2月8日午间英语新闻：中国连续十五年保持非洲第一大贸易伙伴地位

China remains Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years

中国连续十五年保持非洲第一大贸易伙伴地位

China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching a record $282.1 billion in 2023, a Ministry of Commerce official said on Wednesday.

商务部周三（1月31日）公布，中国已连续15年保持非洲第一大贸易伙伴地位，2023年中非贸易额达到历史峰值2821亿美元。

"Economic and trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of China-Africa relations," Jiang Wei said at a press conference.

商务部西亚非洲司司长江伟在新闻发布会上称：“经贸合作是中非关系的压舱石和推进器。”

China's State Council has approved a general plan to build a pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

近日，国务院批复同意《中非经贸深度合作先行区建设总体方案》。

According to the plan, China will establish the pilot zone as a platform for opening-up to and cooperation with Africa that has international influence by 2027.

该总体方案提出，到2027年，先行区要初步成为具有一定国际影响力的对非开放合作平台。

"The main goal is to build an internationally competitive platform for cooperation with Africa," Jiang said.

江伟表示：“主要目标就是打造具有国际竞争力的对非合作平台。”

In the years to come, the two sides will give full play to the leading role of the pilot zone, promote the transformation and upgrading of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and deliver more benefits to the people in China and Africa, he said.

未来几年，双方将充分发挥先行区带动作用，引领中非经贸合作转型升级，更好惠及中非人民。

1.consecutive

英/kənˈsekjətɪv/

美/kənˈsekjətɪv/

adj.连续的，不间断的

2.ballast

英/ˈbæləst/

美/ˈbæləst/

n.压舱物，[建]压载物；道渣，碎石

vt.给……装压舱物；给……铺道渣

China's trade in services grows by 10% to over 6.5t yuan

2023年我国服务进出口总额同比增长10%

The value of China's trade in services grew by 10 percent year-on-year to 6.57 trillion yuan ($915.29 billion) in 2023, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Thursday.

商务部周四（2月1日）发布的数据显示，2023年我国服务进出口总额65754.3亿元人民币，同比增长10%。

In the meantime, China's service exports reached 2.69 trillion yuan, an annual drop of 5.8 percent, while imports totaled 3.89 trillion yuan, surging 24.4 percent year-on-year, resulting in a service trade deficit of 1.2 trillion yuan.

其中，出口26856.6亿元，同比下降5.8%，进口38897.7亿元，同比增长24.4%；服务贸易逆差12041.1亿元。

China saw the import and export of knowledge-intensive services reach 2.72 trillion yuan last year, an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year.

2023年，我国知识密集型服务进出口27193.7亿元，同比增长8.5%。

The travel services sector generated a total value of 1.49 trillion yuan in China last year, a remarkable year-on-year growth of 73.6 percent. Notably, the sector's exports surged 59.2 percent, while imports experienced a significant increase of 74.7 percent year-on-year.

2023年我国全年旅行服务进出口总额达14856.2亿元，同比增幅高达73.6%。值得注意的是，出口同比增幅高达59.2%，进口同比增幅高达74.7%。

In contrast to the goods trade, trade in services refers to purchase and sale of services. According to the World Trade Organization's definition, trade in services covers 12 major sectors. These include commerce, communication, construction and related engineering, finance, entertainment, culture, sports, tourism, education and the environment.

相对于货物贸易而言，服务贸易指的是服务的买卖。根据世界贸易组织的定义，服务贸易涵盖12大类，包括商业性服务、通信服务、建筑及相关工程服务、金融服务、文化娱乐及体育服务、旅游服务、教育服务、环境服务等。

重点词汇：

1.deficit

英/ˈdefɪsɪt/
美/ˈdefɪsɪt/
n.亏损，赤字，不足额；（体育用语）失分数；缺乏，缺陷