"Hype or Hope?"

　　Editor's note: Andy Mok是前蘭德公司（美國非營利性全球政策智囊團）研究員，也是中國與全球化智庫的非常駐研究員。

　　Four trillion U.S. dollars of planned investments in 65 countries representing 70 percent of the world's population, 55 percent of its GDP, and 75 percent of its energy reserves: China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is by far the largest scale global development project in the many thousands of years of human history.

　　一帶一路倡議計劃投資65個國家，總額達四萬億美元。這些國家擁有世界70%的人口，55%的國內生產總值以及75%的能源儲備。該倡議成為人類數千年歷史中規模最大的全球發展項目。

　　Spanning the entire Eurasian landmass from Eastern China to Western Europe, covering the continent of Africa and the countries of East and Southeast Asia, the BRI has a growing global influence as more and more countries sign up.

　　從中國東部到西歐，一帶一路項目橫貫整個歐亞大陸，且覆蓋非洲大陸、以及東亞和東南亞各國。隨著越來越多的國家加入，其全球影響力也與日俱增。

　　However, some have tried to foment opposition to the BRI by claiming it involves under-the-table dealings and lacks transparency. This is kind of ridiculous. The accusatory voices are loud, but none are backed up with evidence.

　　然而，一些人卻試圖煽動反對情緒，稱一帶一路涉及暗箱操作，缺乏透明度。這些都是無稽之談。聲音雖大，但都無憑無據。

　　Rather than arguing against the accusations, it is better to analyze the reasons behind them. What are the motives of the critics?

　　與其反駁這些指控，不如分析其背后的原因。批評者的動機何在？

　　For many American policymakers, the United States can only feel safe if it maintains its global dominance. Also, many in the U.S. are deeply wedded to the notion that American-style values and governance are not only the best for the U.S, but must also be foisted by persuasion or force on the rest of the world.

　　對許多美國的政策制定者來說，美國只有一直占據全球主導地位，才是安全的。此外，許多美國人也深信，美國式的價值觀和治理模式不僅最適合美國，還應軟硬兼施地強加給其他國家。

　　The BRI offers countries around the world an alternative development path to the American-led system.

　　一帶一路為各國提供了一條新的發展途徑，使之不再受制于美國主導的世界體系。

　　The initiative is creating a vast integrated market centered on the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa that will be many times larger and, in not too distant future, more advanced than that of the U.S. These BRI countries can chart their own course without interference from outside countries.

　　它正在打造一個以亞洲、歐洲和非洲大陸為中心的巨大的一體化市場，其規模將是美國市場的數倍，并會在不遠的將來比美國市場更具先進性。一帶一路的參與國可以自主規劃發展道路，不受其他國家干涉。

　　As these countries become more independent, the U.S. loses influence in the eyes of the international community, and so it is doing all it can to discredit the BRI.

　　隨著這些國家愈發獨立，美國逐漸失去其國際影響力，因此不遺余力地詆毀一帶一路。

　　Who should you believe?

　　該相信誰？

　　When words and numbers collide, the numbers win.

　　口說無憑，數字為證。

　　The China-Europe container trains have become a powerful support for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. /Xinhua Photo.

　　Currently, China's economy is growing three times faster than that of the U.S. In dollar terms, China is adding about 800 billion U.S. dollars per year to the global economy compared to 400 billion U.S. dollars from the U.S.

　　目前，中國的經濟增長速度是美國的三倍。以美元計算，中國每年對全球經濟的貢獻約為8000億美元，而美國為4000億美元。

　　But perhaps more importantly, the Chinese people are happier with their lives and more hopeful about their futures. According to the Pew Research Center, 96 percent of Chinese said their standard of living was better than that of their parents and 87 percent said they were satisfied with their country’s direction.

　　但也許更重要的是，中國人民覺著自己的生活更幸福，對未來更滿懷希望。皮尤研究中心 (Pew Research Center) 的調查顯示，96 %的中國人認為自己的生活水平高于父輩的生活水平，87 %的人表示自己對國家的發展方向感到滿意。

　　The Chinese people also trust their government. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, in 2018 China topped a 28-market ranking of average public trust in institutions. Moreover, the Chinese people's trust in their government reached the barometer's "highest recorded levels" —84 percent of the general public and 89 percent of the "informed public" trusted China's government.

　　中國人民也信任政府。埃德爾曼信任度晴雨表（Edelman Trust Barometer）顯示，2018年，在28個接受調查的國家和地區中，中國政府信任度位居榜首，且達到了晴雨表的“歷史最高水平”：84 %的普通民眾和89 %的“知情公眾”信任中國政府。

　　Trust and confidence in the BRI is spreading beyond China's borders, with Italy recently signing an MOU to join. Other major countries in the EU are likely to follow suit as more and more people learn to discriminate misguided distortions from the actual truth of the BRI.

　　中國的倡議開始得到外界越來越多的信任和信心。近期，意大利簽署諒解備忘錄加入一帶一路就是一個例證。歐盟其他主要國家也可能會相繼加入，因為越來越多的人學會了辨別真偽，了解了一帶一路的真實情況。