Before he shook hands with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing this past week, Marco Rubio was an official enemy of the Chinese state.

就在上周在北京与中国国家主席习近平握手之前，马可·鲁比奥还是中国官方眼中的敌人。

As a senator representing Florida, Mr. Rubio was among Mr. Xi’s harshest critics in Washington. He accused the Chinese leader of “crimes against humanity” and of plotting to weaken the United States. Fed up, Mr. Xi’s government placed sanctions on Mr. Rubio in 2020 and banned him from entering the country.

作为代表佛罗里达州的参议员，鲁比奥曾是华盛顿最严厉的习近平批评者之一。他指责这位中国领导人犯下“反人类罪”，并谋划削弱美国。忍无可忍之下，习近平政府于2020年对他实施制裁，并禁止他入境。

So Mr. Rubio, now President Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser, posed a sticky problem ahead of Mr. Trump’s first visit to China in his second term. But China creatively fudged the issue, allowing Mr. Rubio to accompany his boss and even meet the Chinese leader.

这样一来，在特朗普第二任期首次访华前，如今身为特朗普政府国务卿兼国家安全顾问的鲁比奥成了一个棘手的问题。但中方创造性地模糊处理了这一问题，允许鲁比奥随上司出访，甚至与中方领导人会面。

As Mr. Xi worked his way down a line of U.S. officials outside the Great Hall of the People, Mr. Rubio greeted him cordially without a smile. But Mr. Rubio later appeared delighted by the grandeur of a government he denounced less than 18 months ago as “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.”

当习近平在人民大会堂外走过一排美国官员时，鲁比奥礼貌地与他打招呼，但没有笑容。不过，鲁比奥后来似乎对这个政府的恢宏气势感到愉悦，尽管不到18个月前，他还谴责其为“我国有史以来最强大、最危险的同级别对手”。

Inside the hall, as he stood with fellow U.S. officials at a long wooden table awaiting the start of their meeting with Chinese counterparts, Mr. Rubio seemed to marvel at the grand building, smiling as he repeatedly gestured toward its high ceiling.

在会堂内，当他与其他美国官员站在一张长木桌旁等待与中国官员会晤开始时，鲁比奥似乎对这座宏伟建筑感到惊叹，他微笑着反复指向高耸的天花板。

Mr. Rubio, who entered the Trump administration with a reputation as a leading China hawk, has become more accommodating toward Beijing. He has talked about looking for areas of cooperation, in contrast to his years of emphasizing the party’s human rights abuses.

鲁比奥以“对华鹰派”代表人物身份进入特朗普政府，如今对北京的态度已变得更加温和。他开始谈论寻找合作领域，这与他多年来强调中共人权侵犯的做法形成对比。

The difference, he told NBC News, is that he has a different job. “I’m the chief diplomat of the country, and I execute on the president’s foreign policy,” he said.

他在接受NBC News采访时表示，区别在于他的职位不同了。“我是这个国家的首席外交官，我执行的是总统的外交政策，”他说。

And the American president, an admirer of Mr. Xi, has said the two nations must build strong relations.

而美国总统——习近平的一名仰慕者——表示，两国必须建立牢固的关系。

Mr. Trump’s effusiveness over China was evident throughout his two-day trip. On Friday, at tea with Mr. Xi, he raved: “This has been an incredible visit.”

特朗普对中国的热情在为期两天的访问中显露无遗。周五与习近平喝茶时，他称赞道：“这是一次令人难以置信的访问。”

“I think a lot of good has come of it,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great, for both countries.”

“我认为这次访问取得了很多成果，”特朗普说。“我们达成了一些非常棒的贸易协议，对两国都非常好。”

As for Mr. Xi, Mr. Trump rolled out his usual praise: “He’s a man I respect greatly. We’ve become really friendly.”

至于习近平，特朗普一如既往地给予赞扬：“他是我非常尊重的人。我们已经变得非常友好。”

Mr. Rubio had a more sober take on China policy. He said in the NBC interview that the United States would need to rebuild industrial manufacturing, and that “the Chinese are not going to like it, because they want to dominate those industries, but that’s what’s good for the American people.” He argued the United States should not be selling some advanced semiconductor chips to China. He also insisted that the U.S. government would not accept “any forced change in the status quo” to Taiwan, the de facto independent island that the party aims to control.

鲁比奥对中国政策的态度则更为冷静。他在NBC的采访中表示，美国需要重建工业制造业，“中国人不会喜欢这一点，因为他们想主导这些产业，但这对美国人民有利。”他主张美国不应向中国出售某些先进半导体芯片。他还坚称，美国政府不会接受台湾“现状的任何强迫性改变”——台湾是事实上的独立岛屿，而中共旨在控制它。

Under Mr. Rubio, the State Department has continued to carry out aggressive actions against China. That includes imposing sanctions on Chinese companies for various activities around the world. And the agency’s office commonly known as “China House” continues to try to help craft China policy that challenges the party.

在鲁比奥领导下，国务院继续对中国采取强硬行动，包括因全球各地的各种活动对多家中国公司实施制裁。俗称为“中国屋”(China House)的国务院下属机构中国事务办公室继续致力于制定挑战中共的中国政策。

But in his public remarks, Mr. Rubio has been keen to underscore the potential for cooperation with China, in alignment with Mr. Trump’s views.

但在公开讲话中，鲁比奥一直强调与中国合作的潜力，这与特朗普的观点一致。

“Areas where we can find mutual cooperation, I think we can,” Mr. Rubio said. “There’s probably virtually no problem in the world that we can’t solve if we work together on it.” As for tensions in the relationship, he said: “There’s always going to be irritants.”

“我认为，我们能够找到可以实现互利合作的地方，”鲁比奥说。“如果我们共同努力，世界上几乎没有什么问题是无法解决的。”至于双边关系中的紧张点，他表示：“总会存在一些摩擦。”

On Taiwan, the State Department announced an $11 billion weapons sale package for the island last December, a move that frustrated China. But in the run-up to the summit, the department has not moved forward with a $13 billion arms package that Congress approved. U.S. lawmakers have called on the administration to announce the sales.

在台湾问题上，国务院去年12月宣布了一项价值110亿美元的对台武器销售方案，此举令中国感到不满。但在峰会前夕，该部门并未推进国会已批准的130亿美元军售案。美国议员已敦促政府宣布这笔交易。

Asked whether Mr. Rubio had become more conciliatory toward China since his Senate days, the State Department sent a statement listing several ways the Trump administration had tried to assert strength in the relationship. “Under President Trump’s leadership, U.S.-China relations have been refocused on what matters most: rebuilding the safety, security and prosperity of Americans,” it said.

当被问及鲁比奥自参议员时期以来对华态度是否有所缓和时，国务院发来一份声明，列举了特朗普政府为在双边关系中展现强势而采取的若干措施。声明称：“在特朗普总统领导下，美中关系已重新聚焦于最重要的事务：重建美国人的安全、保障与繁荣。”

Soon after becoming a senator in 2011, Mr. Rubio emerged as a prominent critic of China’s government. He complained bitterly about the country’s economic and trade practices, as well as its record on human rights and democracy. He cast the nation as a fast-growing menace to U.S. national security.

2011年刚成为参议员不久，鲁比奥就成为中国政府的主要批评者。他强烈抨击中国的经济和贸易做法，以及其人权和民主记录。他称这个国家对美国国家安全构成的威胁与日俱增。

As he embarked on a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Rubio delivered an August 2015 speech condemning President Barack Obama for what he called a failed policy of appeasing China.

竞选2016年共和党总统提名期间，鲁比奥于2015年8月发表演讲，谴责时任总统贝拉克·奥巴马对中国采取他所谓的绥靖失败政策。

当奥巴马总统计划在华盛顿接待习近平时，鲁比奥曾主张，美国总统不应为这位威权领导人“铺开红地毯”。

“We can no longer succumb to the illusion that more dialogue with China’s current rulers will narrow the gap in values and interests that separates us,” he said, vowing that as president he would challenge Beijing on economic, security and political matters. Mr. Rubio even hinted at a desire for regime change. “Freedom for the people of China must be our goal,” he said, calling it the “moral duty” of the United States.

“我们不能再沉迷于这样的幻想，即与中国的现任统治者进行更多对话就能缩小我们之间在价值观和利益上的差距，”他说，并发誓如果当选总统，将在经济、安全和政治问题上挑战北京。鲁比奥甚至暗示希望政权更迭。“中国人民的自由必须是我们的目标，”他说，并称这是美国的“道义责任”。

With Mr. Obama scheduled at the time to host Mr. Xi in Washington the following month, Mr. Rubio argued that the U.S. president should not “roll out the red carpet” for the autocratic leader.

当时奥巴马计划下个月在华盛顿接待习近平，鲁比奥认为美国总统不应为这位专制领导人“铺开红地毯”。

“This is an opportunity to speak bluntly to this authoritarian ruler, not to treat him to a state dinner,” he said.

“这是向这个威权统治者直言不讳的机会，而不是请他参加国宴，”他说。

On Thursday, Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio dined at a state banquet in Beijing, and they are expected to host Mr. Xi when he makes a reciprocal visit to Washington around late September.

周四，特朗普和鲁比奥在北京出席了国宴，他们预计将在习近平于9月底前后对华盛顿进行回访时接待他。

Although Mr. Rubio delivered that speech more than 10 years ago, his track record throughout his time in the Senate was consistent with its principles.

尽管鲁比奥那次演讲已是十多年前的事，但他在参议院任职期间的记录始终与演讲中的原则一致。

When mass anti-party demonstrations erupted in Hong Kong in 2019, Mr. Rubio championed the protesters.

2019年香港爆发大规模反中共示威时，鲁比奥支持抗议者。

That June, Mr. Rubio sponsored legislation to impose sanctions against Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong, which Congress overwhelmingly approved. Mr. Trump threatened to veto the measure, complaining that it could endanger trade talks with Mr. Xi. But he ultimately signed the bill.

当年6月，鲁比奥提出法案，对被认为应对香港人权侵犯负责的中国官员实施制裁，国会以压倒性优势通过。特朗普曾威胁否决该法案，抱怨这可能危及与习近平的贸易谈判。但他最终签署了该法案。

Mr. Rubio was also a leading champion of Taiwan, sponsoring bills to fast-track U.S. arms sales to the island and to grow ties with it. Vigilant about any hint of softened U.S. support for the island, Mr. Rubio grilled a senior State Department official at a Senate hearing in 2018 about why the Taiwanese flag, which China calls illegitimate, had vanished from an obscure page on the department’s website.

鲁比奥还是台湾的主要支持者，他提出法案加快美国对台军售并加强与台湾的联系。他对任何美国软化对台支持的迹象都保持警惕，2018年在参议院听证会上质询国务院高级官员，为什么台湾旗帜（被中国视为非法）从国务院网站一个不起眼的页面上消失。

Mr. Rubio was a leading congressional critic of Beijing for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims. He branded the Chinese government’s widely documented policies of forced labor and “re-education” in the region of Xinjiang as “horrific” and “crimes against humanity and genocide.”

鲁比奥是国会中批评北京迫害维吾尔穆斯林的主要人物。他将中国政府在新疆地区广泛记录在案的强迫劳动和“再教育”政策称为“可怕的”“反人类罪和种族灭绝”。

In June 2020, Mr. Rubio led the passage of legislation that called on the U.S. government to impose sanctions against Chinese officials tied to those policies. The Trump administration followed through.

2020年6月，鲁比奥主导通过立法，要求美国政府对中国与这些政策有关的官员实施制裁。特朗普政府随后落实了制裁。

An enraged Beijing retaliated with the sanctions against Mr. Rubio and other China hawks. Later that summer, the Chinese government imposed additional sanctions on them to retaliate against U.S. sanctions on Hong Kong officials.

愤怒的北京对鲁比奥和其他中国鹰派实施报复性制裁。同年夏末，中国政府对他们追加制裁，以报复美国对香港官员的制裁。

But less than a half-year into his time as secretary of state, Mr. Rubio began stressing the need to cooperate with China. Mr. Trump was seeking a partnership with Mr. Xi following a failed salvo of tariffs on Chinese exports.

但在担任国务卿不到半年后，鲁比奥开始强调与中国合作的必要性。当时特朗普在对中国出口商品征收关税的行动失败后，正寻求与习近平建立伙伴关系。

After a meeting in July 2025 in Malaysia with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, Mr. Rubio said the two men saw an “opportunity here to achieve some strategic stability and identify areas where we can cooperate together on and build better communications and working trust.”

2025年7月在马来西亚与中国外交部长王毅会晤后，鲁比奥表示双方看到了“实现一定战略稳定、找到合作领域、建立更好沟通和工作信任的机会”。

Since then, State Department summaries of their occasional talks have included the same type of language.

此后，国务院对他们偶尔会谈的总结一直包含类似表述。

As planning for the summit ramped up this year, the Chinese sanctions hung over Mr. Rubio, dubbed both 卢比奥 and 鲁比奥 (“lubiao”) by the state news agency for at least a decade. But then Beijing came up with a simple solution: Chinese officials said the sanctions had been imposed on Senator Rubio, not Trump aide Rubio.

今年峰会筹备工作加紧进行时，中国对鲁比奥的制裁仍悬而未决——中国官方媒体至少十年来一直用卢比奥和鲁比奥称呼他。但北京随后提出了一个简单的解决办法：中方官员称，制裁针对的是参议员鲁比奥，而非特朗普政府的鲁比奥。

“The sanctions are aimed at Mr. Rubio’s actions and rhetoric on China when he served as a U.S. senator,” Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington, said in a statement to The New York Times on Thursday when asked about the dilemma. He did not answer a question about whether China had dropped the sanctions.

中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人刘鹏宇周四在接受《纽约时报》询问时表示：“制裁针对的是鲁比奥先生担任美国参议员期间涉华的言行。”他没有回答中方是否已取消对他的制裁。