Bill Gates, American business magnate, philanthropist and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently gave an exclusive interview to the People’s Daily out of his busy schedule before he licks off a Chinese visit.
作为美国著名实业家、慈善家,比尔及梅琳达.盖茨基金会联席主席比尔.盖茨每天的日程非常紧张,他最近的一个旅行目的地是中国。就在比尔.盖茨启程访华前几天,他接受了《人民日报》的独家专访。
Q:Thank you very much for your time. I hear that you will visit China soon. The first time you visited China was in 1994, still remember your first impression of China?
问:非常感谢您应邀接受采访。听说您即将访问中国。记得您第一次访华是在1994年,您对中国的印象如何?
A: Every time I go, you know China’s advancing, whether it’s the buildings, or the people we are meeting with, or the technology. So it’s been exciting to keep going back and see how quickly it’s improving.
答:每次我去中国,都能感受到中国的飞速发展,无论是拔地而起的建筑还是我所见到的人或科技创新。时常去中国走走,见证中国的迅猛发展是件令人激动的事。
Q: You’ve made so many trips to China over the years. What do you think is the most significant change that has taken place in China?
问:过去这些年里,您曾多次访华,您认为中国发生的最大变化是什么?
A: I’d say two things. One is the miracle of Chinese economic development, lifting people out of poverty, building up the infrastructure, and developing world-class universities.
答:我想说两点。一是中国创造了发展奇迹,亿万人民摆脱了贫困,基础设施状况得到全面改善,建成世界顶级大学等,速度之快令人惊奇。
I remember almost every year somebody says, well now the China boom will reach its limits. And then 3 years later, they’ll say it’s reached its limits…Of course, even today there’s some strains and challenges, but still the growth is lifting people up. And it’s quite impressive.
几乎每年都有人在说“中国的发展要触顶了”,然后过了几年,他们又喊“现在已经触顶了”……当然,中国今天所面临的挑战还有很多,但中国仍在发展,仍在提升人民生活水平,这是很引人注目的。
The second thing I’d say is that China is embracing its role in the world more. Of course its first priority was the poverty in the country, but in parallel to that now China has joined the World Trade Organization, and China’s made really big commitments to Africa, both financially and about partnership. And in the region, the Belt & Road project is about tying together the economies for mutual benefit. So all of that has been exciting to see.
二是中国在世界舞台上的角色日益重要。虽然解决本国贫困等仍在首要问题之列,但中国在推动全球发展中的作用不断凸显——加入世界贸易组织;对非洲发展作出巨大承诺,包括在经济及伙伴关系上予以支持;在区域发展层面,通过“一带一路”等促进了国家间合作及经济互利共赢。所有这些都是振奋人心的变化。
Q: What’s the strategic focus of the Gates Foundation in China? How do you see China’s role in global development and governance?
问:盖茨基金会在中国的战略重点是什么?您如何看待中国在全球发展和治理中的角色?
A: The work of the Gates Foundation in China has two phases. One is the work in China itself, helping people with HIV, helping avoid people getting infected, working on tuberculosis and smoking (control).
答:盖茨基金会在中国的工作分为两个层面。一是致力于帮助中国应对国内的挑战,比如艾滋病和结核病防治以及烟草控制等。
Our second phase is a three-way partnership, where developing countries, China and the foundation find ways to work together. And taking some (of China’s) strengths like livestock vaccines; rice, including super green rice, where China’s very strong. So, (there’re) many examples. Ethiopia is a good example, where funding animal vaccine projects are what we are working on together.
二是通过在中国、其他发展中国家与基金会三者之间建立的伙伴关系,寻找携手合作的途径。同时,发挥中国的强项,如畜禽疫苗、水稻种植等,帮助其他发展中国家。这方面例子有很多,比如在埃塞俄比亚,我们正与中非发展基金合作,资助当地的动物疫苗项目。
So the commitment to help other parts of the world is very important. That’s something that historically the U.S. has been very good at, but I’d be disappointed if the US cuts back. But it’s fantastic that China, because of its success, is joining in and in its unique way. So I am glad to see the leadership. For example, the $60 billion commitment made in Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to help the African countries is a realistic acceleration under China’s leadership.
承诺帮助世界其他国家尤其重要。美国曾经在这方面做得很好,但是如果美国大幅削减对外援助,我将会特别失望。令人欣慰的是,中国基于自身发展的成功,正以比较独特的方式参与到全球发展之中。所以我很高兴看到中国在此领域发挥领导作用。例如,中国在2015年中非合作论坛约翰内斯堡峰会上,承诺为非洲提供600亿美元资金支持——这是中国在推动全球发展方面提升领导力的现实体现。
The Chinese partnership will go and help to accelerate that improvement. And there are many lessons and things that China did very, very well, in the agricultural economy and manufacturing economy.
在很多领域,中国都积累了大量可以分享的成功经验,比如农业和制造业领域的发展等。中国可以帮助世界加速前进的步伐。
Q: Being a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, you have made substantial contribution to communication and collaboration between the two countries. Based on your own experiences, how do you see the role that business collaboration plays in Sino-U.S. relations?
问:作为一个成功的企业家和慈善家,您为中美两国之间的交流与合作作出了不少贡献。您如何看待商业合作在中美关系中扮演的角色?
A: I do think that the business context is quite critical. We cannot rely just on government to government, we need business to business, and we need people to people type things as well, such as student exchange. We need to keep the level of interaction up at every level.
答:我觉得商业合作是重中之重。我们不能单纯依靠政府间对话,我们需要商界与商界之间、人民与人民之间的沟通,还包括学生交换等。我们需要保持美中之间交流的深度和广度。
Q: Your life story is legendary to many people. What do you personally find as your greatest achievement in life and in work?
问:对于很多人而言,您的人生经历颇具传奇色彩。您个人认为自己的工作和生活中最大的成就是什么?
A: I am super lucky. I’ve been in the area where things have been changing and been part of the digital revolution, the magic of software, the internet, the computer, and now the cellphone… so it’s been a great privilege. For me, I like to read and learn. There are always so many new things, like artificial intelligence, is now a big thing. We are making rapid advances. All the top companies and universities, rapid advances there.
答:我觉得自己超级幸运。我身处的领域是持续变化的数字革命的一部分,可以亲身体验软件、互联网、计算机以及手机的魔力。我个人特别喜欢读书和学习。而我们身边总是有很多新鲜事物(值得研究),比如当前特别热门的人工智能。几乎所有的顶级公司和大学都在这个领域取得了飞速进展。
(编辑:何莹莹)
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