The UK’s decision to join China’s new alternative to the World Bank has disrupted London’s “special relationship” with the US and left seasoned Sinologists and diplomats scratching their heads.
英国决定加入中国拟成立的类似世界银行(World Bank)的新机构，破坏了英美之间的“特殊关系”，经验丰富的汉学家和外交家们颇感困惑。
What does Britain possibly hope to gain by signing up to an institution so clearly aimed at challenging the US-led postwar global order?
加入这样一家如此明显旨在挑战美国领导下战后全球秩序的机构，英国可能希望从中收获什么？
The most convincing answer seems to be UK chancellor George Osborne’s desire to place the City of London at the front of the queue of European cities hoping to become offshore financial centres for China and the renminbi.
最令人信服的答案，似乎是英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)希望让伦敦金融城(City of London)在众多争取成为中国以及人民币离岸金融中心的欧洲城市中名列前茅。
But following the decisions this week by Germany, France and Italy to join the bank, it is unclear how much of a first-mover advantage Britain has got.
但是，在本周德国、法国和意大利决定加入亚投行(AIIB)之后，英国能获得多大先发优势尚未可知。
Mr Osborne’s explanation that the UK wants to join China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to ensure it is ethical, transparent and efficient is unpersuasive.
奥斯本解释称，英国希望加入亚投行以确保该行合乎道德、运转透明和卓有成效，这样的说辞并无说服力。
For one thing, it is doubtful that China would change the way it operates the AIIB just to please the UK.
首先，中国是否会仅为了取悦英国而改变亚投行的运营方式，还是个问号。
It is inconceivable the UK would have risked public rebuke from Washington only to be turned down in its attempt to join the new bank. But the lukewarm Chinese response does suggest a misjudgment of what might be gained from this move.
难以想象英国会冒着遭受美国公开谴责的风险，到头来加入这家新银行的申请却被拒绝。但是，中国方面不冷不热的反应表明，英国对此举所能获得的收益是存在误判的。
In the case of New Zealand, until this week the only other “western” country to join China’s AIIB, the motivation is clear and rational.
但新西兰的动机却是清晰和理智的，新西兰是到本周为止申请加入中国主导的亚投行的唯一其他“西方国家”。
Wellington is pursuing a traditional “vassal state” policy vis-à-vis Beijing in order to secure its supply of dairy products to the growing Chinese middle class, by far its biggest single market.
新西兰在对华关系中执行一种传统的“诸侯国”政策，以确保其向日益壮大的中国中产阶层供应乳制品。中国是新西兰迄今最大单一出口市场。
The Kiwi kowtow appears to have worked quite well but British attempts to curry favour are met with a very different response. One prominent Chinese commentator who works at a top government think-tank in Beijing said in international organisations Britain acted as “America’s thug for hire”.
英国式“磕头作揖”似乎很管用，但英国博取欢心的努力遭遇了迥然不同的反应。一位在北京一家顶级政府智库工作的中国知名评论人士表示，英国在国际组织里有时充当“美国打手”角色。
To understand the sentiment behind such remarks, British policy makers need a clear understanding of history and the way it is taught and viewed in China.
若要理解这种言论背后的心理，英国政策制定者需要透彻地理解历史，以及在中国人们接受和看待历史的方式。
Very few British adults have a working knowledge of the opium wars, the history of gunboat diplomacy or the legacy of Britain’s “unequal treaties” and colonial subjugation in China.
在英国成年人中，很少有人真正了解两次鸦片战争、舰炮外交的历史，或者英国对华“不平等条约”以及殖民征服的影响。
In stark contrast, every single Chinese primary school student can rattle off a long list of national humiliations suffered at the hands of barbarian invaders, led by the UK and later Japan.
与此形成鲜明对比的是，中国每一所小学的学生都能不假思索地说出野蛮侵略者带给中国的一长串民族屈辱。这些侵略者正是英国（后来还有日本）领导的。
The UK’s historical handicap when it comes to China appears poorly understood by modern British politicians.
在与中国打交道时，现代英国政治家似乎对本国的历史“污点”知之甚少。
Perhaps this is partly because old-fashioned Foreign Office Sinologists are often sidelined in favour of salespeople who can rack up investment and trade deals.
部分原因在于，相比那些能促成大量投资与贸易协议的“推销人员”，英国外交部那些老派的汉学家们经常处于边缘地位。
But even if Britain’s actions are viewed from a purely commercial perspective, they still do not seem to make much sense.
但是，即便从单纯商业角度来考察，英国的举动似乎仍然并无太大意义。
London is one of the world’s top financial centres and Chinese financial flows will naturally gravitate there no matter what her majesty’s government does to “accommodate” Beijing.
伦敦是世界顶级金融中心之一，无论英国政府是否采取措施“迁就”中国，中国的资金流仍将自然地被伦敦吸引过去。
The same goes for Chinese trade and investment, which soared spectacularly even in the 18-month period when Britain was in diplomatic deep-freeze following Prime Minister David Cameron’s public meeting with the Dalai Lama.
英中投资与贸易方面也是同理。在戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)公开会见达赖喇嘛(Dalai Lama)之后的18个月里，虽然英中双边关系陷入冰冻期，但投资与贸易规模甚至大幅攀升。