03-10-08

中国二月份贸易顺差大幅下跌 (China's Trade Surplus Plunges in February)

由于进口猛增，出口减少，中国今年二月的贸易顺差跟一年前相比大跌了64%。

中国海关总署星期一说，二月份的贸易顺差下降到仅有85亿6千万美元，低于一月份的195亿美元和去年同期的238亿美元。

经济学者一直预计中国的出口会减弱，部分原因是美国经济出现了问题，美国消费者购买的中国产品减少。

分析人士说，正逢农历新年发生的暴雪也助长了贸易顺差的下跌。中国的贸易顺差造成了中国跟贸易夥伴的矛盾，而且由于大量现金涌入金融体系，通货膨胀也有可能加剧。

China's trade surplus plunged 64 percent in February from a year earlier, as imports surged and exports sagged.

China's customs administration said today (Monday) that the trade surplus for February shrank to just eight-point-56 billion dollars from 19-point-five billion in January and 23-point-eight billion a year earlier.

Economists had been expecting a weakening of the export performance, partly as a result of the U.S. economic problems, making the American consumer less likely to buy Chinese goods.

Analysts said record snowstorms and the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday also contributed to the surplus decline.

China's surpluses cause tension with trading partners and threaten to worsen inflation by flooding the financial system with cash.

中国宣布高速列车新线路 (China Announces New Bullet Train Route)

中国的官员说，他们将在今年八月正式开通北京到天津之间新的“子弹头”列车线路。

官方的新华社星期天援引铁路官员的话说，这种中国制造的“子弹头”列车的时速将达到每小时300公里。

铁路官员说，该列车将使北京到天津的行驶时间从目前的70到80分钟缩短到30分钟。

南宁铁路局局长邵力平说，新列车的原型在去年12月建造完毕并且已经完成了试运行。

有关官员说，新型列车将赶在2008年奥运会开幕前夕投入运行。

Officials in China say they will inaugurate a new bullet train route between Beijing and Tianjin in August.

The official Xinua news agency quoted railway officials Sunday as saying the Chinese-made train will run at 300 kilometers per hour.

The officials said the train would reduce the travel time between Beijing and Tianjin to 30 minutes from the current 70 to 80 minutes.

Shao Liping, director of the railway authority in Nanning, said a prototype of the train was finished in December, and has already completed a test run.

Officials said the train should be in service in time for the start of the 2008 Olympic Games.