President Xi Jinping of China, traveling to Africa for the first time in five years, pledged greater cooperation with South Africa to enhance the voice of poor nations. He commended developing countries for “shaking off the yoke of colonialism.”

中國國家主席習近平在五年來首次訪問非洲，承諾與南非加強合作，增加貧困國家的發言權。他稱讚發展中國家「大多是從殖民主義的歷史泥淖中」走到今天的。

And on Wednesday, he held talks with the leaders of the BRICS, a club of emerging nations, and called for members to “accelerate” its expansion to serve as a counterweight to the West.

週三，他與組成金磚國家集團的新興市場國家領導人舉行了會談，呼籲金磚成員國「加快推動」它們在抗衡西方方面的作用。

“At present, the Cold War mentality is lingering, and the geopolitical situation is grim,” Mr. Xi said. The grouping, he continued, should “bring more countries into the BRICS family so as to pool our strength, pool our wisdom to make global governance more just and equitable.”

「當前，冷戰思維陰魂不散，地緣政治形勢嚴峻，」習近平說道。他接著表示，該集團應該「讓更多國家加入到金磚大家庭，集眾智、匯群力，推動全球治理朝著更加公正合理的方向發展」。

On his four-day visit to South Africa this week, Mr. Xi has sought to cast himself as a leader of the developing world. Mr. Xi kicked off his trip with a state visit and was received with an honor guard, a 21-gun salute and roads lined with cheering crowds waving Chinese flags.

習近平本週對南非進行為期四天的訪問。他在訪問期間試圖將自己塑造為發展中世界的領導人。習近平此行以國事訪問開始，他在抵達南非時受到了儀仗隊的迎接，歡迎儀式包括21響禮炮。他的車隊從機場前往下榻酒店途中，沿街群眾揮舞著中國國旗歡迎他的到訪。

For China, the reception in Pretoria reinforced the message Beijing hopes to send to audiences both at home and abroad — that China’s offer of an alternative to the U.S.-led global order has ample purchase outside the exclusive club of the developed countries. That has grown increasingly important to China. Its support for Russia and its aggressive posture on issues like the status of Taiwan, the self-governed island Beijing claims as its territory, has alienated it from countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

習近平在比勒陀利亞受到的歡迎加強了中國政府希望向國內外受眾傳遞的信息，那就是，中國提出替代美國主導的全球秩序的建議在發達國家專屬俱樂部之外獲得了足夠的吸引力。這對中國來說已變得越來越重要。中國對俄羅斯的支持，以及在台灣地位（中國聲稱對自治的台灣擁有主權）等問題上咄咄逼人的姿態，已導致北美、歐洲和亞洲的國家疏遠中國。

“For Xi, the goal is to try to discredit the West and show that there is an alternative out there,” said Eric Olander, the chief editor of The China-Global South Project website. “He’s trying to tap into this incredible well of grievance and frustration among many Global South countries over what they perceive as this massive duplicity and hypocrisy on the part of rich countries.”

「習近平的目標是試圖抹黑西方，讓世界看到還有其他選擇，」中南項目網站的主編歐瑞克(Eric Olander)說。「許多全球南方國家認為富裕國家極其口是心非和虛偽，他試圖利用這種不滿和沮喪情緒。」

That frustration has been driven in recent years by unfulfilled promises by developed countries to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries and the feeling that not enough is being done about soaring food and energy prices.

近年來的問題已加劇了這種沮喪感，比如發達國家未能兌現向較貧窮國家提供新冠病毒疫苗的承諾，而且人們覺得發達國家沒有在應對食品和能源價格飆升的問題上採取足夠措施。

In a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa on Tuesday, Mr. Xi said China and African countries should work more closely to address “changes and chaos” in the world — imagery Mr. Xi has used to describe intensifying competition from Washington.

習近平在週二與南非總統西里爾·拉馬福薩會談時表示，中國和非洲國家應該更加密切地合作，以應對「變亂交織的世界」——習近平用這個說法來描述與美國日益激烈的競爭。

Africa is an emerging battleground for global influence. Beijing has poured billions of dollars in loans, aid and investment in countries that have long been ignored by the West. The result of that outreach has been diplomatic support in international organizations like the United Nations and access to critical minerals needed to power growing industries like electric vehicles.

非洲是爭奪全球影響力的新戰場。中國政府已為長期被西方忽視的非洲國家提供了數十億美元的貸款、援助和投資。這樣做的結果是中國在聯合國等國際組織贏得了外交支持，也獲得了開採為電動汽車等不斷增長的行業提供動力所需的關鍵礦物的權利。

In more prosperous times, China’s spending spree in Africa saw highways and dams spring up in many African countries. But these projects came with crippling debt in countries like Zambia and Angola, both of which owe billions of dollars to Chinese state-owned banks. While China has restructured bilateral debt with countries like Ethiopia and Zambia, analysts say this covered only a fraction of what is owed. (Other analysts note that African governments owe much more to Western creditors than China.)

在對非洲投資更熱火的時期，中國為許多非洲國家建設了高速公路和水利大壩。但這些項目也給贊比亞和安哥拉等國帶來了沉重的債務負擔，這兩個國家欠中國國有銀行的錢已高達數十億美元。儘管中國與衣索比亞和贊比亞等國進行了雙邊債務重組，但分析人士說，重組的債務僅是所欠債務的一小部分。（另有分析人士指出，非洲國家欠西方銀行的錢比欠中國的多得多。）

But the main highlight of Mr. Xi’s trip has been the summit in Johannesburg of the BRICS group of nations — named for its members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — as Beijing seeks to increase its sway.

但習近平此行的主要部分是出席在約翰尼斯堡舉行的金磚國家峰會（金磚的縮寫BRICS來自其成員國巴西、俄羅斯、印度、中國和南非的英文名首字母）。中國政府正在尋求增強自己在金磚集團的影響力。

The Chinese leader took aim at the United States on Wednesday, while not mentioning it by name, calling on BRICS nations to “oppose decoupling and supply chain disruption” — a reference to the Biden administration’s trade restrictions targeting China on national security grounds.

這位中國領導人週三將矛頭指向美國，雖然沒有在講話中點名，但他呼籲金磚國家「反對『脫鉤斷鏈』」，他指的是拜登政府以國家安全的名義針對中國採取的貿易限制措施。

A day earlier, Mr. Xi warned of bloc confrontation and called on nations not to “sleepwalk into the abyss of a new Cold War,” in a speech that was read by China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, for undisclosed reasons.

一天前，習近平對世界走向分裂發出警告，並呼籲各國不要「滑向『新冷戰』的深淵」。但不知什麼原因，習近平的這篇講話是由中國商務部部長王文濤代讀的。

“Should we embrace prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, or allow hegemonic and bullying acts to throw us into depression?” the speech read.

「是在開放包容中走向繁榮，還是在霸道霸凌中陷入蕭條？」這篇講話稿問道。

By contrast, Mr. Xi portrayed China as a force for stability and pointed to vague, loftily worded initiatives around development and security that analysts say are aimed at weakening the spread of Western liberal values and the influence of forums like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

作為對比，習近平把中國描述為維護全球穩定的力量，並圍繞發展和安全提出了一些模糊且措辭高大上的倡議，分析人士稱，這些倡議的目的是削弱西方自由主義價值觀的傳播，以及北大西洋公約組織等論壇的影響力。

In some ways, the summit in Johannesburg has taken on the characteristics of an official Chinese event, where media access is tightly controlled. Though hundreds of journalists attended the summit, only reporters with state-sanctioned news outlets were permitted to enter the room where leaders gave their speeches.

從某些方面來看，約翰尼斯堡的金磚峰會已具有中國官方活動的特點，媒體採訪受到了嚴格控制。雖然參加峰會的記者有好幾百人，但只有那些得到國家認可的新聞媒體的記者才被允許進入領導人發表講話的會場。

A scheduled news briefing following the leaders’ speeches on Wednesday was abruptly canceled. Mr. Ramaphosa said it was so that journalists could “go and rest.” (Mr. Xi, it should be noted, is not the only BRICS leader who does not take questions from the media; Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, too, rarely directly fields live questions from the press.)

原定於週三領導人講話後舉行的新聞發布會突然被取消。拉馬福薩說，那是為了讓記者能「去休息」。（需要指出的是，習近平並不是唯一一位不接受媒體提問的金磚國家領導人；印度總理莫迪也很少直接回答媒體的現場提問。）

The summit’s official attendees do not only come from the group’s five member countries. They include nations aligned with China, such as Iran, and others that profess nonalignment and are looking to hedge between Beijing and Washington, such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

參加這次金磚峰會的正式代表不僅來自五個成員國。出席者還包括與中國結盟的國家，如伊朗，以及其他聲稱不結盟、並正在北京與華盛頓之間尋求平衡的國家，如印度尼西亞和沙烏地阿拉伯。

One major measure of success for Mr. Xi’s visit will be if the grouping adds more members. China is in favor of expansion to increase the group’s clout and, by extension, its own global standing. India and Brazil, on the other hand, are more reluctant to add members that might tilt the group more steadily toward China and make BRICS anti-Western.

習近平此行成功與否的一個主要衡量是金磚集團是否增加成員國。中國支持通過擴大成員國來提高該集團的影響力，進而提高自身的全球地位。另一方面，印度和巴西則不太願意增加成員國，因為這可能會讓金磚集團更逐漸向中國傾斜，更加反西方。

At the meeting on Wednesday, the leaders sought to project a common position. Warnings against a return to the Cold War were a common refrain. Several leaders criticized the United Nations Security Council for what they described as its failures to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine — while avoiding any criticism of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, a BRICS leader, for the invasion.

在週三的會上，金磚國家領導人尋求展現一個共同立場。他們在講話中經常重複對冷戰回歸的警告。幾位領導人批評了他們稱之為聯合國安理會在結束俄烏戰爭上的失敗，同時避免批評俄羅斯總統普丁發動侵略戰爭，普丁也是金磚國家領導人之一。

Mr. Modi said he supported expansion through consensus. It remains to be seen whether the group can agree on what entry criteria new countries will need to meet.

莫迪說，他支持通過達成共識擴大成員。金磚國家能否在新成員國需要滿足的准入標準上達成一致意見還有待觀察。

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil expressed support for a common BRICS currency to reduce the group’s vulnerabilities to the dominance of the U.S. dollar in trade.

巴西總統盧拉表示，支持金磚國家使用一種共同貨幣，以緩解該集團因美元在貿易上的主導地位而易受傷害的問題。

Mr. Putin, who spoke remotely over a video link because he is wanted for war crimes under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, again blamed Western countries for his war in Ukraine. He said Russia would assume chairmanship of BRICS next year and host a summit in the city of Kazan in October 2024.

普丁通過影片連線遠程發表了講話。由於國際刑事法院以戰爭罪對他發出通緝令，他沒有出席峰會。普丁在講話中再次將俄烏戰爭歸咎於西方國家。他說，俄羅斯明年將擔任金磚集團主席國，下屆峰會將於2024年10月在喀山市舉行。

South Africa, chafing against pressure from the West, has tried to stake the middle ground but has been pulled closer by China and Russia. It is also keen to position itself as a voice for emerging nations, especially those in Africa.

迫於西方壓力，南非一直試圖採取中間立場，但已被中國和俄羅斯拉得更近。南非也熱衷於將自己定位為新興國家，尤其是非洲國家的代言人。

“We are grateful for the support and friendship that China has provided as we have worked to rebuild and transform our country after the devastation of apartheid,” Mr. Ramaphosa told Mr. Xi as he greeted him on Tuesday.

「我們感謝中國在我們經歷了種族隔離制度的破壞後，為重建和改造我們的國家所提供的支持和友誼，」拉馬福薩週二與習近平會談時對後者說。

South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa, and it serves as a key transit point for commodities exported from other countries on the continent to China.

南非是中國在非洲最大的貿易夥伴，也是非洲大陸其他國家向中國出口商品的重要中轉站。

Beijing also maintains deep ties with Mr. Ramaphosa’s African National Congress, even helping to establish an academy for young leaders. China has committed to helping South Africa repair its dilapidated national electricity grid and has had state energy companies visit South Africa during Mr. Xi’s state visit.

中國政府也與拉馬福薩領導的非洲人國民大會保持著密切聯繫，甚至幫助建立了一所培養年輕領導人的學院。中國已承諾幫助南非修理年久失修的國家電網，並在習近平進行國事訪問期間派了一個國有能源公司代表團訪問南非。

Mr. Xi has received fawning coverage in Chinese state media over the visit. But the outreach to Africa comes as China is grappling with a housing crisis and slowing economic growth, problems that could diminish how much Beijing can spend on foreign aid and development.

中國官媒對習近平的這次訪問進行了充滿恭維的報導。但他的非洲之行發���在中國正努力應對住房危機和經濟增長放緩的時候，這些國內問題可能會減少中國政府能花在對外援助和發展上的資金。

“China as a whole is running out of money, particularly foreign exchange,” said Willy Lam, an analyst of Chinese politics who is a senior fellow at Jamestown Foundation, a research institute in Washington. “This has been a big impediment to Beijing’s plans to extend its influence in the developing world.”

「總的來看，中國的資金，尤其是外匯正在耗盡，」華盛頓研究機構詹姆斯敦基金會的高級研究員、中國政治分析師林和立說。「這個問題一直是中國政府擴大其在發展中國家影響力計劃的一大障礙。」