US President George W. Bush, seen here on 31 October 2006, said that he hoped China would transform from a country where people "hoard the money they have" into one where people buy large amounts of US products. [AFP] US President George W. Bush said that he hoped China would transform from a country where people "hoard the money they have" into one where people buy large amounts of US products. In an interview with radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh Wednesday, Bush said China should become "a society in which there're consumers. Because now they're a society of too many savers." "And the reason why they're saving so much money is because there's not a pension plan or a legitimate health care system. And so, therefore, people hoard the money they have in anticipating a bad day," said the president. "If we can encourage China to become a country of consumers, you can imagine what it would mean for US producers and manufacturers to have access to that market," he said. Bush also said that the United States must remain present in East Asia because "we serve as a way to make sure that there's stability. And stability in the Far East, obviously, is essential for the United States in the long term." The interview came with less than one week before key US legislative elections in which Bush's Republicans worry that the unpopular war in Iraq may cost them control of the Senate, the House of Representatives, or both. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Agencies)

美國總統布什希望中國人能改變“把錢壓箱底”的習慣，而去購買大量美國商品。 布什總統本周三在接受魯什·林堡主持的廣播談話節目的采訪時說，中國應從一個“儲蓄型社會”轉變為“消費型社會”，因為現在中國愛存錢的人實在是太多了。 他說：“中國人之所以愛存錢，是因為中國還沒有健全的養老金制度和醫療保險制度。所以，人們都把錢存起來，以備將來不時之需?！? “如果能讓中國成為一個‘消費型國家’，可以想象一下，這對打入中國市場的美國制造商們來說意味著什么?！? 布什還表示，美國必須繼續盯緊東亞，因為“從長遠來看，保證遠東地區的穩定對美國具有重要意義。” 布什總統接受這個采訪距美國國會中期選舉日不到一周的時間。由于伊拉克戰爭引起國內越來越多人的不滿，布什總統所在的共和黨擔心他們可能會因此失去參眾兩院的控制權。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）