Vladimir Putin loves a really long table. Images of his meetings are famous, with the Russian leader at one end and the person he is speaking to so far away that you wonder if it is hard for them to hear one another. It was not like that when he met China's top foreign policy official, Wang Yi. There they were, sitting within handshake distance, with an oval-shaped table in the middle. It could be that the 1)proximity was achieved by seating placement at a previously used table, with the Chinese 2)delegation directly across the middle rather than at the long ends but the effect was the same. When the 3)footage was released, it appeared to be a deliberately symbolic move to show that he felt safe enough to be 4)that close to the representative of such an important friend.

 Many have asked whether Mr Xi was warned about the 8)imminent war when he sat next to his Russian counterpart who must have been considering barely anything else at the time. China is 9) walking along a very delicate path in its dealings with Russia over Ukraine. Mr Xi may feel like he is confidently 10)striding down the track, but some think that 11)the path is crumbling at the edges, with Beijing's claim to neutrality increasingly difficult to stand up. Wang Yi comes out of meetings proclaiming that China and Russia are together promoting "peace and stability". In other parts of the world, it will seem 12)ludicrous to use expressions like "peace and stability" on a trip to Russia just before the first anniversary of that country's invasion of Ukraine.
 Beijing knows this and yet decided to 13)press ahead nevertheless, in the full knowledge that it will 14)take a hit reputationally because it has calculated that it is more important to offer significant moral support to Vladimir Putin at this time.

 

 When Wang Yi met Sergei Lavrov he said, "I am ready to exchange views with you my dear friend, on issues of mutual interest and I look forward to reaching new agreements. "Russia's foreign minister said the two were showing 15)solidarity and defending each other's interests despite "high turbulence on the world stage", 16)as if this turbulence was something floating in the ether rather than chaos of his own government's making. Earlier this week in Beijing, China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned that the conflict in Ukraine could 17)spiral out of control if certain countries kept pouring fuel on the fire.

 

 He was referring to the US, a country which is openly giving military assistance to the Ukrainian army but which has warned China not to provide Russia with weapons and 18)ammunition. Analysts are now asking what options China might consider if it looks like President Putin is facing a humiliating battlefield defeat. Researchers in America say that Beijing is already supplying Russia with 19)dual-use equipment, technology which can appear to be civilian but which can also, for example, be used to repair fighter jets. It has also not tried to hide the fact that it is buying up Russian oil and gas to make up for markets its neighbour lost because of 20)sanctions which followed the invasion.

 

 And Vladimir Putin confirmed in his meeting with Wang Yi that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would soon travel to Moscow. It is thought this might happen in the coming months. In a way, the Kremlin is doing China's dirty work. It is 21)draining Western military resources and putting pressure on Nato and if Russia's economy 22)tanks because of it, does that really matter to Beijing? It will just need more Chinese products for the recovery afterwards. The problem is that Western countries have been quite united, Russia does not appear able to win and, increasingly, China is being seen standing side by side with a bully who forced a bloody, prolonged war on Europe. China has to be careful not to 23)bite off more than it can handle, but the rest of the world also will not want Asia's giant dragged into this war to a greater extent than it already is.

 

Published: 2023-02-22
Source: BBC
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1) proximity : 근접, 인접
2) delegation : 대표단
3) footage : 영상, 장면
4) that : 뒤에 있는 형용사 close를 강조하는 부사로 쓰임. ‘that close’는 ‘그렇게 가까운’의 의미.
5) fallout : 방사능 낙진
6) front-line : 최전방, 최전선
7) pariah : 추방자, 버림받은 사람
8) imminent : 임박한
9) walk along a very delicate path : 조심스러운 행보를 취하다, 신중하게 행동하다
10) stride : 성큼성큼 걷다, 활보하다
11) the path is crumbling at the edges, with Beijing's claim to neutrality increasingly difficult to stand up :
‘the path is crumbling at the edges’는 ‘길의 가장자리가 조각조각 깨지고 있다’는 뜻. 따라 서 전체 문장의 의미는 ‘중립을 요구하는 베이징의 입장을 점점 지지하기 어려워지면서 그 노선 의 효과가 감소하고 있다’는 뜻.
12) ludicrous : 우스꽝스러운
13) press ahead : 반대를 무릎 쓰고 계속 하다
14) take a hit reputationally : ‘take a hit’는 ‘손실을 겪다’ ‘나쁜 영향을 받다’이므로 ‘평판이 훼손되다’라는 뜻.
15) solidarity : 결속, 단결
16) as if this turbulence was something floating in the ether rather than chaos of his own government's making.
여기서 turbulence는 (사회, 정치적) 소란, 격동을 의미. 문장의 의미는 “마치 이러한 소란이 러시아 정부가 만들어낸 혼란이라기보다 대기 중에 떠다니는 어떤 것처럼”
17) spiral : 증가하다. 여기서 ‘spiral out of control’ 은 점점 더 통제하기 어렵게 된다는 뜻.
18) ammunition : 탄약
19) dual-use : 이중 용도. 정치, 외교 및 수출 통제 분야에서 이중 용도 항목은 민간 및 군사 응용 프로그 램 모두에 사용할 수 있는 상품, 소프트웨어 및 기술을 의미.
20) sanctions: (단수) 승인 (복수) 제재 규약
21) drain : 소모, 고갈시키다
22) tank : (동사) (상황)이 악화, 침체되다
23) bite off more than it can handle : 처리할 수 있는 일 보다 더 많은 일들을 벌이다