【双语阅读】胡锦涛：世界最超负荷经济体的掌舵人

 　　THE GLOBAL ELITE
　　2: Hu Jintao
　　The man behind the wheel of the world's most supercharged economy.
　　NEWSWEEK
　　Published Dec 20, 2008
　　From the magazine issue dated Jan 5, 2009 
　　He may be the kind of guy you wouldn't ordinarily think twice about—cautious, colorless and corporate. In the past he has often lost the spotlight to other world leaders with bigger egos and sharper elbows. But to underestimate Hu Jintao would be a monumental error. His position as China's president makes him CEO of a financial juggernaut that's projected to post a $280 billion trade surplus this year. While the rest of the world plunges deeper into recession, Hu the Humble is emerging as the one who is holding the lifeline.
　　Thirty years of drastic reforms have transformed China from a vast sinkhole of poverty into the world's third-largest economy—one that's still growing. Recent projections for GDP growth in the coming year hover around 8 percent or somewhat lower. The country's decades of massive profits have enabled Beijing to become the U.S. government's biggest creditor, investing billions in American T-bills and shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Any retreat from that position now could doom Barack Obama's hopes of funding a stimulus package for the U.S. economy.
　　Hu also holds the purse strings for other countries that are vital to U.S. interests—places like Pakistan, America's frontline ally in the Afghan war. Back in October, a quest for emergency economic assistance brought President Asif Ali Zardari straight to Beijing on his first official state trip. "China is the future of the world," Zardari declared on his arrival. (He left without the multibillion-dollar loan he wanted, though.)
　　But Hu's influence goes far beyond his position as a global banker. His government has played a central role in efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear-arms program, and energy-development ventures have raised China's profile in critical places like Sudan, Iraq and Angola. More than that, Hu's cooperation is a must in any attempt to control global warming. Already one of the world's heaviest carbon-dioxide emitters, China has argued that developed nations like the United States should make the biggest sacrifices because their cars and factories have been belching smoke so much longer. Still, Hu and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao know that three decades of pell-mell growth have severely devastated their country's environment. Ambassador Wu Jianmin, one of the Foreign Ministry's most senior diplomats, says China's leaders "realize they need a new development model—one that's cleaner, greener and less polluting."
　　Hu is anything but a grandstander. Instead he rules by consensus of China's all-powerful nine-man standing committee of the Politburo. But in the aftermath of Wall Street's meltdown, his low-key competence is just what Beijing wants—and may be what the world needs as well.
 　　胡锦涛：世界最超负荷经济体的掌舵人
　　简介：《新闻周刊》年度全球50名举足轻重的人物之第二名
　　2008年12月20日发表
　　《新闻周刊》2009年1月5日刊
　　也许他是那种你一般不会再想第二遍的人——谨慎、缺乏个性、体制化，过去他常常被更有个性、更善交际的国际领导人映衬得黯然失色。但是低估胡锦涛将是一个重大失误。中国今年贸易顺差预计达2800亿美元，身为国家主席的他自然成了这个金融霸主的首席执行官。当其他国家深陷经济衰退之时，世界开始意识到胡低调（Hu the Humble）是握有救命索的人。
　　30年的剧烈改革把中国从一个巨型贫民窟变成了世界第三大经济体——其经济增长仍在继续。据最近预测数据，明年GDP 增长率将徘徊在8%左右或稍低水平。几十年间的巨额收益，使中国有实力投资数十亿美元于美国国债以及房利美和房地美股票，成了美国政府最大的债权人。如果现在中国有任何抽资举动，将导致巴拉克·奥巴马为美国经济刺激方案拨款的希望破灭。
　　胡锦涛还手握对美国利益至关重要的其他国家的财源——比如美国在阿富汗战争中的最重要盟友巴基斯坦。10月份的时候，阿西夫·阿里·扎尔达里总统到中国寻求紧急经济援助，这是他首次正式国事访问。扎尔达里抵京时说：“中国是世界的未来。”（不过他离开时没有拿到期望中的数十亿美元贷款。）
　　胡锦涛的影响力远远不止于当世界银行家。在拆除北朝鲜核设施的努力中，其政府是协调各方的中间人；中国在海外的能源开发活动也提高了其在苏丹、伊拉克和安哥拉等热点地区的影响力。不仅如此，控制全球变暖必须要得到胡锦涛的合作。已成为世界二氧化碳最大排放国之一的中国一直认为，美国等发达国家应该作出最大的牺牲，因为他们的汽车和工厂已经喷烟吐雾了这么多年。然而，胡锦涛和温家宝总理知道，30年的匆忙发展已严重破坏了中国的环境。外交部资深外交家吴建民大使说，中国领导人“认识到他们需要一种新的发展模式——更清洁、更环保、污染更少的模式。”
　　胡锦涛绝不是一个高调卖弄的人；相反，国家权力集中在政治局九常委，胡锦涛根据他们的共识治理国家。由于华尔街金融危机对世界经济的影响，他低调、有效的执政风格正是北京所希望的——也可以说是世界所需要的。