织的建议背道而驰。美国在其本土出现了第一例确诊病例后，便宣布进入“国家紧急状态”。 Well, the U.S. is free to choose to do so. But let's not forget, when the H1N1 flu broke out in 2009, also an international health emergency, the U.S. authorities estimated that there were some 61 million people infected, and 12 thousand people killed between April 2009 and April 2010 in the U.S. And it took the U.S. administration more than 6 months to declare a national emergency. U.S. officials were still welcoming people to "explore America." 当然 美国有这样做的自由。但不要忘了，2009年美国爆发的同样是国际公共卫生紧急事件的H1N1流感。官方估计 2009年4月到2010年4月间约六千一百万人被感染，一万两千人死亡。美国政府等了6个多月才宣布进入紧急状态。同时 美国官员还在欢迎人们去“探索美国”。 The Communist Party of China isn't perfect, but it leads the country effectively. And the great majority of the Chinese people endorse it. 中国共产党并非完美无缺，但它在有效治理国家。而且受到人民的拥护。 Whichever countries feel pressure should sharpen their own competitiveness. Not lash out. As the world's most powerful country, the U.S. has every reason to be confident in itself. So Mr. Pompeo and those who are busy peddling China threat or China fear, stop suspecting the neighbor's boy. He didn't take your axe. You have to look for it within your own home.任何感到压力的国家应该从增强自身竞争力入手，而不是大放厥词。美国作为世界头号强国有充分的理由保持自信。所以，蓬佩奥先生和那些到处鼓吹中国威胁论和煽动恐中情绪的人，别再对 “邻家孩子”疑神疑鬼了。他没偷你们的斧头，还是在自己家里好好找找吧。