非洲总统西里尔·拉马福萨表示，美国中期选举的结果标志着地缘政治格局的转变，这可能会为重塑比勒陀利亚与华盛顿之间紧张的关系铺平道路。
African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the outcome of the US midterm elections signals a shift in the geopolitical landscape that could open the way for a reset in Pretoria’s strained ties with Washington.
在周二的投票中，美国的民主党横扫国会两院，这是一场相当于拒绝总统唐纳德·特朗普政策的选举大胜。周三，南非兰特成为彭博社追踪的全球表现最好的货币之一，对美元汇率上涨约1%，至1份兑16.46美元。
America’s Democratic Party swept both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s vote in an election landslide that amounted to a rejection of President Donald Trump’s policies. The rand was among the best-performing currencies in the world tracked by Bloomberg on Wednesday, rising around 1% against the US unit to 16.46 per dollar.
“我确实认为这将在世界关系中引入一个新时代，”拉马福萨在约翰内斯堡参加地方选举投票时表示。“我们希望在双边基础上，双方能够达成共识，在以及贸易和投资事务上找到一条正确的地缘政治前行道路。”自从特朗普去年重返白宫以来，南非与美国的关系已经恶化。他迅速冻结了对南非的美国援助，并错误地声称南非政府允许对白人阿非利卡人农民进行种族灭绝。特朗普还批评了该国的黑人经济赋权法，该法是为解决种族隔离造成的不平等现象而引入的。
“I do think that this is going to introduce a new era in world relations,” Ramaphosa said as he cast his vote in municipal elections in Johannesburg. “We’re hoping that, on a bilateral basis, there will be a coming together of minds, where we will find a proper path forward on geopolitics as well as on trade matters and investment matters.”South Africa’s relations with the US have deteriorated since Trump returned to the White House last year. He quickly froze US assistance to South Africa, falsely claiming the government is allowing a genocide of White Afrikaner farmers. Trump has also criticized the country’s Black economic-empowerment laws, which were introduced to address inequalities created by apartheid.
本周早些时候，美国宣布计划取消南非根据《非洲增长与机遇法案》享有的免税贸易协定准入资格。美国贸易代表杰米森·格里尔大使表示，做出这一决定是因为未指明的“令人担忧和普遍存在的做法”，他称这些做法破坏了美国的贸易和投资，并对美国国家安全构成威胁。
Earlier this week, the US announced plans to revoke South Africa’s access to a duty-free trade pact under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said the decision was taken because of unspecified “concerning and pervasive practices” that he said undermine American trade and investment, and pose a threat to US national security.
继中国和欧盟之后，美国是南非第三大贸易伙伴。根据彭博社汇编的数据，去年南非与美国的双边贸易额为241亿美元，不到与中国556亿美元贸易额的一半。
America ranks as South Africa’s third-biggest trading partner, after China and the European Union. Bilateral trade between South Africa and the US last year was $24.1 billion — less than half the $55.6 billion of commerce with China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
拉马福萨在总部位于约翰内斯堡的eNCA播出的讲话中表示：“被排除在《非洲增长与机遇法案》之外对我们来说确实是一个负面影响。”不过，这位总统表示，南非与美国的贸易关系并不只围绕免税协定。根据南非政府数据，通过《非洲增长与机遇法案》出口的商品约占对美总出货量的10%。
“Exclusion from AGOA is indeed a negative for us,” Ramaphosa said in remarks broadcast on Johannesburg-based eNCA. Still, South Africa’s trade relations with the US don’t only center on the duty-free pact, the president said. AGOA exports accounts for about 10% of total shipments to America, according to South African government data.
拉马福萨表示：“我们与美国还在该法案之外的各种产品上有贸易往来。我们与美国的贸易关系仍在继续，我们希望通过双边交往使其变得更好。”
“We also have trade dealings with the US on a variety of products, which are outside AGOA,” Ramaphosa said. “Our trade relations with the US continue, and we want it to get even better through bilateral dealings.”