03-10-08

中國二月份貿易順差大幅下跌 (China's Trade Surplus Plunges in February)

由於進口猛增，出口減少，中國今年二月的貿易順差跟一年前相比大跌了64%。

中國海關總署星期一說，二月份的貿易順差下降到僅有85億6千萬美元，低於一月份的195億美元和去年同期的238億美元。

經濟學者一直預計中國的出口會減弱，部分原因是美國經濟出現了問題，美國消費者購買的中國產品減少。

分析人士說，正逢農曆新年發生的暴雪也助長了貿易順差的下跌。中國的貿易順差造成了中國跟貿易夥伴的矛盾，而且由於大量現金涌入金融體系，通貨膨脹也有可能加劇。

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.

中國宣佈高速列車新線路 (China Announces New Bullet Train Route)

中國的官員說，他們將在今年八月正式開通北京到天津之間新的“子彈頭”列車線路。

官方的新華社星期天援引鐵路官員的話說，這種中國製造的“子彈頭”列車的時速將達到每小時300公里。

鐵路官員說，該列車將使北京到天津的行駛時間從目前的70到80分鐘縮短到30分鐘。

南寧鐵路局局長邵力平說，新列車的原型在去年12月建造完畢並且已經完成了試運行。

有關官員說，新型列車將趕在2008年奧運會開幕前夕投入運行。

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.