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.

(Agencies)

美国总统布什希望中国人能改变“把钱压箱底”的习惯，而去购买大量美国商品。

布什总统本周三在接受鲁什·林堡主持的广播谈话节目的采访时说，中国应从一个“储蓄型社会”转变为“消费型社会”，因为现在中国爱存钱的人实在是太多了。

他说：“中国人之所以爱存钱，是因为中国还没有健全的养老金制度和医疗保险制度。所以，人们都把钱存起来，以备将来不时之需。”

“如果能让中国成为一个‘消费型国家’，可以想象一下，这对打入中国市场的美国制造商们来说意味着什么。”

布什还表示，美国必须继续盯紧东亚，因为“从长远来看，保证远东地区的稳定对美国具有重要意义。”

布什总统接受这个采访距美国国会中期选举日不到一周的时间。由于伊拉克战争引起国内越来越多人的不满，布什总统所在的共和党担心他们可能会因此失去参众两院的控制权。



Vocabulary:

hoard : to store for future use（储存；储藏）