美国副国务卿斯坦伯格
一位美国高级官员计划于本周访华。这是两国关系因一系列争论而降温到冰点之后开始解冻的最新迹象。
A planned visit to China by a senior U.S. official this week is the latest sign of a thaw between the two nations following a series of controversies that had put bilateral relations on ice.
美国国务院(U.S. State Department)周日发表声明称，美国副国务卿斯坦伯格(James Steinberg)周二至周四期间将在北京与中国官员就中美双边问题交换意见。
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg will be in Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday to 'exchange views with Chinese officials on U.S.-China bilateral issues,' the U.S. State Department said in a statement Sunday.
斯坦伯格访华的细节尚不清楚。但自两国因台湾、西藏及其它问题发生口角之后，这是表明两国关系正在正常化的最新迹象。
Details of Mr. Steinberg's visit aren't known, but it is the most recent sign that relations are normalizing after recent spats related to Taiwan, Tibet and other issues.
中国总理温家宝周日发表评论称华盛顿和北京必须共同努力缓解贸易摩擦。之后，美国发布了斯坦伯格访华的声明。
The Steinberg announcement follows a comment by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday that Washington and Beijing must work together to ease trade disputes.
温家宝在与中国网民在线聊天时称，我们希望中美贸易摩擦能够得到缓解，我们也不希望今年成为一个中美经贸关系的不太平年。这就需要双方共同努 力。
'We hope China-U.S. trade frictions can ease,' Mr. Wen said in an online chat with Internet users in China. 'We also hope this year won't become a 'non-pacific' year in the China-U.S. economic and trade relationship. This will require both sides to work together.'
自美国于1月下旬决定向台湾出售64亿美元的武器之后，中美关系开始紧张，极少进行外交接触。同样在1月，美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿 (Hillary Clinton)称与类似于来自北京的网络控制进行斗争将是美国外交政策的当务之急。2月，美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)会见西藏精神领袖达赖喇嘛(Dalai Lama)更为中美关系雪上加霜。北京指责达赖喇嘛寻求西藏独立。
U.S.-China relations have been strained, with little diplomatic contact, since the U.S. decision in late January to sell $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan. That same month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said fighting Web controls like those from Beijing would be a priority of American foreign policy. Ties were further frayed in February by President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader whom Beijing accuses of seeking independence.
目前看来中美两国的紧张关系正趋于缓和。
Tensions now appear to be easing.
中国官方英文报纸《中国日报》周一对斯坦伯格即将访华表示欢迎，称此举将挽救两国之间的关系。
The China Daily, a state-controlled English-language paper, hailed the impending Mr. Steinberg visit Monday, saying it could 'save' ties between the countries.
奥巴马政府朝鲜问题特使博斯沃思(Stephen Bosworth)2月23日在北京讨论了朝鲜核问题。这是自美国1月29日宣布对台军售破坏了中美双边关系之后首次公布于众的两国间的高等级外交活动。
Stephen Bosworth, the Obama administration's special envoy on North Korea, was in Beijing Feb. 23 to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue. It was the first publicized high-level diplomatic exchange between the two sides since relations were disrupted by the Jan. 29 Taiwan arms sale announcement.
中国强烈抗议美国对台军售，并称将对有关美国公司进行制裁，但未公布细节。中国认为台湾是其主权领土的一部分。
China strongly protested the sale to Taiwan, which it regards as its sovereign territory, and said it would impose sanctions on U.S. companies involved, without giving details.
未来几周和几个月，美国和中国的双边关系将面临更多挑战，包括计划于3月举行的人权对话，以及今年晚些时候的另一轮战略与经济对话，会上将讨论 人民币汇率等有争议性的经济问题。
The U.S. and China will face more challenges to bilateral relations in coming weeks and months, including a human-rights dialogue scheduled for March, and another round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue later this year, where contentious economic issues such as the yuan will be discussed.