專訪美國財(cái)政部長蓋特納

本期人物:

蒂莫西·蓋特納(Timothy Franz Geithner)，美國經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家，現(xiàn)任美國財(cái)政部長。1961年出生于紐約布魯克林，曾先后就讀于美國達(dá)特茅斯學(xué)院和約翰斯·霍普金斯大學(xué)，并學(xué)習(xí)過中文和日語。1988年進(jìn)入美國財(cái)政部工作;1995~2001年，歷任財(cái)政部助理部長幫辦、助理部長高級幫辦、助理部長和負(fù)責(zé)國際事務(wù)的副部長。此后曾在美國外交學(xué)會和國際貨幣基金組織任職，被奧巴馬任命為財(cái)政部長前擔(dān)任紐約聯(lián)邦儲備銀行行長一職。上任之前，蓋特納深度參與了美國政府化解金融危機(jī)的各項(xiàng)工作。

Geithner’s Promises

蓋特納的承諾

Shui: Mr. Secretary， welcome to China.

Geithner: Thank you for having me.

Shui: I noted that yesterday you were in Peking University to give the speech and the headline. Afterwards， all the media， including Chinese and foreign media， are quoting you as saying that the Chinese investments in the United States are safe. Can you elaborate a little bit? Because in front of the television， hundreds of thousands of Chinese audience are also eager to know and they also have some kind of concern. So I would like to invite you to elaborate a little bit—tell them that it is safe， one hundred percent.

Geithner: It is a very important issue. Let me just begin， though， by saying that we are， as your government is， doing exceptional things to try to bring growth back on track， to try to make sure that we have a strong financial system both in the United States and around the world. So we are doing exceptional things to try to address this global crisis. That has required temporary increases in our deficits and some exceptional actions to help stabilize the financial system， restore the growth of credit. Those are necessary steps， similar to what your government is doing here to try to make sure growth is strong and sustainable for the future. But we are very committed to make sure that when recovery is established， we go back to living within our means， that we bring our fiscal deficits down to a sustainable level， that we unwind1) and reverse these exceptional measures we’ve taken in the financial sector. We have a strong independent central bank which is committed to keep inflation low and stable over time. We’re committed to a strong dollar. We have the deepest， most liquid2) treasury market in the world， and we will do everything we can and everything that is necessary to try to make sure we’re sustaining confidence in U.S. financial markets， financial assets， not just in the United States but around the world. I’ve actually found a lot of confidence here in China， justifiable confidence in the strength and resilience and dynamism of the American economy.

China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue

中美戰(zhàn)略經(jīng)濟(jì)對話

Shui: As Treasury Secretary， this is your first visit to China， and this is also a very important trip of a high-ranking official from the Obama administration. We know that actually trade issue is not the only issue that you’re going to discuss with our leaders. The other issue， which is very important， is the so-called China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue. People say that you’re going to restart or restructure it. Tell us a little bit about how you are going to restructure this dialogue， or what the new initiative you’re going to introduce is.

Geithner: Let me focus on two things. First， we’re going to elevate3) the importance of the strategic part of the dialogue to make sure that alongside a very strong set of interactions on the economic side， we have an equally strong set of interactions on the political strategic side. So that’s one side that we’re making. We’re going to try to have these run together on a coordinated basis， so we’re looking across all the issues of importance to both our economies. On the economic side， I would just highlight a few important things. First， of course， we want this global economy to get back to a growth path. We need to act very forcefully， working with other countries to address the immediate crisis. We want to make sure that as we come out of this crisis， we have a stronger， more balanced， sustainable foundation for growth globally， less dependent on the U.S. consumer， frankly， and more reliant on stronger domestic-demand-led growth， not just in China， but in countries around the world. Third thing， what I’d like to just focus on is that we want to work very closely with China and other major economies to strengthen the international financial architecture， to reduce the risk of future financial crises， and to put in place stronger standards enforced more evenly on risk-taking in the financial markets. We want to strengthen the international financial institutions， give China a greater role in those institutions， and reform them to make them more effective.

Shui: It sounds to me that actually you are setting a kind of a little bit different tone compared with previous administrations， because for quite some years people are saying that China’s rise， or China’s development， rapid growth is kind of a threat. And you sounded， to me at least， it’s not kind of an issue for you to concern.

Geithner: I agree. I think China’s success will be good for the United States， good for the rest of the world. It is true that China’s emergence， China’s rapid growth， has been challenging to many countries around the world. It’s been enormously consequential4) in its impact on countries around the world. But on balance， China’s growth is good for the world economy， good for the United States， and we have a strong compelling interest in the success of your reform efforts.

Stimulus Package5)

詳解財(cái)政刺激方案

Shui: I heard that actually you have some kind of suggestions for China， in fighting against this financial crisis， combined with China’s stimulus package， about five hundred billion U.S. dollars， and China is encouraging a kind of domestic consumption. What is your suggestion for China to fight against this crisis? Because， as you say， challenges are lying ahead， and we have to be prepared.

Geithner: Well， I think that the leadership of China has laid out a very ambitious program of reforms to strengthen the healthcare system， strengthen the safety net， reform the financial system， allow market prices to operate more fully across the economy， and reinforce a transition towards more domestic-demand-led growth in the future， less heavy investment-intensive， less export-intensive growth. That overall orientation we think is not just in the interest of6) China but in the interest of the world economy as well. It’s very important to us—the process will take time， but it’s very important to us that China continue and succeed on that basic path， because as I said， in the United States private savings and public savings are going to have to increase. The world is going to be less able to rely on strong consumption domestically in the United States and outside the United States. Not just in China but outside the United States， we seem to see a shift towards more domestic-demand-led growth. But as I said， I think that the leadership of China has laid out a very impressive， a very ambitious set of reforms on that front， and your success will be our reward.

Shui: What is the effect so far about your government’s stimulus package， about eight hundred billion? That’s huge. Is it big enough?

Geithner: Well， it’s a very powerful package of tax measures and investments， largest in peacetime， and it is starting to help stabilize the declining growth and what we just talked about， which is the beginning of stabilization. Foundation for recovery is in part due to the forcefulness of that stimulus program， and is in part due to the actions that we’ve taken to help stabilize the financial system and improve credit markets. So you’ve seen the cost of credit start to come down; you’ve seen more confidence in the financial system alongside this very powerful program of tax cuts， and support for infrastructure， support for states and local governments. And those things are working together as they were designed to.

Shui: And I do believe that you have future and further steps.

Geithner: Yes， the program was designed to provide substantial stimulus over a two-year period of time， two years， but I want to emphasize this—once recovery is established， those exceptional， temporary actions will expire， and we’ll begin to bring our deficits down to the point where， again， we’re living within our means.

Shui: Allow me to ask you， if I may， can you give us a personal assessment? When are we going to see the end of this crisis? When are we going to see a very blue sky?

Geithner: You know， I think it depends on what we do， not just in the United States but in China and countries around the world. It depends on the quality and the force of the policy measures we’re putting in place to improve confidence. So again， we’ve seen some initial signs， some encouraging signs of positive impact from those policies. That’s， I think， a significant reason why confidence is starting to improve， but I would just say it depends on the continued ability and willingness of our government and your government and other countries to reinforce these early signs of improvement.

A China Expert

中國通

Shui: You spent quite some time， even in childhood， in China， and people call you a China expert in the Obama administration. Yesterday you showed your relationship with China in Peking University. Maybe my audience will ask you， “Do you still speak some Chinese?”

Geithner: I speak very little Chinese， but I was enormously fortunate to be able to study in China twice. I studied Chinese for six years in college and graduate school. I actually taught Chinese as an assistant teacher for three years.

Shui: Really?

Geithner: Well， my Chinese is not good， but I was lucky early on to have some very good professors， and that had an enormous effect on me— just to come here early in China’s transformation.

Shui: You are the expert， and I guess you are the expert to tell the world， and also to tell your fellow countrymen in the United States how big the change is.

Geithner: Yes， it’s a remarkable amount of change， and China is clearly thriving， enormously important transformation， but I just want to give you something that I still remember.

Shui: Sure.

Geithner: I remember being here as a student traveling around China. I remember walking once in a market in Beijing， and one of your countrymen came up to me and said， “Are you American?” And I said， “Yes.” And he said， “I’m so glad. You know， you Americans， you’re like us. You’re open， candid， direct and confident， like the Chinese.”

Shui: Ah!

Geithner: I still basically remember that， and it’s a good basis for a relationship between our two countries.

Shui: Exactly.

1.unwind [7Qn5waInd] vt. 展開

2.liquid [5lIkwId] adj. 流動的，易變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)金的

3.elevate [5elIveIt] vt. 提高，提升

4.consequential [7kCnsI5kwenFEl] adj. 作為后果、結(jié)果或結(jié)局隨之發(fā)生的

5.stimulus package:一攬子刺激計(jì)劃，財(cái)政刺激方案

6.in the interest of:為了……的利益