One of the misconceptions about Russia is that it's always driven to become a European power,

关于俄罗斯 最大的误解之一就是它总想成为一个欧洲强国

because we identify that mentality with the reign of Tsar Peter the Great.

彼得大帝时期的统治让我们产生了这种心理

However, if you look further back into Russian history, it has a long exposure to Asian powers.

但是 如果你回顾一下俄罗斯历史 就会发现它有长期的亚洲力量接触史

It skirmished, of course, with the Mongols and was sacked by the Mongols.

当然了 它曾跟蒙古人冲突不断 也曾被蒙古人洗劫一空

It also skirmished with the Ming Dynasty of China, as well.

它还跟中国的明朝起过冲突

So there is really a Eurasian history to Russia.

所以俄罗斯真的是具备欧亚史的

And today, Russia again identifies itself very much as a Eurasian power.

现在 俄罗斯再次将自己定位为欧亚强国

It's not that Russia necessarily understands Asia better.

这并不意味着俄罗斯更了解亚洲

Let's remember that in many ways, they are very much a junior partner to China a much, much junior partner.

要记得 在很多方面 俄罗斯对中国而言都是个新合作伙伴 非常新的合作伙伴

If we go back to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s,

回头看一下20世纪90年代初期的苏联解体

Russia was considered a transition economy, but still with a lot of potential.

那时候的俄罗斯属于过渡形经济 但依然潜力巨大

But its population has shrunk tremendously.

它的人口数量大幅下降

Very few countries have as rapid population decline.

很少有国家的人口下降如此之快

Meanwhile, it borders China, the country with the most people in the world.

同时 它与中国毗邻 而中国是世界上人口最多的国家

And its economy is countless times larger than Russia's is at this point.

中国的经济规模也是俄罗斯的无数倍

So it's very much a junior partner.

所以它是中国很新的合作伙伴

It does have to deal with Asia more, and I think we would benefit from understanding Russia better

它确实需要跟亚洲多打交道 如果我们更了解俄罗斯 还可以从中受益

if we understood it not just in terms of its relations with the West,

我们要知道它不仅与西方有着千丝万缕的关系

but rather also the fact that it is spending as much, or more, time these days focused on its relations with the East.

而且如今的它 也花了同样多甚至更多的时间来维持其与东方的关系

When President Obama declared his pivot to Asia in about the year 2014,

2014年 奥巴马总统宣布将重心转向亚洲的时候

the response in the Kremlin was, we already pivoted to Asia.

克里姆林宫的回应是 我们早就将重心转往了亚洲

Because Russia has been reorienting itself economically, and even strategically, towards Asia,

因为俄罗斯已经将其经济甚至是战略重心重新转向了亚洲

especially China, for about 10 years now.

尤其是中国 这种转向已经有10年了

Certainly, as it overlaps with the reign of Vladimir Putin.

当然 它与弗拉基米尔·普京的任期重叠了

Now, because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and seizure of Crimea,

现在 由于俄罗斯入侵乌克兰并占领克里米亚

the sanctions on Russia made them that much more likely to tilt and turn towards Asia.

我们对俄罗斯施加的制裁让它更容易向亚洲倾斜

But at the same time, it also has to do with Asia's economic rise.

但与此同时 这也与亚洲经济的崛起有关

Because whereas in the past, Russia aspired to be part of Europe and had stronger trade relations with Europe than with Asia, especially Germany.

虽然在过去 俄罗斯渴望能成为欧洲的一部分 并且它与欧洲的贸易关系要多过亚洲 尤其是跟德国

Today, Russia's largest trading partner is China.

但现在 俄罗斯最大的贸易伙伴是中国

Now, when it comes to foreign investment, Europeans still invest more in Russia than Asians do but there also is catching up.

就国外投资来看 欧洲人在俄罗斯的投资依然多于亚洲人 但亚洲的投资也在迎头赶上

But one thing is for sure, the further you look into the future,

但有一点是确定的 你越展望未来

especially with the Belt and Road Initiative of transportation linkages across all of Eurasia,

尤其是有了横穿欧亚大陆的一带一路交通网

most all of which pass through Russia and originate in East Asia,

其大部分都从俄罗斯经过 并且起源于东亚

there's no doubt that Russia is very much Asian-izing.

毫无疑问的是俄罗斯正在亚洲化