纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英接任李尚福的新中国国防部长海军出身有南海经验

China on Friday appointed a naval commander with experience in the South China Sea as its minister of defense, filling a monthslong vacancy created by the unexplained disappearance of the previous minister, who appeared to have fallen in an investigation into possible corruption or other misdeeds.

上周五，中国任命了一名富有南中国海经验的海军指挥官为国防部长，填补了由于前任国防部长原因不明地失踪造成的长达数月的职位空缺，前国防部长的落马似乎是因为可能的腐败或其他不当行为的调查。

The appointment of the commander, Adm. Dong Jun, as defense minister was finalized by China’s Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, after formal approval by lawmakers, the Xinhua news agency reported. Speculation spread earlier in the week that Admiral Dong would be named to that post after another admiral took his position as head of the Chinese navy.

据新华社消息，经全国人大常委会表决批准后，中共领导人习近平任命海军司令员董军为国防部长。上周早些时候有传言称，海军上将董军将被任命为国防部长，因为另一名海军上将已接替了他的海军司令员职位。

The promotion of Admiral Dong may calm the uncertainty that has festered around the high ranks of the Chinese military after the disappearance and removal of the previous defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, as well as the top two commanders of the Rocket Force, which controls China’s nuclear missiles.

在前国防部长李尚福上将以及中国核弹部队火箭军的两名高层指挥官下落不明并被免职后，围绕着中国军队高层的不确定性持续发酵，董军的晋升也许会让这种不确定性平息下来。

General Li had not been seen in public for about two months before he was officially removed as minister in late October. The Chinese government still has not given an explanation for his removal, but many experts believe he was probably entangled in an inquiry into taking bribes or other misconduct that also took down the Rocket Force commanders.

在去年10月下旬被免除国防部长职务之前，李尚福已有近两个月未公开露面。虽然中国政府至今仍未对他的免职作出解释，但许多专家认为，他可能卷入了有关腐败或其他不当行为的调查，这些调查也导致了火箭军指挥官的下台。

In China’s military hierarchy, which is controlled by the Communist Party, defense minister is not one of the most powerful posts. Instead, the minister serves as the People’s Liberation Army’s chief foreign liaison officer, meeting visiting military delegations and giving China’s views at forums such as the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore.

在由中共控制的中国军队层级体系里，国防部长不是最有权力的职位。它的作用更像是中国人民解放军的首席对外联络官，与来访的军事代表团见面，在新加坡举行的年度香格里拉对话等国际防务论坛上阐释中国的观点。

Admiral Dong, who is in his early 60s, is not a member of the Central Military Commission, the party council overseen by Mr. Xi that controls the People’s Liberation Army. But a later party leaders’ meeting may promote him onto that commission.

中国人民解放军由习近平领导的中央军事委员会控制，60岁出头的董军并非中央军委委员。但在以后的中共领导人会议上，他可能进入中央军委。

“The minister of defense in the Chinese government system is not a decision maker or commander of forces or resources,” said Drew Thompson, a visiting senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore who formerly served as a Pentagon official dealing with the Chinese military.

“国防部长在中国政府体系中不是决策者，也不是调动军力或资源的指挥官，”新加坡李光耀公共政策学院的高级访问学者唐安竹(Drew Thompson)说，他曾是五角大楼与中国军方打交道的官员。

“That makes the defense minister a poor interlocutor for his U.S. counterpart,” Mr. Thompson said. “But the defense minister is a primary channel for engaging with the Central Military Commission, led by Xi Jinping, which is where decisions get made.”

“这使得中国国防部长不是与美国国防部长对话的最佳人选，”唐安竹说。“但中国国防部长是与习近平领导的中央军委接触的主要渠道，中央军委是做决定的地方。”

One of Admiral Dong’s most important and tricky tasks may be dealing with talks with the U.S. military. Beijing and Washington are locked in tensions over Taiwan, the South China Sea and other issues, and the Pentagon has accused People’s Liberation Army planes of recklessly buzzing U.S. planes that fly in international skies off China.

董军面临的最重要、最棘手的任务之一，可能是处理与美军的对话。北京与华盛顿在台湾、南中国海和其他问题上陷入紧张关系，五角大楼指责解放军的飞机对在中国附近的国际空域飞行的美国飞机采取越来越危险的行动。

At a summit in November, Mr. Xi and President Biden agreed to restart dialogue between their two militaries, which Beijing suspended last year to protest a visit by Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker at the time, to Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its territory. The two sides held military talks earlier this month. China has insisted that the U.S. secretary of defense talk with its defense minister, but the Pentagon would like China to be represented by a more senior commander.

在去年11月的一次峰会上，习近平和美国总统拜登同意重启两国军方对话。中国政府在2022年停止了两军对话，以抗议时任美国众议院议长佩洛西访台，中国对这座民主治理岛屿声称拥有主权。上个月早些时候，双方恢复了军事沟通。中国坚持要求美中防长对话，但五角大楼希望代表中方的是一名职位更高的指挥官。

Admiral Dong may claim some experience in one of the most volatile issues for China’s military. He was previously a deputy commander in China’s southern command, which covers the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in long-running territorial disputes with Southeast Asian countries that also claim islands and territorial waters there. Admiral Dong is China’s first defense minister to emerge from a naval background.

对中国军队面临的最不稳定问题之一，董军也许可以声称自己有些经验。他曾担任中国南部战区副司令，南部战区包括中国与东南亚国家长期存在领土争端的南中国海，东南亚国家也宣称对南中国海的岛屿和水域拥有主权。董军是第一名有海军背景的中国国防部长。

But Mr. Thompson said that Admiral Dong appeared to have risen as more a bureaucratic overseer than a frontline officer.

但唐安竹说，董军似乎更多是从官僚机构监督者的路线升迁上来的，而不是从一线军官的路线。

“That has upsides and downsides, because it means he knows how to work his system,” Mr. Thompson said, “but he is more of a politician than a soldier.”

“这有利有弊，因为这意味着他知道如何在体系中运作，”唐安竹说，“但他更多地是政客，而不是士兵。”