每日英语：U.S.-China Ties Set for Recalibration

A re-elected President Barack Obama will quickly face the challenge of reworking the U.S.'s most important relationship after a campaign that made China a central issue, and as Beijing changes its own leaders.

Once Mr. Obama and Xi Jinping, to take over as head of China's Communist Party in the coming week and as president in the spring, meet as counterparts, thorny issues and strains await - from trade conflicts and disparities over human rights to the U.S. strategic pivot to build its military and diplomatic presence in Asia and China's increasing assertiveness vis-à-vis neighbors in disputed waters.

counterparts：相对应的，一对一　　　thorny：多刺的，痛苦的，令人苦恼的　　　pivot：枢轴，中心，关键　

assertiveness：魅力，自信　　　　vis-à-vis：面对面的，与...相比

The Obama administration has angered China by supporting calls for a multilateral solution to competing territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea. It has also pledged to extend U.S. missile-defense systems to guard against potential actions from North Korea and said it will put 2,500 Marines on Australia's north coast, moves that have stirred concern in Beijing.

multilateral：多国的，多边的　　　 pledge：保证，抵押，给予　　　　

Mr. Obama took a tough rhetorical line with China during the campaign to blunt criticism from Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who vowed to formally label China a currency manipulator. The president said during a debate last month that his administration's increasing military focus on Asia was a response to China's growing might, contradicting the administration's assurances to Beijing.

rhetorical：修辞的，夸张的　　blunt：迟钝的，生硬的，锋利的，直率的　　

Despite such strains, Chinese officials on Wednesday congratulated Mr. Obama for his victory in carefully planned statements. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao congratulated Mr. Obama, while Mr. Xi congratulated U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

'China is willing to work together with the U.S. to focus on the future, to continue its efforts to promote the Sino-U.S. partnership to achieve new and greater development and to better benefit the two peoples and the people of the world,' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

Mr. Obama could get an early chance to address his second-term plans at a summit of Asian leaders next week in Cambodia that he is expected to attend.

Mr. Obama's approach so far has relied in part on trade actions, including a complaint in September before the World Trade Organization that China was illegally subsidizing exports of autos and auto parts.

subsidizing：资助　　autos and auto parts：汽车及汽车零部件　　　　

Trade tensions are likely to continue: On Wednesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that U.S. solar-panel makers had been hurt by Chinese dumping, setting up federal tariffs against the Chinese.

dumping：倾销　　 tariffs：关税

The administration's 'pivot' to Asia is an overriding issue. Mr. Obama will need to decide just how far he wants to go in fortifying the U.S. military posture in the Pacific, especially in a dispute with U.S. ally and treaty partner Japan over an island chain.

fortifying：加强　　　　

'We will have to see what Xi Jinping will want to do once he takes power,' said Dan Blumenthal, an Asia expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. 'China's dispute with Japan will probably be the biggest headache for all of us.'

conservative：保守派，守旧者　　　　

At home, Mr. Obama's emphasis on Asia is drawing fire both for doing too much and too little. Some conservatives, including Mr. Romney, argue that the administration's pivot is a rhetorical device without military substance. These critics say that a small U.S. Navy can't provide enough muscle in the Western Pacific to realistically deter China or to reassure allies.

deter：阻止，制止　　　　reassure：使安心，使消除疑虑　　　　

At the same time, other analysts believe the U.S. shift is likely to exacerbate tensions and reinforce China's long-standing fears it is being encircled by hostile forces without directly buttressing U.S. national interests.

exacerbate：使加剧，使恶化，激怒　　　　 buttressing：支持，扶持

'We're doing two things: One, we're challenging Chinese security and second, we're stoking the fires of nationalism. No great power could be expected to sit there and benignly accept changes in the status quo that undermine its security,' said Robert Ross, an expert on Chinese security at Boston College.

stoking the fires ：火上浇油　　 benignly：亲切地，仁慈地　　　　

Nevertheless, Barclays Capital analyst Huang Yiping said deepened economic ties will give new players on both sides little reason to rock the boat. 'We are in for a period of mutual accommodation; no one wants to damage the economic relationship,' he said.

rock the boat：捣乱，找麻烦