The relationship between Beijing and Tripoli during the 42-year reign of Col. Moammar Gadhafi included a narrative of brothers-in-arms solidarity and plenty of anti-imperialism rhetoric. But now that it appears to be ending, that relationship looks like it was more delicate than most realize.

　　宣扬战友一般的团结，并经常鼓吹反对帝国主义，是卡扎菲(Moammar Gadhafi)当政42年期间，北京与的黎波里关系的一部分内容。但在这一切似乎都将成为过去的时候来看，当初两国关系显得比多数人所想的更加微妙。

　　In recent years, the Libyan regime clashed with the Chinese on everything from the rising power’s inroads into Africa to Col. Gadhafi’s economic and political ties with Taiwan. China, which is scouring the world for resources to feed its economy, saw its crude imports from Libya more than double since 2008. But its state-owned oil companies seemed to lack the needed political capital with the Gadhafi regime to gain significant stakes in crude-oil assets in Libya, home to Africa’s largest proven oil reserves.

　　最近几年，利比亚当局与中国政府在各种各样的事情上发生冲突，冲突焦点既有中国这个崛起中大国在非洲的深入，也有卡扎菲与台湾的政治经济联系。中国正在世界各地寻找资源用于自己的经济发展，它从利比亚进口的原油已经达到2008年的两倍多。但其国有石油公司在卡扎菲政权那里似乎缺少政治资本，无法在利比亚原油资产中获得重大利益。利比亚拥有非洲最大的已探明石油储备。

　　Col. Gadhafi’s anti-imperial diatribes were no doubt warmly received by at least some in Beijing. When fighting picked up this year and Col. Gadhafi appeared under increasing pressure from rebel and NATO bombardment, China initially stood by the Libyan strongman. Beijing’s fear of the spread of political unrest, which engulfed much of the Arab world in recent months, seemed to outweigh its often public political differences with Col. Gadhafi’s regime.

　　卡扎菲抨击帝国主义的言论无疑是受到北京方面至少一部分人的热烈欢迎。在今年战事日趋激烈、反对派以及北约轰炸行动给卡扎菲造成的压力似乎越来越大的时候，中国最初是站在了卡扎菲一边。虽然与卡扎菲政权存在政治上的分歧，并且常常是公开的分歧，但北京也担心近几个月席卷阿拉伯世界大片地区的政治动荡蔓延开来，这方面的担心似乎占了上风。

　　Those differences were varied. In 2006, for example, Libya hosted Taiwan’s then-President Chen Shui-bian, despite loud objections from Beijing. Col. Gadhafi’s son, Saif Gadhafi, himself had visited Taiwan earlier in the year.

　　双方有着各种各样的分歧。比如在2006年，利比亚不顾北京的强烈反对，仍然接待了台湾时任总统陈水扁。卡扎菲的儿子赛义夫(Saif Gadhafi)还曾在今年早些时候亲自到访台湾。

　　Taiwan in 2008 would open a trade office in Tripoli, even as Beijing warned that ties between Taiwan and Libya undermined the Gadhafi government’s relationship with China. Then, in 2009, even as Libya was selling increasing amounts of its oil to China, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa in an interview with the influential Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper argued that China’s involvement in Africa reached far beyond normal economic cooperation. The anti-imperial rhetoric long a staple of the Gadhafi regime appeared to be targeting China.

　　2008年，就在北京警告台湾与利比亚关系不利于卡扎菲政权与中国关系的时候，台湾要在的黎波里开办一个贸易代表处。然后在2009年，就在利比亚向中国出口石油越来越多的时候，利比亚外交部长库萨(Moussa Kusa)接受有着巨大影响的报纸Asharq Al-Awsat采访，说中国深入非洲远远不止于正常的经济合作。卡扎菲政权长期鼓吹的反帝言论，似乎把矛头对准了中国。

　　“When we look at the reality on the ground we find that there is something akin to a Chinese invasion of the African continent,” the foreign minister said. “This is something that brings to mind the effects that colonialism had on the African continent.”

　　库萨说，在现实世界中，我们发现有些东西像是中国在入侵非洲大陆；它让人想起过去殖民主义给非洲大陆带来的影响。

　　Also in 2009, the Gadhafi regime blocked the sale of a small Canadian oil company, Verenex Energy Inc., to state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., a significant hiccup in boosting economic ties between the countries.

　　同样是在2009年，卡扎菲政权阻挠国有企业中国石油天然气集团公司收购加拿大一家小型石油公司Verenex Energy Inc.。这对于两国经济关系的加强产生了重大阻碍。

　　CNPC, which had already worked on smaller projects in Libya like pipeline construction and provided oilfield exploration services, was looking to make deeper inroads into the country. The Gadhafi regime pressured the Canadian company, which held oil production rights in the country’s Ghadames Basin, to instead sell to Libya’s sovereign wealth fund. European firms like Italy’s Eni SpA and France’s Total SA already had substantial operations in Libya, and the case added to mistrust between Beijing and Tripoli.

　　中石油之前在利比亚做过管道建设之类的一些小项目，并提供油田勘探服务。它本来是想在利比亚进一步拓展。加拿大那家公司拥有利比亚古达米斯海湾(Ghadames Basin)的石油开采权，卡扎菲政权给它施加压力，要求它不要把自己出售给中石油，而是出售给利比亚的主权财富基金。在此事加剧北京与的黎波里之间的不信任时，意大利埃尼公司(Eni SpA)、法国道达尔公司(Total SA)等欧洲公司在利比亚已经开展了很多业务。

　　No doubt, Col. Gadhafi’s Libya grew in recent years to be an important trade partner with China China had more than $18 billion in deals and 35,000 citizens living in Libya when fighting broke out but at times they also appeared to be lukewarm friends.

　　没错，卡扎菲治下的利比亚已经在近几年成为中国的一个重要贸易伙伴。战事爆发的时候，中国在利比亚拥有超过180亿美元的交易，3.5万名中国公民在利比亚生活。但两国之间有些时候看上去也像是不冷不热的朋友。

　　China appeared to support Col. Gadhafi as the rebel movement gained momentum. It’s struggling today to shore up relations with the opposition National Transitional Council as a result. The message Beijing seems to be sending: It would rather be seen supporting an on-again, off-again ally and standing firm to its foreign policy of nonintervention than support a movement that it fears could spread far beyond the Arab world.

　　在反对派运动形成势头时，中国似乎是支持卡扎菲的。所以，目前它与反对派全国过渡委员会(National Transitional Council)建立关系的过程似乎是遇到了困难。北京似乎是在发出这样一个信息：它宁愿被人看成是支持一个反复无常的盟友，并坚定奉行不干涉的外交政策，也不愿被看成是支持一场它担心可能蔓延至阿拉伯世界以外的运动。