【文章预读】

It is two shots to come that have China more worried. Mr Trump has asked China to slash its $375bn bilateral trade surplus by as much as $100bn, a nigh-impossible task. And an investigation into China’s intellectual-property practices is almost over. Mr Trump wants to punish China for the alleged theft of American corporate secrets. Reportedly he will seek to place tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese imports, focused on technology and telecommunications.

Until recently, Chinese officials thought they had the measure of Mr Trump. During a state visit to China in November, he was treated to a lavish banquet and signing ceremonies for $250bn in cross-border deals. He still speaks fondly of the dinner, but the glow faded quickly on the deals, many of which were restatements of previous commitments. The tariffs on steel and aluminium, though negligible in their impact on China, signalled that hawkish advisers to Mr Trump were in the ascendancy. So behind their mask of calm, Chinese officials are searching for ways to fight back.

【文章精讲】

It is two shots to come that have China more worried. Mr Trump has asked China to slash its $375bn bilateral trade surplus by as much as $100bn, a nigh-impossible task. And an investigation into China’s intellectual-property practices is almost over. Mr Trump wants to punish China for the alleged theft of American corporate secrets. Reportedly he will seek to place tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese imports, focused on technology and telecommunications.

slash v.猛砍（reduce sharply）
bilateral adj.双边的
surplus n.顺差
-deficit n.逆差
nigh-impossible adj.几乎不可能的
-nigh adj./adv./v. 几乎，接近 -It’s nigh impossible to ….
intellectual-property n.知识产权
alleged adj.声称的
theft n.盗窃

Until recently, Chinese officials thought they had the measure of Mr Trump. During a state visit to China in November, he was treated to a lavish banquet and signing ceremonies for $250bn in cross-border deals. He still speaks fondly of the dinner, but the glow faded quickly on the deals, many of which were restatements of previous commitments.
The tariffs on steel and aluminium, though negligible in their impact on China, signalled that hawkish advisers to Mr Trump were in the ascendancy. So behind their mask of calm, Chinese officials are searching for ways to fight back.

lavish adj.铺张盛大的
banquet n.宴会
fondly adv.愉快地
- fond adj.喜欢的
fade v.褪去，减弱
restatement n.重申
negligible adj.微不足道的
-neglect v.忽略
hawkish adj.鹰派的
ascendancy n.支配地位

【推荐句式表达】

1.It’s nigh impossible to …
2.seek to…
3.… is in the ascendancy