Even as the United States and China take steps to rein in their trade war, Beijing is preparing for broader rivalry with Washington to continue. For China, that means its search for economic and diplomatic opportunities across Asia is unlikely to soften its tough line on its regional territorial claims and military competition.

尽管美国和中国正在采取措施控制两国之间的贸易战，但北京方面仍在为与华盛顿持续展开更广泛竞争做准备。对中国来说，这意味着它在亚洲各地寻求经济和外交机会的同时，不太可能软化在该地区领土主张和军事竞争上的强硬立场。

Both sides have agreed to temporarily cut the startlingly high tariffs they had imposed on each other’s goods. But the tariff truce will not allay other grievances that Beijing has with Washington, such as over a Pentagon vow to shift military forces to Asia and the Pacific, and the continuing efforts to limit China’s access to advanced technology.

双方虽已同意暂时降低对彼此商品征收的惊人高额关税。但暂停关税战并不能消除中国政府对美国政府的其他不满，例如五角大楼誓言将军事力量转移到亚太地区，以及继续限制中国获取先进技术的努力。

The climb-down on tariffs may open the way to a call, and a summit, between President Trump and China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. But Mr. Trump’s high tariffs have already weakened guarded hopes in Beijing that Mr. Xi could appeal to Mr. Trump’s deal-maker side, said experts who have spoken to Chinese officials and policy advisers. While Beijing will vigorously pursue opportunities in talks with the Trump administration, it will steel for a possible flare-up of tensions — repeating the pattern of relations during Mr. Trump’s first term.

此番关税上的让步或将为美国总统特朗普与中国最高领导人习近平通话乃至峰会铺平道路。但据与中国官员和政策顾问有过交流的专家透露，特朗普的高关税已经削弱了中国政府曾经持有的谨慎希望，那就是习近平能用特朗普喜欢做交易的特点引起他的兴趣。尽管中国政府将果断地寻求与特朗普政府谈判的机会，但也将为可能再次爆发紧张局势做好应对准备，这或将重演特朗普首个总统任期内双方关系的波动态势。

“I think it validates Beijing’s view that it was correct to take a dark view of U.S. intentions — and prepare for the eventuality of a second trade war with the policies it has pursued in the years since the first trade war” during Mr. Trump’s first term, said Jonathan Czin, the Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, who formerly worked in the Central Intelligence Agency analyzing Chinese politics.

“我认为这印证了中国政府的看法，它认为美国有险恶意图，因此要为可能爆发的第二次贸易战做准备，自（特朗普上次担任总统期间）爆发第一次贸易战后，中国政府多年里一直在为此布局，”席恩(Jonathan Czin)说，他是布鲁金斯学会的迈克尔·H·阿玛科斯特冠名外交政策研究教授，曾在中央情报局分析中国政治。

“My suspicion is that Beijing sees this as a tactical retreat by the U.S. rather than a more fundamental shift away from hostility toward the Chinese Communist Party," Mr. Czin said of the tariff pause agreed in Geneva.

 “我的怀疑是，中国政府将暂停关税战视为美国的战术性撤退，而非从根本上改变对中共的敌意，”席恩在谈到美中于日内瓦达成的暂停加征关税的协议时说。

特朗普上个月在白宫宣布实施对等关税。中国政府曾谨慎地希望中国最高领导人习近平能利用特朗普喜欢做交易的特点，但这项宣布使得中国的希望破灭。

President Trump’s tariffs on much of the world have given Mr. Xi an opportunity to present China as a friendly, trustworthy alternative, a theme that he promoted during a recent visit to Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia and meetings this week with Latin American leaders.

特朗普宣布对全球大部分地区征收关税，这给了习近平机会，让他能将中国展示为一个友好的、值得信赖的替代选项，他在最近访问越南、柬埔寨、马来西亚期间，以及本周与拉丁美洲国家领导人见面时，都强调了这一主题。

But China’s emerging approach to the Trump era also includes flexing its power: basically, telling other governments, especially in Asia, not to expect Beijing to hold back its regional claims and ambitions.

但中国针对特朗普时代采取的新策略也包括展示自身实力：基本上是在告诉其他国家，尤其是亚洲国家的政府，不要指望中国会在区域领土主张和野心上犹豫。

On the same day that Washington and Beijing announced their truce on tariffs, a Chinese government policy-setting document warned that “external forces” posed increasing “threats to China’s frontier regions, border areas, and security in its surrounding areas.”

就在美中宣布暂停关税战的同一天，中国政府的一份指导政策制定的文件警告说，“域外势力加大插手中国周边事务力度，给中国边疆、边境、周边安全造成威胁”。

“The Asia-Pacific region has become a focus of contestation between major powers,” said the Chinese national security white paper issued on Monday. “Certain countries have been strengthening their military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, courting regional partners, forming exclusionary ‘cliques’,” it said, in a reference to the United States and its partners.

“亚太地区成为大国博弈焦点，”中国政府周一发布的国家安全白皮书称。“个别国家强化亚太军事同盟，拉拢地区盟伴，构建排他性‘小集团’，”它指的是美国及其伙伴。

“Sure, it will continue to try to leverage the upheaval in Washington’s trade policy by presenting itself as a beacon of stability and predictability,” Richard McGregor, a senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, said of China. “But it will not relent in pressing its claims in the multiple sovereignty disputes it has with its maritime neighbors.”.

“当然，中国将继续试图利用美国的贸易政策引发的动荡将自身塑造为一个稳定性和可预测性的灯塔，”悉尼洛伊研究所东亚事务高级研究员马利德(Richard McGregor)在谈到中国​​时说。“但在与海上邻国的主权争端中，中国不会放弃推进自己的领土主张。”

Early this month, a Chinese Coast Guard helicopter flew into airspace near disputed islands also claimed, and controlled, by Japan, an escalation in long-running friction over the islands, called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan. China said it was responding to a provocative flight over the islands by a Japanese plane.

本月初，一架中国海警直升机飞入了中日争议岛屿附近的空域，加剧了围绕着这些岛屿的长期分歧。日本控制着这些岛屿，称其为尖阁诸岛，而中国称之为钓鱼岛。中国称此举是对日本飞机挑衅性飞越这些岛屿的回应。

美国和菲律宾军队本月在菲律宾阿帕里举行了联合军事演习。

This month, too, China’s Coast Guard landed on Sandy Cay, a sliver of sand in the disputed South China Sea that is also claimed by the Philippines. Their action came days before the United States and the Philippines began annual joint military exercises in the Philippines.

中国海警还在本月登上了铁线礁，那是位于南海的一个小沙洲，菲律宾也声称对其拥有主权。中国海警的行动发生在美国和菲律宾开始在该国举行年度联合军事演习几天前。

Above all, the Chinese government remains on edge over Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing claims as its territory. In early April, the People’s Liberation Army held exercises around Taiwan to practice imposing a blockade.

最令中国政府警觉的依然是台湾问题。台湾是一个民主自治的岛屿，中国政府称其为自己的领土。今年4月初，中国人民解放军在台湾周围进行了实施封控的演习。

China’s leaders saw no contradiction in their mix of sweet talk and hardball actions, said Julian Gewirtz, a former senior China policy official at the White House and State Department during the Biden administration.

曾在拜登政府时期担任白宫和国务院中国政策高级官员的朱利安·格维茨说，中国领导人认为其软硬皆施的做法并不矛盾。

“They believe it is precisely the moment to set the relationship with China’s neighbors — particularly those that they worry have grown too close with Washington — on more advantageous terms,” Mr. Gewirtz said. “It is a moment when they believe those states’ ability to push back is diminished and where China’s leaders can say ‘We can, yes, offer economic and technology deals and other incentives. But we also can continue to push on our territorial claims.’ And those two things coexist very comfortably in their minds.”

“他们认为，现在正是与中国的邻国——尤其是那些他们担心与美国关系过于密切的国家——在更有利的基础上建立关系的时刻，”格维茨说。“他们认为，这些国家当前的反抗能力已经减弱，同时中国的领导人可以明确表示‘对，我们能够提供经济科技合作等利好条件，但我们也能继续推进领土主张’。这两者在他们的战略思维中完全可以并行不悖。”

Rifts have opened up between the United States and many traditional allies, especially in Europe. But so far, Mr. Trump’s policies have not shaken traditional U.S. alliances in Asia and the Pacific to the same degree. Marco Rubio attended a meeting with foreign ministers from India, Japan and Australia on his first full day as Secretary of State. Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan issued a joint statement that mentioned their shared concerns about Chinese threats to Taiwan.

美国与许多传统盟友（尤其是欧洲盟友）的关系出现了裂痕。但迄今为止，特朗普的政策尚未在美国亚太地区的传统盟友中造成同等程度的冲击。鲁比奥就任国务卿的第一天就参加了与印度、日本、澳大利亚外长举行的会议。特朗普与日本首相石破茂发表了一份联合声明，其中提到他们对中国威胁台湾的共同担忧。

北京街头的大屏幕上播放的中国在台湾周边军行军事演习的新闻，摄于上个月。专家们预测，中国在与海上邻国的主权争端中坚持自己的领土主张上不会有所缓和。

“There is continuity here in this region — with Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia,” said Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs under President Biden, said of alliance ties under Mr. Trump.

“在该地区，与日本、菲律宾、台湾以及澳大利亚的关系保持着连续性，”曾在拜登政府负责印太安全事务的国防部助理部长伊莱·拉特纳在谈到特朗普领导下的美国盟友关系时说。

“Both sides, the U.S. and its Asian partners, are trying to silo off their defense and security relationship from the trade and tariff environment,” said Mr. Ratner, now a principal at the Marathon Initiative, a group that studies U.S. competition with China and other rivals. “The challenge now for Beijing is that most of America’s allies view China as their primary national security threat.”

“美国及其亚洲盟友都在试图将双方在国防和安全方面的关系与贸易和关税环境区隔开来，”拉特纳说，他目前是“马拉松倡议”(Marathon Initiative)的负责人，该组织研究美国与中国等竞争对手的关系。“中国政府现在面临的挑战是，美国的大多数盟友都将中国视为自己主要的国家安全威胁。”

China has cheered the dismantling of the office overseeing the Voice of America and other agencies promoting democracy and human rights under Mr. Trump.

中国对特朗普政府关闭美国之音和其他促进民主人权机构表示欢迎。

But Mr. Xi and other Chinese leaders had a dim view of the United States’ intentions well before Mr. Trump entered politics. And in Mr. Trump’s first term, shows of bonhomie between him and Mr. Xi gave way to a trade war, then an agreement that faltered, with Washington accusing China of not honoring its side of the bargain. There was also acrimony over the origins of Covid, U.S. controls on technology exports, and each sides’ military aims.

但早在特朗普进入政坛之前，习近平和其他中国领导人就对美国的意图持有疑虑。特朗普在上次担任总统期间曾与习近平展示友好姿态，但这种关系为贸易战所取代，双方后来达成的贸易协议也渐渐破裂，美国指责中国未履行自己的承诺。此外，两国在新冠病毒起源、美国限制向中国出口技术，以及彼此军事目标等问题上也存在纠纷。

This time, the mutual back down on tariffs will not dispel deep distrust between China and the United States, said Shen Dingli, a scholar of international relations in Shanghai. If both sides keep dialing back on their trade disputes, relations may improve for a year or two, but then are likely to worsen again, Mr. Shen said, “because we have too many points of disagreement.”

双方这次在关税上的相互让步并不能消除两国之间根深蒂固的不信任，上海国际关系学者沈丁立说。如果双方继续缓和贸易争端，双边关系可能会在一两年内有所改善，但以后可能会再次恶化，沈丁立说，“因为我们有太多的分歧点。”