China-US Relationship 中美关系
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The China-US relationship is the world's most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century. The current formal diplomatic relationship was established in 1979, but the earlier diplomatic relationship was established in 1844. Since then, the two country's relationship is described as strong and complex. Strong, as in both countries share extensive economic partnership and trade volume between them is huge. Complex, as in both countries have different backgrounds and differ in so many ways, which leaves a door open to numerous misunderstandings. To understand the relationship between these two countries, we will take a trip down the history lane and then come back to the current situation.
中美关系是21世纪世界上最重要的双边关系。目前的正式外交关系是在1979年建立的，但早期的外交关系则在1844年就开始了。此后，两国关系被形容为强而复杂。强是由于两国拥有广泛的经济伙伴关系，双边贸易额巨大。复杂是因为两国都有不同的背景和方方面面的差异，产生许多误解。为了了解这两个国家之间的关系，我们先来了解历史，再回到目前的情况。
▲ Artist illustration of The Empress of China arriving in Canton (Guangzhou)
艺术家描绘的中国皇后号抵达广州
In 1784, a ship named the Empress of China arrived in Canton - Guangzhou, from here on during the history part, we will refer to Guangzhou as Canton. This was the first vessel to sail from the United States to China. One of the passengers, Samuel Shaw, had been appointed by the United States as an unofficial consul to China. He did not gain diplomatic recognition for the United States by Chinese officials. But this is marked as the formal beginning of the United States' entrance into China trade in tea, porcelain, and silk.
1784年，一艘名为“中国皇后号”的船抵达广州，这是第一艘从美国开往中国的船。其中一名乘客萨缪尔·肖被美国任命为驻华非正式领事。中方官员拒绝接受他作为驻华非正式领事。但这标志着美国正式开始进入中国茶叶、瓷器和丝绸贸易。
There were products of good quality in China and they were selling well in the United States, take tea and porcelain for example, these products were in huge demand. Even though independent American merchants were operating before the Empress of China arrived in Canton, the arrival opened door to much more merchants who began trading with China and it gave rise to America's first generation of millionaires.
中国的一些优质商品如茶叶和瓷器，在美国有很大的需求。即使在中国女皇号到达广州之前就已经有独立的美国商人在从事两国之间的贸易；但中国女皇号的到达却为更多美国商人开启了双方贸易的大门，并催生了美国的第一批百万富翁。
Why Canton? 为什么广州？
▲ American and European trading vessels in the Pearl River in Canton, c. 1841
约1841年在广州珠江的美国和欧洲商船
Foreign merchants in China were only allowed to trade in Canton. The British, after years of trading with China without finding a good market for most of their products, ran out of silver to buy more products. They started selling opium to China to gain silver and this led to the first opium war. Britain negotiated a deal with China on August 19, 1842, the Nanking Treaty, which beyond being the peace treaty that ended the 1st Opium War, established changes, China was forced to open four additional trade ports, trade consuls, fixed tariff rates were negotiated between the two nations, and accept the "European conception of international relations." But without a formal treaty, it was unclear whether Americans would be afforded those privileges, and under what conditions.
当时前来中国的外国商人只被能在广州交易。英国人在中国进行了多年的贸易后，由于大多数产品都没在中国找到好的市场，因此他们缺白银，没法购买更多中国产品；于是开始向中国出售鸦片以获取白银，这导致了第一次鸦片战争。1842年8月19日，英国与中国谈判达成了一项协议，除了结束第一次鸦片战的和平条约外，中国还被迫向外国商人增开了四个贸易口岸、贸易领事，两国还谈判达成了固定税率，中国接受“欧洲国际关系的构想”。但是，由于没有正式条约，当时美国商人是否也能获得这些特权，以及在什么条件下能获得，则不甚清楚。
The US President John Tyler appointed Massachusetts diplomat Caleb Cushing as commissioner and Minister to China in 1843. The Chinese government was reluctant to designate the US as another most favored nation. After he arrived he had to wait for a long time before the Emperor sent an envoy to negotiate with him, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Wanghia (Wangxia) in the village of Wanghia on July 3, 1844. In addition to most favored nation status, Americans received extraterritoriality, which meant that legal cases involving Americans inside China would be tried by Western judges, not by Chinese judges. In the following years American trade with China grew rapidly, thanks to the high-speed clipper ships which carried relatively small amounts of high-value cargo, such as ginseng and silk. American Protestant missionaries also began to arrive.
1843年，美国总统约翰·泰勒任命马萨诸塞州外交官卡莱布·库欣为驻华专员兼公使。当时中国政府不愿给与美国最惠国待遇，卡莱布到达后，他不得不等待很长一段时间，之后清廷皇帝才派使节与他进行谈判。最终于1844年7月3日在望厦村签署了望厦条约，美国人获得域外管辖权，这意味着涉及在中国境内的美国人的法律案件将由西方法官审理，而不由中国法官审理。在接下来的几年中，得益于高速帆船的运输，美国与中国的贸易迅速增长，这些船载运了数量相对少价值相对高的货物，例如人参和丝绸。美国新教传教士也开始跨海抵达中国。
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, one of the earliest missionary organizations of the United States, sent the first two American missionaries to China, the Reverends Elijah Bridgman and David Abeel. They reached Guangzhou in February of 1830. Bridgman was one of the first Americans to undertake the study of China's history and culture, and also wrote a Chinese language history of the United States.
美国最早的传教组织之一，美国外国宣教事务委员会，将第一批两名美国传教士伊利亚·布里奇曼和大卫·阿比尔派到中国。他们于1830年2月到达广州。布里奇曼是最早从事中国历史和文化研究的美国人之一，并且他还用中文写了美国历史。
▲ Chinese Laborers Crossing the Missouri River
中国劳工越过密苏里河
In 1847, the first ship carrying Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba with workers for the sugar plantations. Soon thereafter, Chinese laborer traders began to dock at U.S. ports, prompting the U.S. Congress to pass a law prohibiting U.S. citizens from engaging in the trade and guaranteeing the freedom of all Chinese laborers who came to the United States.
1847年，第一艘载有中国工人的轮船来到古巴，进入蔗糖种植园。 此后不久，中国劳工商人开始在美国港口登岸，导致美国国会通过一项法律禁止美国公民从事该贸易，并保障所有来美的中国劳工的自由。
Signing of the Treaties of Tientsin(Tianjin)
In 1862, the first U.S. legation was established in China. For two decades, the chief U.S. representative in China had resided in either Guangzhou or Shanghai, but after the implementation of the Treaties of Tianjin, foreign legations were finally set up in the capital. Anson Burlingame became the first U.S. minister to reside in Beijing.
1862年，第一个美国使馆在中国成立。 二十年来，美国首席代表在中国居住在广州或上海，但在《天津条约》签署之后，外国使馆进入了首都。安森·伯林格姆成为第一位居住在北京的美国公使。
Anson Burlingame| Pic credit History Archives
In 1868, the Qing government appointed Anson Burlingame as their emissary to the United States. Burlingame toured the country to build support for equitable treatment for China and for Chinese migrants. The 1868 Burlingame Treaty embodied these principles. In 1871, the Chinese Educational Mission brought the first of two groups of 120 Chinese to study in the United States. They were led by Yung Wing, the first Chinese man to graduate from an American university.
1868年，清政府任命安森·伯林格姆为美国使节。伯林格姆到达美国，以争取支持，建立对中国和中国移民的礼遇。 1868年的《伯林格姆条约》体现了这些原则。 1871年，中国教育代表团的两个小组共120个中国学生成为第一批赴美留学的中国人。他们由容闳率领，他是第一位从美国大学毕业的中国人。
During the California Gold Rush and the construction of the transcontinental railroad (We have covered both articles on this series), a large number of Chinese people emigrated to the U.S. and they faced animosity from American citizens. After being forcibly driven from the mines, most Chinese people settled in China towns in cities such as San Francisco, taking up low-end wage labor, such as restaurant and cleaning work. With the post-Civil War economy in decline by the 1870s, anti-Chinese animosity became politicized by labor leader Denis Kearney and his party, as well as by the California governor John Bigler. Both blamed the Chinese for depressed wage levels.
在加州淘金热和横贯大陆铁路建设期间，大批中国人移民到美国，激起美国公民的敌意。在被强行赶出矿山后，大多数中国人在旧金山等城市的唐人街定居，从事餐馆和清洁工作等低工资劳动。随着19世纪70年代美国内战后经济的衰退，劳工领袖丹尼斯·卡尼及其政党以及加州州长约翰·比格勒将反华仇恨政治化。两人都指责中国工人降低了美国工资水平。
▲ Part of the Chinese Exclusion Act
排华法案的一部分
In the first significant restriction on free immigration in U.S. history, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act on May 6, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty. Those revisions allowed the United States to suspend immigration, and Congress acted quickly to implement the suspension of Chinese immigration and excluded Chinese skilled and unskilled laborers from entering the country for ten years, under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. The ban was renewed a number of times, lasting for over 60 years.
1882年5月6日，美国国会通过了排华法案，这是美国历史上第一次对自由移民的重大限制。这是由1880年，国会对《伯林盖姆条约》进行了修订。这些修正案允许美国暂停移民。国会迅速采取行动暂停中国移民，并将中国技术和非技术工人十年内不允许入境，如果入境会处以监禁和驱逐出境。这项禁令被多次延长而持续了超过60年。
Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act
排华法案的影响
▲ Certificate of Residence
居住证
After the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Chinese population in America declined from over 140,000 in the mid-19th century to 75,000 in 1940. Those who remained were permanently relegated to being foreigners because they were barred from naturalization. Family life was tough for most Chinese laborers. Men remained single or endured long separations from their wives and children, who could not legally immigrate from China. Nor could Chinese laborers get reentry certificates to visit their families in China unless they had a property in the U.S. that was worth $1000.
《排华法案》颁布后，美国的华裔人口从19世纪中叶的14万多下降到1940年的75,000。留下来的华人被永久地降级为外国人，因为他们被禁止入籍。对于大多数华人劳工而言，家庭生活艰难。男性仍然单身，或与妻子和孩子长期分居，因为他们无法合法从中国移民到美国，中国劳工也无法获得再入境证明来探望其在中国的家庭。除非他们拥有价值1000美元的美国财产。
Human smuggling proliferated.
人口走私激增。
Wong Fook, Lee Chao, and Ging Cui were among thousands of Chinese immigrant workers. (Amon Carter Museum of American Art Archives)
黄福，李超和崔翠是成千上万中的在美中国移民工人。（阿蒙·卡特美国艺术档案馆）
The Act's worst legacy is that it reinforced stereotypes that Chinese immigrants are dangerous, inferior, "alien," un-American, and unwilling or unable to assimilate.
该法案最糟糕的结果是它强化了人民对中国人的偏见，即中国移民是危险的、低人一等的、是“外国人”、非“美国人”、不愿意或无法同化。
The US Apology 美国道歉
▲ Screenshot of the announcement of the apology
道歉公告的屏幕截图
On Monday, June 18, 2012, the US House of Representatives passed an unanimous vote apologizing for the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Congresswoman Judy Chu, who introduced the bipartisan resolution, stated, "Today the House made history when both chambers of Congress officially and formally acknowledged the ugly and un-American nature of laws that targeted Chinese immigrants." The Senate passed a similar resolution on October, 2011.
2012年6月18日，星期一，美国众议院投票一致通过对1882年《排华法案》进行道歉。介绍两党决议的女国会议员朱迪说：“今天，众议院创造了历史，国会两院都正式承认针对中国移民的法律的丑陋和非美国性质。”参议院于2011年10月通过了类似的决议。
Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, China and the United States had a long period of estrangement. In February 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China at the invitation of Premier Zhou Enlai, starting the process of normalization of China-U.S. relations.
中华人民共和国成立后，中美长期处于隔阂状态。1972年2月，美国总统尼克松应周恩来总理邀请访华，开启了中美关系正常化进程。
Diplomatic relations 外交关系
▲ Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon with Chinese VicePremier Deng Xiaoping in January 1979
1979年1月卡特、尼克松与邓小平
From February 21 to February 28, 1972, President Nixon traveled to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. At the conclusion of his trip, the US and the PRC issued the Shanghai Communiqué, a statement of their respective foreign policy views. Both nations pledged to work toward the full normalization of diplomatic relations. 'Liaison offices' were established in Beijing and Washington. The US acknowledged the PRC position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China. On March 1, 1979, the two countries formally established embassies in each other's capitals. In the same year, bilateral trade agreements were completed.
1972年2月21日至28日，尼克松总统前往访问北京、杭州和上海。 行程结束时，美国和中国发表了《上海公报》，声明了各自的外交政策观点。两国保证致力于使外交关系全面正常化。在北京和华盛顿设立了“联络处”。美国承认中国的立场，即只有一个中国，台湾是中国的一部分。1979年3月1日，两国在对方首都正式建立使馆。同年，双边贸易协定完成。
Vice President Walter Mondale's trip to China led to agreements in September 1980 on maritime affairs, civil aviation links, and textile matters, as well as a bilateral consular convention. Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping's January 1979 visit to Washington initiated a series of important, high-level exchanges which continued until the spring of 1989. This resulted in many bilateral agreements, especially in the fields of scientific, technological, and cultural interchange, as well as trade relations. Since early 1979, the United States and the PRC have initiated hundreds of joint research projects and cooperative programs under the Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology.
1980年9月，美国副总统沃尔特·蒙代尔的中国之行签订了关于海事、民航业和纺织业的相关协定，以及双边领事公约。1979年1月，邓小平副总理访问华盛顿，开启了一系列重要的高层交往，一直持续到1989年春，两国签了许多双边协定，特别是在科学、技术和文化交流领域以及贸易关系。 自1979年初以来，美国和中国根据《科学技术合作协定》发起了数百个联合研究项目和合作计划。
Here we are, the opening policy of China created a much-needed exchange between China and the US. Relations were improved, and most importantly, trade is at an all-time high. Most of the American companies shifted their manufacturing plants to China, and the American economy turned to service industries. In 1972, the trade volume between the two countries stood at a mere US$4.7 million, but in 2018 it reached almost US$540 billion.
自此，中国的开放政策创启了中美之间迫切需要的交流。两国关系得到改善，最重要的是，贸易达到了空前的高度。大部分美国公司将制造工厂转移到中国，美国经济转向服务业。 1972年，两国贸易额仅为470万美元，但在2018年达到近5400亿美元。
In 2016, Donald Trump was elected the new president of the United States. Since then he has started the infamous "Trade War" with China. His aim is to bring back manufacturing jobs in America, and reduce the country's trade deficit with China. The old misguided adage that Chinese are stealing jobs from the people of the United States is seemingly coming back to life. But as the two most powerful countries in the world, and as we have shown through the history, the two countries need each other. Currently, China is one of the major holders of the US public debt, and Chinese companies have become more innovative and are at par with their US counterparts. US companies can't leave the lucrative Chinese market of more than a billion people. I could go on and on, but in the end, like I mentioned above, the relationship between China and the US is strong and complex.
2016年，唐纳德·特朗普当选美国总统。 从那以后，他与中国开始了臭名昭著的“贸易战”。 他的目标是恢复美国的制造业，并减少美国与中国的贸易逆差。 中国人从美国人民那里窃取工作的一句古老的误解似乎正在恢复新生。但是，作为世界上两个最强大的国家，以及我们从历史中所看到的，这两个国家需要共同合作。当前，中国是美国公共债务的主要持有国之一而且中国公司已经变得更具创新能力，与美国同行似乎处于同等水平。美国公司无法离开超过10亿人口利润丰厚的中国市场。我可以继续写下去，但是最后，就像我上面提到的那样，中美之间的关系是牢固而复杂的。