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中文导读

6月23日，最后一颗北斗卫星发射成功，标志着我国自主建设、独立运行的北斗卫星导航系统完成全球组网部署。

目前，大部分在国内生产的手机都能够接收北斗系统的信号，到最后或许北斗导航也会像GPS一样安装在所有手机上，但要达成这一成就，地缘政治着实是一头拦路虎。

（公众号：趣读经济学人）

双语阅读

1

Thirty-five thousand kilometres above the island of Borneo, the final piece of a Chinese infrastructure project is floating into place. The satellite is the last to join the BeiDou navigation system, which has taken nearly 30 years to develop and build. The state-owned firm that launched it from Sichuan province on June 23rd says the network of BeiDou satellites will function fully around the end of July. China sees this as a moment of triumph. It marks the end of the country’s dependence on America for provision of a vital service: location data.

在婆罗洲岛上空35000公里，中国一项基础设施项目的最后一块拼图即将就位。北斗导航系统用时30年去研发打造，该卫星就是北斗系统的最后一颗卫星。6月23日，卫星顺利从四川升空，负责该项目的国有企业表示北斗卫星网络将于7月底全面投入运行。这被我国视为一个胜利时刻，标志着中国不再依赖美国提供一项至关重要的服务:位置数据。

2

Satellite-navigation systems work on a simple principle. Each spacecraft uses radio waves to beam the time and its position to Earth. Devices that receive simultaneous transmissions from three or more satellites can use tiny differences in these signals to work out where the user is. All location satellites broadcast timing data on the same frequencies, so that a location device could, in theory, lock on to whichever satellites provide the best signal, regardless of whether they belong to America’s Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’s Galileo or China’s BeiDou.

卫星导航系统的工作原理很简单：各航天器利用无线电波向地球发送时间和位置信息，从三个或以上卫星同时接受信号的设备可以利用信号间的微小差异来定位用户。所有定位卫星都以相同的频率传播定时数据，因此理论上定位设备可以锁定提供最佳信号的卫星，无论它们是美国的全球定位系统(GPS)、俄罗斯的GLONASS、欧洲的伽利略还是中国的北斗。

work on a simple principle 按照简单的原则工作

beam 发送

3

But depending on foreigners for a technology so critical to national security has long worried the Communist Party. Having to rely on America has caused particular anxiety. GPS was the earliest network to provide global coverage, so GPS-enabled devices became the norm for use by Chinese companies, citizens and soldiers. The system is owned by America’s government and operated by its air force, which means American officials could decide—say, in a conflict with China—to switch off or degrade the signals coming from GPS satellites. The main purpose of building BeiDou, which is operated by China’s space administration, is to give China full control over a navigation system it can rely on.

长期以来，一项对国家安全如此重要的科技，要依赖于外国，令党很担忧，更不用说要依赖于美国了。GPS是最早覆盖全球的网络，因此GPS也就成为了中国企业、市民和士兵的使用标准。GPS由美国政府所拥有并由美国空军运营，这意味着美国官员能够决定，比方说在和中国起冲突的时候，关闭或降低来自GPS卫星的信号。北斗系统目前由中国航天局运营，建造的目的就是为了让中国能够对其依赖的导航系统拥有完全控制权。

switch off 关闭；切断

4

The placement of the final satellite (55 have been deployed, though some are no longer in use) is symbolic of a widening rift between China and the West in many technological domains. This trend was highlighted on July 14th by Britain’s decision to ban the use of products made by Huawei, a Chinese tech firm, in the country’s 5G telecommunications networks.

最后一颗卫星(55颗已被部署，尽管其中一些已不再使用)的成功部署标志着中国和西方在许多技术领域的分歧正在扩大。7月14日，英国宣布在其5G电信网络建设中禁用华为产品，更是凸显了这一趋势。

rift 裂缝；不喝

5

Work on BeiDou began in 1993 and has involved three phases. The first two provided coverage in China and then across the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. As was the case with GPS, building it has focused on military applications. When the second phase was being tested in 2013, the Chinese navy relied on BeiDou data during exercises in the South China Sea, according to state media. The third phase provides global coverage. It also affords more accuracy, and allows users to send short text messages and distress signals.

北斗系统的研发工作始于1993年，包含了3个步骤：前两步是先将网络覆盖中国，然后再是整个亚太地区。与GPS一样，北斗系统的开发重点集中在军事应用上。据官方媒体报道，北斗系统于2013年进行第二阶段测试时，中国海军在南海演习时使用了北斗系统的数据。第三步就是把网络覆盖全球。同时，信号准确性有所提高，用户能够用北斗网络发送短信和求救信号。

As was the case with 与..一样

distress signals 呼救信号

6

China prefers to publicise BeiDou’s commercial applications. On the day of the final satellite’s launch, state television trumpeted an array of uses, from precision crop-planting and freight tracking to the guiding of autonomous taxis (when they eventually come into service). Since 2013 the government has required heavy goods vehicles and fishing ships to be equipped with BeiDou devices. Most smartphones sold in China, except Apple’s, can receive signals from BeiDou’s satellites.

中国很乐意去宣传北斗系统的商业应用。在最后一颗卫星升空当天，国家电视台大肆宣传了一系列的用途，从精准粮食作物种植和货物跟踪，到导航自动驾驶出租车（当它们最终投入使用时）。自2013年以来，政府就开始要求重型货车和渔船配备北斗系统。大部分在国内销售的手机，除苹果外，都能接收到北斗卫星的信号。

trumpet 宣告；声明

7

The completion of BeiDou not only eliminates dependency on America. It also puts China ahead technologically. BeiDou’s satellites are more advanced than those of GPS. In the Asia-Pacific, BeiDou claims accuracy to 10cm, compared with 30cm offered by GPS. America began upgrading its system in 1997 with the deployment of a new generation of satellites known as GPS-3 in 1997. It may take another 15 years to complete this roll-out. China took just five years to finish installing its latest batch of 30 BeiDou satellites, which use technology as advanced as GPS-3.

北斗系统的建成不仅消除了中国对美国的依赖，还让中国走在了技术的领先位置。北斗卫星要比GPS更先进。在亚太地区，北斗系统声称定位精度可达10厘米，而GPS定位精度仅为30厘米。美国于1997年开始升级GPS系统，并于同年部署了新一代卫星GPS-3，所有卫星完全部署完成可能还要15年。而中国仅用了5年时间就完成了新一轮30个北斗卫星的部署，其使用的技术与GPS-3相当。

roll-out （产品）推出

8

China hopes to cash in on BeiDou globally. In December officials said China had exported BeiDou-enabled products to 120 countries and regions worldwide. Pakistan’s armed forces have started using the system. BeiDou receivers may eventually be installed in all phones, in addition to GPS. It would add little cost and give devices access to more satellites when pinpointing a location. Or perhaps Sino-American rivalry will make American and other Western manufacturers eschew the use of a system so closely linked with the military power of a potential enemy. BeiDou may yet struggle to find its place in the world.

中国希望在全球范围内利用北斗获利。去年12月，有官员声称中国已经向全世界120个国家和地区出售北斗导航系统设备。巴基斯坦武装部队已经开始使用该系统。除了GPS之外，北斗接收器可能最终会安装在所有手机上。将北斗导航添加进手机几乎不会增加成本，还能令设备在定位时访问更多的卫星。但是，中美之间的竞争可能会让美国和其他西方制造商将北斗系统拒之门外，毕竟这是一个与潜在军事对手密切相关的系统。北斗系统可能还难以在世界上找到自己的位置。

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