Don’t let China win the green race America should be leading the way on clean energy, not falling behind.

　　约翰•克里 罗•康纳

　　Washington is consumed with discussion about the consequences of a rising China, from trade disputes to their aggression in the South China Sea. There’s comparably little debate about how the United States can shape the environment into which China is rising, let alone the actions we can take at home to ensure America’s values prevail. We see more focus on tariffs than building wind turbines and solar farms. Americans should not be spectators in shaping our own future, or the world’s. We should pledge that by the end of the next decade, America will surpass China and win the clean energy race.

　　华盛顿沉浸在一个崛起的中国会带来什么影响的讨论，话题从贸易争端到他们在南海的挑衅。然而美国如何能塑造中国正在崛起的环境却相对较少争论，更不消说我们在国内采取什么行动以确保美国的价值观胜出。我们看到更多关注于关税而非建设风机和太阳能上。美国人不应该成为塑造我们自己或世界未来的旁观者。我们应该保证在下一个十年结束时，美国将超越中国并赢得这场清洁能源竞争。

　　The United States isn’t winning the clean energy race today. In many ways, we aren’t even trying. China is becoming an energy superpower. Earlier this year, the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation reported that China became the world’s largest producer, exporter, and installer of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles, followed by Japan and Germany. The United States ranks fourth.

　　今天，美国没有赢得这场清洁能源竞争。在很多方面，我们甚至没去尝试。中国正成为一个能源超级大国。今年早些时候，能量转换地缘政治全球委员会报告，中国成为世界上最大的太阳能板、风机、蓄电池和电动车生产商、出口商和安装者，紧随其后的是日本和德国，美国位居第四。

　　China surpassed the United States for the lead in renewable energy technology, too, with 150,000 patents – making up 30 percent of the world’s total. America is second with just over 100,000 patents, while Japan and the European Union follow with about 75,000 each.

　　中国也超越美国引领可再生能源技术，有15万项专利，占全世界总数的30%。美国屈居第二，仅有超过10万项专利，日本和欧盟紧跟，各自大约7.5万项。

　　In 2015, China surpassed the United States to become the largest electric vehicle market and is on pace to dominate production for the next 20 years. Chinese electric vehicles account for 60 percent of global sales: 876,000 vehicles were produced last year compared with 361,000 in America.

　　2015年，中国超越美国成为最大的电动车市场，并且一步一步地要支配下个二十年的生产。中国电动车占全球销售量的60%：去年生产了87.6万辆，而美国36.1万辆。

　　The Chinese is doing things America is afraid to do. They offer citizens large subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles from state-owned companies. Municipalities waive fees for electric vehicle owners. The city of Shenzhen, which has a population of 12.5 million people, runs a 100 percent electric vehicle bus fleet and is, by fiat, converting 22,000 taxis to electric vehicles.

　　中国人正在做美国害怕做的事情。他们给予公民购买国有企业产电动车大量补贴。市政当局对电动车买家免除费用。拥有1250万人口的深圳市运营着100%电动车巴士车队，并且下令将2.2万辆的士车转换成电动车。

　　High-speed rail also is integral to China’s strategy. It has the largest high-speed railway in the world, with 19,000 miles of track and most major cities connected by the network. The United States has less than 500 miles. America’s fastest train takes 19 to 22 hours from New York to Chicago, whereas the same distance in China takes four-and-a-half hours.

　　高速铁路也是中国战略不可或缺的一部分。它拥有世界上最大的高速铁路网，共1.9万英里轨道，绝大多数主要城市都有高铁网络连接。美国高速铁路不到500英里。美国最快的火车从纽约到芝加哥需要19-22小时，而在中国同样的距离花费4.5小时。

　　Unless America has a strategic plan, China may become the OPEC of the 21st-century energy industry. It’s folly to replace a world order too dependent on Middle East oil with one that’s too dependent on Chinese technology.

　　除非美国有一套战略规划，否则中国可能成为二十一世纪能源行业的欧佩克。一个太依赖中东石油的世界秩序由太依赖中国技术取代太愚蠢了。

　　America can mobilize around a national strategy to lead the world in clean technology that will attract bipartisan support from both coasts and the heartland.

　　美国可以动员一项引领世界清洁能源技术的国家战略，它将赢得来自沿海和内陆的跨党派支持。

　　How? Just think about the options it could explore. America could expand the electric vehicle tax credit, making it fully refundable at the time of purchase. That means a person wouldn’t have to wait a year for their tax refund but would receive money back immediately when buying an electric vehicle. If these credits are tied to domestic manufacturing, private sector jobs will return to auto industry towns.

　　如何?想想可以探索的方法。美国可以扩大电动车税收抵免，购买时全部退还。这意味着一个人不会为退税等上一年，而是在购买电动车时立即收回款项。如果这些税收抵免与国内制造捆绑在一起，那么私营行业的工作将回流到汽车业重镇。